Most people facing an estate in San Francisco did not choose this job. A parent died and left a house. A spouse is gone and the accounts are frozen. A will names you as executor, or a trust names you as successor trustee, and relatives are already asking what happens next. This page walks through the order of things. It covers whether probate is needed, what the San Francisco court handles, what a trustee does, and which county offices deal with an inherited property and its taxes.
Does California Require Probate — and When Does San Francisco Apply It?
California does have probate. It is a court-supervised process for paying a deceased person's debts and passing what is left to the people entitled to it. Under Probate Code section 7050, the superior court has jurisdiction over proceedings concerning the administration of a decedent's estate. A decedent is the person who died. For someone whose estate is administered in San Francisco, that court is the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco.
Probate generally reaches property held in the decedent's name alone. Some property usually passes outside it:
- Trust assets. Property titled in a living trust passes to the trust's beneficiaries under the trust's terms.
- Jointly titled property. Property held with a right of survivorship goes to the surviving owner.
- Beneficiary designations. Accounts and policies with a named beneficiary are paid to that person.
The law also treats two kinds of property differently. Real property means land and buildings. Personal property means everything else, from bank accounts to furniture. Whether full probate is needed, or a simplified procedure will do, depends partly on the gross value of the property in California that would otherwise be probated. Statute sets that limit, and it is adjusted over time.
The first-stage question is how each asset is titled, and the guide to whether an estate needs probate sets those categories side by side.
The San Francisco Probate Court: Where Cases Are Filed and How the Process Works
The San Francisco Superior Court's Probate Court page is the court's own starting point. It links to sections on wills and decedents' estates, trusts, conservatorships and guardianships. The page says the filing clerk assigns hearing dates for appearance matters at the time a petition is filed. It lists appearance hearings for probate matters, other than guardianships, conservatorships and motions, at 9 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Department 204. It says tentative rulings are available online or by phone one to three days before the hearing. It also links a checklist of common problems and reasons for delay.
Before any petition is filed, the person holding an original will has a duty. Under Probate Code section 8200, unless a petition for probate is filed first, the will's custodian must do two things within 30 days after learning of the death. The custodian delivers the original to the clerk of the superior court of the county where the estate may be administered. The custodian also delivers a copy to the executor named in the will. If the executor's whereabouts are unknown, the copy goes to a named beneficiary whose whereabouts are known.
The court then appoints a personal representative, the person given legal authority over the estate. If a will names that person, they are the executor. If there is no will, or no named executor can serve, the court appoints an administrator. The court issues "letters," the document that proves the appointment. In broad order, full probate then runs this way:
- The petition is filed and a hearing is set.
- Heirs, beneficiaries and creditors receive notice.
- The inventory and appraisal is filed.
- Creditor claims are handled.
- A final accounting and petition for distribution are filed.
- The court orders distribution.
Probate Code section 8800 requires the inventory and appraisal within four months after letters are first issued to a general personal representative. The court may allow further reasonable time.
Simplified Procedures: When Full Probate Is Not Required in California
For many San Francisco families, a smaller estate or property passing to a spouse means full probate may not be needed at all. California offers four simplified procedures, as the Judicial Council names them:
- The affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property. This is a signed statement used to collect personal property without a court case.
- The petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence. This is a court petition for the home the decedent lived in.
- The affidavit for real property of small value. This is a statement filed with the court for real property under a value limit.
- The spousal or domestic partner property petition. This is a court petition confirming property passing to a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner.
The affidavit procedure shows how these rules work. Under Probate Code section 13100, a successor may use it to collect money due the decedent, receive tangible personal property, or have a security or similar interest transferred. Three conditions apply. Forty days must have passed since the death. No letters may have been obtained. The gross value of the decedent's real and personal property in California must not exceed a statutory limit, which is adjusted periodically. Certain property is excluded from that count.
The California Courts publish the current dollar limits for each procedure. The spousal or domestic partner property petition is filed with the Superior Court in San Francisco. Which procedure fits depends on whether the property is real or personal, its value, and who receives it. These options are set out in full in the guide to settling an estate without probate.
Trust Administration in San Francisco: What a Successor Trustee Does After a Death
A living trust keeps property out of the San Francisco probate court. It does not make the work disappear. The successor trustee is the person the trust document names to take over management of the trust when the original trustee dies or can no longer serve.
That person's job is broadly similar to an executor's: gather the assets, notify the beneficiaries, pay valid debts and expenses, and distribute what remains. The two roles still differ. An executor acts under the court's authority over probate property. A trustee acts under the trust document over trust property. One person can hold both roles, but they are separate roles. Under California law, a trustee owes duties to the beneficiaries, including keeping them informed, accounting for the trust, and treating beneficiaries impartially.
Real estate in a trust needs attention too. Under Rev. & Tax. Code section 480, when an interest in real property transfers because of a death, including a transfer through a trust, a change in ownership statement must be filed with the county recorder or assessor within 150 days after the date of death. The trustee files it if the property was held in trust. Otherwise the transferee, the person receiving the property, files it. In San Francisco, the Assessor-Recorder's page asks for its Death of Real Property Owner form within that period. Moving title from the trust to a beneficiary is usually done by recording a deed with that office.
Many successor trustees in San Francisco find this the part that surprises them. The trust was supposed to keep things simple, and it still comes with paperwork and duties.
Inherited Real Property in San Francisco: Title, Property Tax, and the Decision to Sell
An inherited house brings the most decisions. The first is how title moves. In probate, the court's order for distribution is recorded with the San Francisco Office of the Assessor-Recorder, which records deeds and other documents and collects transfer tax when a document transferring title to real property is recorded. In probate, Rev. & Tax. Code section 480 requires the personal representative to file the change in ownership statement before or when the inventory and appraisal is filed.
Property tax comes next. A change in ownership of real property generally leads to reassessment unless an exclusion applies. Transfers to a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner are commonly excluded. Under Rev. & Tax. Code section 480, failing to file a change in ownership statement within 90 days after a written request from the assessor can result in a penalty. A house in the Sunset District is assessed under the same California rules as any other property in the county.
For a parent-to-child transfer on or after February 16, 2021, Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2 provides an exclusion, but only if a claim is filed. It applies to the parent's principal residence. The child must make it their principal residence within one year and file for the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within a year. The exclusion covers grandparent-to-grandchild transfers only if the grandchild's parents who are the grandparents' children have died. A value test also applies: if the home's market value exceeds a set amount above its prior taxable value, the excess is added to the taxable value.
The claim must be filed within three years after the transfer, or before a transfer to a third party, or before the eligible transferee stops living in the residence, whichever comes first. A claim is also timely within six months after a notice of supplemental or escape assessment is mailed. A later claim may still be considered if the property has not passed to a third party, but the exclusion then applies only from the year it is filed. The assessor's office reviews these claims. A CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney reviews income-tax and basis questions.
The family then decides what to do with the house:
- Keep it. The family keeps a home and possibly a tax base, but takes on co-ownership, upkeep and decisions shared among heirs.
- Sell it. Selling divides the value cleanly. A cash sale can reduce repairs, showings, financing uncertainty and time, though families weigh that trade-off differently.
- Buy out the others. One heir keeps the house by paying the others for their shares, which usually requires an agreed value and financing.
How each of these plays out in probate is the subject of how probate affects real estate.
Costs and Timelines in San Francisco Probate
There is no single price for probate. California sets compensation for the executor or administrator and for the estate's attorney on a schedule tied to the value of the probate estate. The schedule is set out in the Probate Code. Extra work beyond ordinary administration can be compensated separately with court approval. The court also charges filing fees. The San Francisco Superior Court's Probate Court page is the place to start for that court's current procedures. Appraisal, accounting and tax preparation costs vary with the estate.
Time works the same way. A straightforward probate in San Francisco runs many months. The inventory deadline alone is measured from the date letters are first issued, and creditor claims and accountings follow it. A contested matter, a missing heir, real estate that must be sold, or complex assets can all lengthen the case. In practice, "a house stuck in probate" means one thing: the house stays in the decedent's name until the court orders distribution and that order or a deed is recorded.
Property tax keeps coming due in the meantime. The San Francisco Treasurer & Tax Collector sets the installment due dates and the penalties for late payment.
Common Mistakes in San Francisco Estate Settlement
Most of these mistakes come from timing, not bad faith. In San Francisco, as elsewhere in California, they tend to fall into a few patterns:
- Missing creditor notice. California law requires notice to known creditors and published notice for others, and claims periods run from those notices.
- Leaving title unrecorded. The order for distribution or a deed is recorded with the San Francisco Assessor-Recorder so that the county's records match the new owner.
- Treating a trust as no work. A successor trustee still owes duties to beneficiaries and still faces the trust-property filing deadline covered in the trust section.
- Missing the exclusion claim. The section 63.2 filing windows covered in the real property section control, and the Assessor-Recorder publishes its claim forms.
- Mixing estate money. Estate funds belong in a separate estate account, never in the representative's personal account.
- Acting before letters. A personal representative has no authority over probate property until the court issues letters.
Where heirs are in conflict, misconduct is suspected, or a will or trust is challenged, the matter becomes a contested case handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases. This page does not cover contested matters.
More of these patterns are collected among common estate settlement mistakes, and the order of tasks appears in the estate settlement checklist.
Finding Professional Help in San Francisco
Several kinds of professionals work on San Francisco estates, each on a different part of the job:
- A probate attorney. An attorney licensed in California prepares court filings, handles creditor notices, and guides the estate to an order for distribution. Bar association lawyer referral services are one place families look.
- A CPA or enrolled agent. A CPA or enrolled agent prepares the decedent's final income tax return and any estate income tax returns, and explains date-of-death value and basis.
- A real estate professional. A licensed real estate professional who knows San Francisco property and probate sales helps when a family decides to sell.
The county's own offices also answer questions within their roles. The Assessor-Recorder handles reassessment and exclusion claims, and the Superior Court's probate clerk handles filings.
Silver Lining Estate is an educational website about California estate settlement and inheritance. Its questionnaire asks a few questions and points to the guides and the kinds of professionals that fit.
