How to Sort an Estate After a Death

If you are an adult child, a surviving spouse, or the person a will or trust has just put in charge, you are probably doing this while grieving, with relatives asking questions you cannot answer yet. Most people facing this process have never seen a probate file or a trust accounting, and the hardest part is not knowing what comes first. This guide walks through the usual order in California, from the documents to gather to the day the estate is closed. It also notes which steps a licensed professional usually handles.

Before You Start: Documents Commonly Gathered First

Death certificates. Several certified copies are usually needed, because banks, title companies and government agencies each ask for one. The county vital records office issues them.

The will, if there is one. It may be at home, in a safe deposit box, in an attorney's files or already lodged with the county Superior Court. A will names the executor and directs who receives what. Under Probate Code section 331, a person who holds the key to a box held in the decedent's sole name may open it before the court acts. That person needs a certified death certificate or a written statement of death from the coroner, treating physician, hospital or institution, plus reasonable proof of identity. They may remove the will and any instructions for the remains, and the bank photocopies a will before it is removed. Nothing else may be taken out. Any will found must go to the clerk of the superior court, and a copy must go to the named executor or beneficiary.

Trust documents, if a trust exists. A successor trustee generally takes over trust assets under the trust document itself, usually without court involvement.

The roles, in plain words: - Executor: the person named in the will to carry out its instructions. - Administrator: the person the court appoints when there is no will or no executor is available. - Personal representative: the term the Probate Code uses for either one. - Trustee and successor trustee: the person who manages trust assets, and the person who steps in after the original trustee. - Heir: a person who inherits under the law when there is no will. - Beneficiary: a person named to receive assets under a will or trust.

The California Courts' guide to inventorying and estimating property value defines real property as land and buildings, including some long leases. Personal property is everything else, including cash, stock and furniture. The two often follow different rules. California law governs California assets. Property in another state follows that state's law.

Asset categories to locate: real property, bank and brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, vehicles, business interests, digital accounts, and debts and liabilities.

Step 1 — Determine Whether the Estate Goes Through Probate

Probate is the court-supervised process for collecting a decedent's assets, paying debts and distributing what remains. Many families find that much of the estate never needs it. The answer depends on how each asset was titled and what planning the person did. The court guide notes that deeds are public records at the County Recorder's Office. Bank records are private and generally need an appointed personal representative, though statements are often found at home. For a fuller answer on this threshold question, see whether an estate needs probate.

What usually passes outside probate: joint tenancy property, accounts with a surviving co-owner or a payable-on-death beneficiary, life insurance and retirement accounts with named beneficiaries, and assets in a living trust. Probate Code section 13050 excludes several kinds of property from the value counted for the simplified procedures. Its list includes: - joint tenancy property and property in a revocable trust - multiple-party accounts that pass to a survivor or payee - registered vehicles and vessels - certain registered manufactured homes and mobilehomes - amounts due for service in the Armed Forces - a limited amount of wages owed

What usually needs a court or a simplified procedure: property titled in the decedent's name alone, with no beneficiary or co-owner.

California's simplified procedures: - the affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property - the petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence - the affidavit for real property of small value - the spousal or domestic partner property petition

Under Probate Code section 13100, a successor may use the personal property affidavit to collect money due the decedent and to receive tangible personal property. It can also be used to transfer items such as securities or debts owed to the decedent. Two conditions apply. At least 40 days must have passed since the death, and the gross value of the decedent's California property must not exceed a limit that is adjusted periodically. That value is counted without the excluded property listed above. The California Courts publish the current limits. These routes are explained further under estate settlement without full probate.

Full probate takes place in the Superior Court of the county where the decedent lived, under a judge's supervision. If there is no will, the court appoints an administrator, and California's intestate succession rules decide who inherits.

Step 2 — Open the Estate: File the Will and Petition the Court (If Probate Is Required)

This step turns a family member into someone the law recognizes. The original will is delivered to the Superior Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled. This is a legal duty, not a choice.

A person then petitions to be appointed. This is the executor if the will names one who can serve. Otherwise it is an administrator. For an administrator, Probate Code section 8461 sets an order of priority. It begins with the surviving spouse or domestic partner, then children, grandchildren, other issue, parents, and brothers and sisters. The list continues through more distant relatives and ends with the public administrator, creditors and any other person.

The court sets a hearing, and notice goes to heirs and beneficiaries. If the court grants the petition, it issues Letters Testamentary to an executor or Letters of Administration to an administrator. Letters are the court document that gives the personal representative legal authority to act for the estate. Without Letters, banks, title companies and government agencies generally will not deal with the personal representative.

The Judicial Council's form on the Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative summarizes the main duties: - Manage estate assets with a prudent person's care. - Keep estate money in a separate estate account. - Spend estate funds only with court permission or an attorney's advice. - Pay no fees to oneself or one's attorney without a prior court order.

Many personal representatives work with a probate attorney from this stage on. The State Bar of California's website is one place to look for a California attorney. If heirs are already in conflict, or misconduct is suspected, that is a contested matter. It is handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases, and this page does not cover it.

Step 3 — Inventory and Appraise the Estate's Assets

This step answers the question every relative asks: what is actually here? Under Probate Code section 8800, the personal representative files a single combined inventory and appraisal with the court clerk. It is due within four months after Letters are first issued to a general personal representative. The court may allow further time that is reasonable for the case. Partial inventories are allowed, but all of them must be filed before the allowed time runs out.

Along with the inventory, the personal representative files a certification about California real property. It states either that the decedent owned none, or that a change in ownership statement has been filed with the recorder or assessor of each county where the decedent owned property.

Most assets are valued by a probate referee. A probate referee is an appraiser the California State Controller appoints. The State Controller's Probate Referees page says the referee's service is required for court resolution of an estate and is also available for non-probate trust administration. The DE-147 form says the court may waive the referee's appointment. It also says the personal representative, not the referee, values certain "cash items."

The inventory covers the house and land, vehicles, financial accounts, business interests and collectibles. The court guide suggests listing high-value items individually and grouping household goods by category. Debts are tracked as well, because valid debts are paid before anyone inherits.

Date-of-death values often become the starting point for later tax questions about an heir's basis. Basis is the figure used to measure gain if the heir later sells. A CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney reviews that question.

In a trust administration, the trustee prepares the inventory for the trustee's own records and for accounting to beneficiaries. It is not filed with the court.

Step 4 — Notify Creditors and Pay Valid Debts

A death does not erase debts, but heirs generally do not become personally liable for them. Instead, the estate pays valid debts before distribution. The DE-147 form states two deadlines: - Notice of administration is mailed to each known creditor within four months after the personal representative's appointment. - If the decedent received Medi-Cal assistance, the State Director of Health Services is notified within 90 days after appointment.

The Probate Code also provides for a published notice to creditors and a claim period that runs from a trigger the Code sets. The personal representative reviews each claim that comes in and pays the valid ones from estate assets.

When money is short, the Probate Code sets an order for paying debts. Administration costs and funeral expenses are among the early categories, and secured debts are treated separately. The order has more classes than these. If debts exceed assets, the estate is insolvent, and what heirs receive may be reduced or eliminated. Creditor timing and payment order raise their own questions: settling an estate with debt.

A mortgage stays attached to the house. Many mortgages contain a due-on-sale clause. A federal law known as the Garn–St Germain Act addresses when lenders may enforce those clauses in certain transfers. How it applies to a particular loan is a question for an attorney.

Step 5 — Handle Tax Filings for the Decedent and the Estate

Tax questions can feel like the most intimidating part of this work. Most of them, though, are handled by a CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney. Reassessment of real property and exclusion claims go to the county assessor's office.

The decedent's final returns. A final federal income tax return (Form 1040) covers the year of death. A final California return is filed with the Franchise Tax Board. The IRS and the Franchise Tax Board each publish current deadlines and information for executors and administrators.

The estate's own returns. If the estate earns income during administration, such as interest, rent or dividends, it may need to file Form 1041 federally and California Form 541.

Federal estate tax. This tax applies only to very large estates. The IRS publishes the current exemption amount.

Property tax. A transfer of real property at death can be a change in ownership that leads to reassessment. Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2 excludes, for purchases or transfers on and after February 16, 2021, a transfer of a principal residence between parents and children. The same exclusion covers grandparents and grandchildren when all of the grandchild's parents who are the grandparents' children have died. The exclusion applies only if a claim is filed with the assessor. Several conditions apply: - Residence and exemption: the home must become the transferee's principal residence within one year, and the transferee must file for the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within a year of the transfer. - Value limit: a home whose market value exceeds the limit the section sets is only partly excluded. - Filing deadline: the claim is generally due within three years after the transfer, before a transfer to a third party, or before the eligible transferee stops living there, whichever is earliest. Alternatively, a claim is timely if filed within six months after the mailing of a supplemental or escape assessment notice. - Late claims: if the property has not gone to a third party, a late claim can still be considered, but any exclusion applies from the lien date of the year the claim is filed.

The section treats family farms separately. Decisions about an inherited house often turn on these rules.

Step 6 — Transfer and Distribute Assets to Heirs and Beneficiaries

This is the step families wait for. In a probate, distribution generally follows the court's approval of a final accounting and its Order for Final Distribution. That order is the court's direction on who receives what.

• Real property: title passes by a court-ordered deed in probate, or by a trustee's deed from a trust. The deed is recorded with the county recorder.
• Financial accounts: banks and brokerages generally require Letters, or a trust certification, before releasing funds.
• Vehicles: the DMV has its own procedures for vehicles titled in a decedent's name.
• Retirement accounts and life insurance: these pass to named beneficiaries through each institution's own claim process, outside probate.
• Trust assets: the successor trustee distributes according to the trust's terms, after debts and taxes, without court involvement.

The executor follows the will, and the administrator follows California's intestate succession rules. Neither may redirect assets away from the people the will or the law names. Property in another state transfers under that state's procedures.

The house is often the largest and most complicated asset. Who has authority to sell it depends on how title is held and what the will or trust says. So does whether a sale needs court confirmation or a notice of proposed action. A probate attorney addresses that question. When there are several heirs, the duty to treat them fairly is explained under estates with multiple beneficiaries.

Step 7 — Close the Estate

Closing is a formal act, not simply the moment the last check clears.

In a probate. The personal representative files a final account showing receipts, disbursements and the proposed distribution. The DE-147 form notes that the court reviews the account and may ask for receipts. After a hearing, the court may issue the Order for Final Distribution. Once distribution is made, receipts or other confirmation are filed. The court can then discharge the personal representative and close the case.

In a trust administration. The successor trustee prepares a final accounting for beneficiaries and distributes the remaining assets. The trust ends when its purpose is complete. No court order is needed unless a dispute arises.

In both cases, the role's duties end when the assets are distributed and the estate or trust is formally closed. Keeping records of every transaction for several years helps answer later questions from beneficiaries or tax authorities.

The Probate Code sets general expectations for how long an administration should take. Complex estates, contested matters and real property sales can stretch that timeline.

Typical timeline

No single figure fits every estate. The timeline is shaped by fixed waiting points: - the 40 days before the personal property affidavit can be used - the four months after Letters for the inventory and appraisal - the creditor notice periods - court hearing dates

A trust administration with straightforward assets can often close within months. A full probate usually takes longer because it involves hearings, a claim period and a final account. How estate administration differs from settlement also affects which clock applies.

When the Process Gets Complicated

Complications are common, and each one has a known path.

No will

The court appoints an administrator in the statutory order of priority, and intestate succession decides who inherits. The steps are otherwise the same. For more, see estate settlement without a will.

Unclear title or an old deed

A title company or a probate attorney can identify the problem before any transfer.

Heirs who disagree

A contested matter is handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases. This page does not cover how to contest a will, remove a trustee or executor, or prove wrongdoing.

Property in another state

A separate proceeding, often called ancillary probate, may be needed there, and that state's law applies.

Business interests, insolvency or missing heirs

A business attorney and a CPA are usually involved with business interests. When debts exceed assets, the Probate Code's payment order governs, and an attorney guides the personal representative. The court has procedures for heirs or beneficiaries who cannot be found. Silver Lining Estate is an educational resource. The State Bar of California's website is one place to look for an attorney.