How to document next-of-kin contact attempts under California AB 2598
Published October 26, 2026
California AB 2598 puts documentation inside the duty. Probate Code section 7600.4(d)(3) defines a “reasonable attempt” as a documented, good-faith effort to contact any known next of kin within 72 hours of a person’s death, using contact information available to the hospital or facility at the time. This brief is about a record that follows those words for a general acute care hospital or a skilled nursing facility.
The bill is Chapter 627, Statutes of 2026, approved and filed September 27, 2026, effective January 1, 2027. The chaptered text is on the AB 2598 law page and on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Who owes the duty is covered in what AB 2598 requires. A facility walk-through is the SNF checklist.
The statute publishes no form. The fields below show each part of the definition. They are record-keeping aids.
Event and clock
State whether the person died in the hospital or skilled nursing facility, under section 7600.4(a)(1)(A), or a body was transferred to a hospital and is being held there, under section 7600.4(a)(1)(B). The notice to the family follows that line: that the person died in the hospital or facility, or that the hospital is holding the body.
Record the time of death. The 72 hours run from the death and are stated in hours. Each attempt carries its own time so the file shows whether it fell inside that window.
Why this person is known next of kin
Known next of kin means a relative by blood, marriage, or registered domestic partnership, identified to the hospital or facility by the person or the person’s representative, or identified by information in the belongings. That is section 7600.4(d)(2), repeated in Health and Safety Code section 1280.7(e).
For each person treated as known next of kin, the record can state the relationship category and which identification path applied. A contact outside that definition can remain in the chart for other reasons, labeled so the statutory category stays clear. Notice to a designated resident representative is the separate skilled-nursing path in section 7600.4(a)(2)(A). The bill gives “resident representative” the meaning in Health and Safety Code section 1599.15(a).
Contact information available at the time
The definition uses “any contact information available to the hospital or facility at the time.” The record can list the phone number and, when the facility had one, the text or email address, together with the fact that the information was already in hand.
“If available” is the condition on a text or an email. A telephone number with no email on file can be noted that way. A voicemail or a live call is still inside the definition. Date the information already in hand so the record matches “at the time.” The examples are open-ended, so an in-person conversation or a letter can be logged the same way when that was the effort used.
Each effort, in a line
For every contact, note the time, the method, and the outcome: a conversation, a voicemail left, a text or email sent, or an attempt that did not connect. “Documented” and “good faith” are both in the definition. A short factual outcome matches the statute. The bill requires no script and no minimum number of attempts.
A voicemail is inside section 7600.4(d)(3). Health and Safety Code section 1280.7(a) is a different sentence: it measures the civil penalty for a failure to make a reasonable attempt until the next of kin has actual knowledge of the death. A separate line can record a conversation or reply that shows that knowledge. Penalty amounts are on the law page.
Alternatives on their own lines
Section 7600.4(a)(2) allows paragraph (1) to be met another way. If the skilled nursing facility notifies the designated resident representative, record who was notified and when. If the person, prior to death and in writing, told the hospital or facility not to notify known next of kin of their presence or death, identify that writing in the file. When either path is the one used, section 7600.4(b) still requires notice to the county public administrator. The attempt log and the alternative should both be visible.
The public administrator notice is a separate entry
Subdivision (b) requires notice, within two business days of the fact of the death, to the public administrator of the county where the hospital or facility is located, if after a reasonable attempt the licensee cannot locate any next of kin, or if paragraph (2) is satisfied.
The record can state whether any known next of kin was located. The section says “locate” in this branch and “notify” and “contact” in the attempt, and the file can keep those words.
Section 7600.4(c) says the notice includes identifying information that may help identify the decedent and known next of kin, including full legal name, Social Security number, driver’s license or other identification, residence at death or last known address, and contact information for known next of kin, when the facility has it. The notice entry can list which of those items were included. They do not have to be copied again into every attempt line.
The section does not define “business days.” Show the date and time notice was given. If the required notice is not given, section 7600.4(b) describes liability for interment costs of the estate or the county and for specified losses to the estate or beneficiaries.
Together, the file shows the event, the attempts, why each person was known next of kin, the contact information then available, any written direction or resident-representative notice, and the county notice when subdivision (b) required one.
Shorter coverage and timing questions are in the administrator FAQ. What AB 2598 means for families is the same statute for readers outside the facility.
Next of Kin Notice holds a timestamped attempt record and prepares the county notice from it. The service is in early access and is not yet processing real cases. Questions: hello@nextofkinnotice.com, without patient or family health information.
This is general information about California AB 2598 (Chapter 627, Statutes of 2026), not legal advice. The chaptered bill controls. Hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and families should confirm how the law applies with their own counsel.