California Estate Settlement Guide

Perhaps a parent has died and the will names you as executor. Perhaps you are a surviving spouse sorting through accounts, a successor trustee holding a binder you have never opened, or a brother or sister who now owns a share of the family house with siblings. Most people facing this have never done it before, and they are doing it while grieving and while other relatives ask what happens next. This page sets out the whole process in the order it usually unfolds, so you can see which part is yours and which detailed guide to read next.

What Estate Settlement Means in California

Estate settlement is the work of identifying what a person owned, paying what they owed, and transferring what remains to the people entitled to it. The California Courts' guide to property after someone dies calls all of the property the person legally owned their "estate." It also notes that an estate may need to go through probate even when there is a will.

There are three main paths:

• Full probate, a case supervised by the Superior Court.
• Simplified procedures for smaller estates, some with no court filing at all.
• Trust administration, handled outside court by a trustee.

Which path applies depends on four facts: how title to each asset was held, whether there is a trust, the gross value of the assets that would otherwise go through probate, and the date of death. One family can use more than one path, for example a trust for the house and a simplified procedure for a stray bank account.

The roles have specific meanings. An executor is the person named in a will to carry it out. An administrator is the person the court appoints when there is no will. When a will exists but the named executor cannot serve, the court appoints an administrator with the will annexed. Personal representative is the umbrella term that Probate Code section 58 uses for executors, administrators and several related roles. A trustee, or successor trustee, manages a trust. An heir inherits under California's law for people who die without a will. A beneficiary is someone named to receive property, for example in a will, a trust, or on an account.

California also treats real property (land and buildings) differently from personal property (money, cars, furniture, accounts) at several points. The sections below flag where that difference matters.

Full Probate: When It Applies and How It Works in California

Full probate is generally needed when the assets that pass through probate are worth more than the limits for California's simplified procedures, and those assets were not held in a trust, in joint ownership with a survivorship right, or with a named beneficiary. Probate Code section 8000 allows any interested person to start the case by petitioning the court. According to the court's formal probate overview, the case is filed in the county where the person lived. If the person lived outside California but owned property here, it is filed in the California county where that property is.

Before the case opens, Probate Code section 8200 requires whoever holds the original will, unless a petition for probate of the will has already been filed, to do both of the following within 30 days of learning of the death: deliver the will, personally or by registered or certified mail, to the clerk of the superior court of the county in which the estate may be administered, and deliver a copy of the will to the person named in the will as executor, if that person's whereabouts is known, or if not, to a named beneficiary whose whereabouts is known.

The usual sequence:

1. Appointment. Under Probate Code section 8420, the executor named in the will has the right to be appointed. Without a will, Probate Code section 8461 sets a priority order for administrator. It begins with the surviving spouse or domestic partner, then children, grandchildren, other descendants, parents, and brothers and sisters, and it continues through more distant relatives and others. Under Probate Code section 8400, a person has no power to act for the estate until the court issues letters, the document that makes the appointment effective. Before that, a named executor may pay funeral expenses and take necessary steps to preserve the estate.
2. Notice to creditors. The personal representative publishes a notice and also gives notice to known or reasonably ascertainable creditors (Probate Code section 9050). Under Probate Code section 9100, a creditor generally must file a claim by the later of two dates: four months after letters first issue, or 60 days after notice was mailed or delivered to that creditor.
3. Inventory and appraisal. Under Probate Code section 8800, this combined document is due within four months after letters first issue, although the court may allow more time. Probate Code section 8900 says the appraisal is made by the personal representative, a probate referee (a court-appointed appraiser), or an independent expert. The personal representative also certifies that a change in ownership statement has been filed with each county where the person owned real property, or that this requirement does not apply.
4. Paying debts and reporting. Debts are paid from estate funds. The Judicial Council's Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative form says estate money must be kept separate from the personal representative's own money and in an account named as an estate account.
5. Final distribution. Once debts are paid or provided for, Probate Code section 11640 calls for a petition and a court order for final distribution.

Throughout the case, the personal representative acts for the estate and the people entitled to it, under the court's supervision. Many actions need court approval or notice.

On how long this takes, no single deadline sets when an estate must close. Probate Code section 12200 does require the personal representative to either petition for final distribution or file a status report. That is due within one year after letters issue, or within 18 months if a federal estate tax return is required. Beyond that, the length of the case depends on the estate's complexity, the creditor claim period, court scheduling, and whether anything is contested. An estate that is still open after two years is not automatically closed or penalized. A long-open estate can, however, complicate taxes, creditor issues and shared ownership of a house. A probate attorney can say how this applies to a particular estate.

Simplified Procedures: Small Estates and Successor Affidavits

When the estate is smaller, California law offers shorter routes that the courts call "summary succession." The court's page, Check if you can use a simple process to transfer property, explains them and notes that the dollar limits are updated every three years.

The successor procedure for personal property (Probate Code section 13100). This route works without a court case. A successor can use it when at least 40 days have passed since the death and the gross value of the person's real and personal property in California does not exceed the limit. Some property is left out when measuring that value, including certain property the statute excludes and any home included in a petition under Probate Code section 13151. The successor may then collect money owed to the person, receive tangible personal property, and have securities, debts owed to the person and similar rights transferred, all without letters. The court's self-help pages describe the paperwork that the bank or other holder of the asset receives.

The primary residence petition (Probate Code sections 13151 to 13154). This route is used for real property and does involve a court filing. When the person's California primary residence does not exceed its limit and 40 days have passed, a successor may petition the Superior Court for an order confirming that they have inherited the home. The petitioner must deliver notice to the named heirs and devisees within five business days of filing. Under Probate Code section 13154, the court may grant the order only if it finds four things:

• the value of the home is within the limit;
• at least 40 days have passed since the death;
• no administration case is underway or has been held, or the personal representative has consented in writing;
• the home passes to the petitioner.

The limits depend on the date of death. The Judicial Council's DE-300 maximum values form lists them:

• Probate Code section 13100 procedure: $184,500 for deaths between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2025, and $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025.
• Primary residence petition: $750,000 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025.

The form states that the next adjustment is set for April 1, 2028. For a death outside these dates, the court's self-help page lists the figure that applies.

Trust Administration: Settling an Estate Outside of Court

Assets held in a properly funded revocable living trust generally pass to the beneficiaries through trust administration rather than through probate court. A successor trustee is the person or institution named in the trust to take over management and distribution after the original trustee dies or becomes incapacitated. The original trustee is usually the person who created the trust.

After the death, the successor trustee's core work follows a recognizable order. The trustee notifies beneficiaries and heirs, takes an inventory of trust assets, pays valid debts and taxes, and distributes assets according to the trust's terms. California law imposes duties on trustees, including administering the trust according to its terms, acting loyally for the beneficiaries, and keeping beneficiaries reasonably informed.

The difference from probate is mostly about supervision and privacy. Probate is court-supervised and creates a public record. Trust administration is generally private and, in most cases, involves no court. For a successor trustee, that means fewer filings but no judge approving each step.

A trust covers only what was actually transferred into it. A house still titled in the person's own name, or an account left out of the trust, may still need probate or one of the simplified procedures described above.

Where beneficiaries disagree, or someone suspects a trustee of misconduct, the matter becomes a different subject. It is handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.

Inherited Real Property in California: Title, Taxes, and Next Steps

A house is often where the hardest conversations happen. It holds memories, it may have someone living in it, and its paperwork follows its own rules.

Title rarely changes by itself. Probate Code section 7000 provides that title passes at death to the person named in the will or, without a will, to the heirs, subject to administration. In practice, the record title is updated through probate, a trust administration, a court order such as the primary residence petition, or a recorded affidavit of death when the house was held in joint tenancy or as community property with right of survivorship.

When there is no will, Probate Code section 6400 sends the property to the heirs under California's intestate succession law. The house still goes through probate or a simplified procedure unless it was in a trust or held with a survivorship right. If no heirs can be found at all, the estate may pass to the State of California.

Property tax. The State Board of Equalization's Proposition 19 Fact Sheet describes an exclusion from reassessment for a family home or family farm passing between parents and children, for transfers on or after February 16, 2021. When the parent has died, the date of death counts as the transfer date. For a family home, the child must live in it as their primary residence within one year, and must file for the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within one year of the transfer to receive the exclusion as of the transfer date. The value that can be excluded is limited to the home's taxable value plus an adjusted amount. That amount is $1,044,586 for transfers from February 16, 2025 through February 15, 2027. The claim is made on form BOE-19-P to the county assessor. It is due within three years of the transfer date, but before the property is transferred to a third party; a claim is also timely if filed within six months after the assessor mails a supplemental or escape assessment notice for the transfer. A later claim can still qualify while the child owns the home, starting from the year it is filed. The county assessor's office reviews whether a claim qualifies.

Income-tax basis. Under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a), the basis of inherited property is generally its fair market value on the date of death. Basis is the starting figure used to measure gain when the property is sold. The IRS's Publication 551 explains that in California, a community property state, both halves of community property generally take this new basis when one spouse dies, if at least half was includible in the decedent's estate. A CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney reviews the basis question for a specific estate.

The options. A family can keep the house, rent it, or sell it. A sale can go through a traditional listing, a cash sale, or, in a full probate, a sale that may need court confirmation. A cash sale can reduce repairs, showings, financing uncertainty and time, but whether it fits a given family varies from case to case. A probate sale is not a special kind of buyer. It is a sale by the estate, and court confirmation adds steps.

Intestate Succession: Who Inherits When There Is No Will

The order of heirs starts with the surviving spouse, and it treats community property differently from separate property. California is a community property state. Property acquired during the marriage is generally community property. Property owned before the marriage, or received by gift or inheritance, is generally separate property.

Under Probate Code section 6401, the surviving spouse's share is as follows:

• Community and quasi-community property: the decedent's one-half.
• Separate property, all of it: when the decedent left no surviving children or other descendants, no parent, and no brother, sister, or descendant of a deceased brother or sister.
• Separate property, one-half: when the decedent left one child or the descendants of one deceased child, or left no descendants but did leave a parent or parents, or their descendants.
• Separate property, one-third: when the decedent left more than one child, one child plus descendants of one or more deceased children, or descendants of two or more deceased children.

The remaining share passes to other relatives in an order the Probate Code sets out, beginning with the decedent's descendants. Because each share depends on exactly which relatives survive, the California Courts self-help guide or a probate attorney can walk through a particular family tree. If no heir can be found anywhere in the chain, the estate may pass to the State of California.

Intestate succession reaches only property that passes through probate or a simplified procedure. Assets in a trust, accounts with a named beneficiary, and property held in joint tenancy pass outside it.

The Professionals Involved in Settling a California Estate

Each part of settlement has a kind of professional who usually handles it.

• Probate and trust attorney. Guides a personal representative or successor trustee through court filings, notices, creditor claims and distributions. Most personal representatives in a full probate work with one. The court's overview notes that fees to administer an estate are generally set by law as a percentage of the estate's value and are usually paid at the end of the case. A family can look up an attorney's license through the State Bar of California at calbar.ca.gov.
• Probate referee. A court-appointed appraiser who values non-cash assets for the inventory. The court appoints the referee; the family does not choose one.
• CPA, enrolled agent or tax attorney. Handles the final income tax return, any estate income tax return, and basis questions. The IRS's Publication 559 states that the personal representative must file the decedent's final income tax return for the year of death. The Franchise Tax Board has its own California filing requirements.
• Real estate agent or broker. Handles a listing and sale when inherited property will be sold.

Can an estate be settled without a lawyer? The simplified procedures are built to be used without one in straightforward small estates, and the court's self-help pages guide people doing so. Full probate is more involved.

Silver Lining Estate is an educational resource that explains the process and the kinds of professionals involved. Where property or family is in another state, that state's law applies.