Most people facing this are doing it for the first time, often days after losing a parent or spouse, with siblings asking questions and a stack of mail on the kitchen counter. An adult child may have just learned they are named executor. A surviving spouse may not know whether the house is already theirs. What helps most is knowing the order things happen in, and which decisions can wait.
This page walks through that order: the first hours, death certificates, notifications, how title decides whether probate is needed, the house, the roles family members take on, and the financial work that follows.
Where the death happened shapes the first phone call. When someone dies at home without hospice care, families generally call 911 so that emergency responders, and then a physician or the coroner, can be involved in pronouncing death. When the person was in hospice, the hospice nurse is usually the first call, because hospice manages the pronouncement. In a hospital or care facility, staff handle the pronouncement and the first paperwork.
The next call is to a licensed funeral home or mortuary, which takes custody of the body before burial or cremation. Under California Health and Safety Code section 102780, a funeral director, or a person acting in lieu of one, prepares the death certificate and registers it with the local registrar. The California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau oversees licensed funeral establishments, and its license records are one way to confirm a provider is licensed. Costs vary by the type of service and the provider.
A few quieter tasks matter in these first days:
- Look for any pre-arranged funeral or cremation instructions the person left, often kept with personal papers.
- Lock the home and put valuables, keys and mail somewhere safe.
- Hold off on giving away or discarding belongings until it is clear who has legal authority over them.
That last point protects the family later, when the estate's property is counted and divided.
Death Certificates: How Many to Order and Where They Go
A certified copy of the death certificate is the document that opens nearly every later door. Banks, insurers, government agencies and the probate court generally want one before they will act.
California issues certified copies through the State Registrar at the California Department of Public Health, local registrars and county recorders. Under California Health and Safety Code section 103526, a person who qualifies as an "authorized person" and signs a sworn statement under penalty of perjury can receive a certified copy. A person who is not authorized, or cannot meet those requirements, receives an informational certified copy instead, marked "INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY." An informational copy is generally not what a bank or court accepts for settling an estate.
Funeral homes often order the first set of copies as part of their services. How many a family needs depends on how many accounts, policies and institutions are involved. Financial institutions, the Social Security Administration, life insurers, the DMV and the probate court may each want their own copy, and some keep it. There is no single right number. A short list of every bank, insurer and agency involved is the usual way families work out the count.
Notifying Government Agencies and Financial Institutions
Each notification closes one thread and often opens another, so families tend to work through them one at a time.
Social Security Administration. Funeral homes often report the death, and families commonly call to confirm it was received. Survivors may be eligible for benefits; the amount depends on the deceased person's work record and the survivor's relationship to them. The Social Security Administration publishes current survivors-benefit information.
Federal income tax. The IRS's Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators says the personal representative must file the final income tax return (Form 1040 or 1040-SR) of the decedent for the year of death and any returns not filed for preceding years, and that income received after the date of death is included on the estate's Form 1041 tax return.
California income tax. The Franchise Tax Board handles the state side of the decedent's and the estate's income tax and publishes current guidance.
Banks and investment firms. Each institution generally asks for a certified death certificate. Accounts with a surviving joint owner or a named payee often pass outside probate, as the next section explains.
Life insurers. Each insurer typically asks for a certified copy and its own claim form.
Employers and pension plans. These are notified if the person was working or receiving retirement benefits.
Veterans benefits. If the person served, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is notified and publishes information on survivor benefits.
Whether any estate owes tax depends on its facts; a CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney reviews those questions.
Understanding What the Person Left Behind: Assets, Title, and Whether Probate Is Needed
The question that decides almost everything is simple to ask: how was each asset owned on the day of death? The answer tells the family whether a court is involved.
The California Courts' Guide to property after someone dies describes probate as the legal process to transfer or inherit property after the owner has died. It notes that an estate may need probate even if there was a will. Under Probate Code section 7050, the superior court has jurisdiction over proceedings concerning the administration of a decedent's estate.
How title is held points down different paths:
- Living trust. Property held in the trust is managed by the successor trustee rather than through probate court.
- Joint tenancy. Property held in joint tenancy generally passes to the surviving joint tenant.
- Joint and payable-on-death accounts. Under Probate Code section 5302, money left in a joint account belongs to the surviving party unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent. Money in a payable-on-death account belongs to the named payee once the sole party, or the last surviving party, has died. These designations cannot be changed by will.
- Beneficiary designations. Life insurance and retirement accounts with a named beneficiary are generally paid to that beneficiary outside probate.
- Sole name, no designation, no trust. These assets typically need probate or a simplified procedure, depending on value.
California also treats real property (land and buildings) differently from personal property (everything else) in its simplified procedures.
Two documents often surface early. Under Probate Code section 8200, whoever holds an original will generally has 30 days after learning of the death to deliver it to the clerk of the superior court and send a copy to the named executor, or, if the executor cannot be found, to a named beneficiary. Under Probate Code section 331, a key holder who gives the financial institution proof of the death and reasonable proof of identity may, before letters are issued, open a box held in the decedent's sole name under the supervision of an officer or employee of the institution, inventory it, and remove instructions for the disposition of the remains and, after the institution photocopies them, wills and trust instruments, but nothing else. Any will found there must be delivered to the clerk of the superior court, with a copy to the person named in it as executor or beneficiary. Fuller background is in the California estate settlement guide.
California's Simplified Procedures: When Full Probate May Not Be Required
For many families, the welcome news is that a smaller estate may not need a full probate case at all. The California Courts' Guide to property after someone dies points readers to inventory the estate, estimate its value, and then check whether a simple process can be used.
The Judicial Council names these procedures by what they cover:
- The affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property. Under Probate Code section 13100, a "successor of the decedent" can generally collect money owed to the decedent, receive tangible personal property, and transfer items such as accounts or securities without letters, once 40 days have passed since the death and the gross value of the decedent's California real and personal property stays within the limit the statute sets, as adjusted periodically. Probate Code section 13006 defines the successor as the beneficiaries under a will or, without a will, the heirs under California's inheritance rules.
- The petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence. This asks the court to confirm who inherits the home under certain conditions.
- The affidavit for real property of small value. This covers real property below a set value.
- The spousal or domestic partner property petition. Under Probate Code section 13650, a surviving spouse may ask the superior court for an order that administration is not needed for property passing to the surviving spouse.
When the value is counted, Probate Code section 13050 leaves out property such as joint tenancy property, property in a revocable trust, registered vehicles, and accounts that pass to a surviving party or payee. The dollar limits change over time; the California Courts publish the current figures and forms. Whether a procedure fits depends on how title was held, the estate's value, who the heirs are, and whether there is a surviving spouse or domestic partner.
Real Property: What Happens to the House
A house rarely feels like just an asset, and decisions about it tend to carry the most weight in a family. Legally, title does not change on its own at death. It moves through a trust administration, probate, a simplified procedure or a recorded document, depending on how it was held, and the change is recorded with the county recorder.
Property tax. When real property changes ownership, California generally reassesses it, which can raise the tax bill. Under Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2, for transfers on or after February 16, 2021, a transfer between parents and children, or between grandparents and grandchildren when all of that grandchild's parents who are children of the grandparents have died, can be excluded in whole or in part, if a claim is filed. The home generally must have been the transferor's principal residence and become the heir's principal residence within one year, and the heir files for the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within a year. A claim is generally due within three years after the transfer, or before a sale to a third party, or before the heir stops living there, whichever is earliest; a claim also counts as timely if filed within six months after a supplemental or escape assessment notice is mailed. A later claim, while the home has not been sold to a third party, generally applies going forward from the year it is filed. A value limit also applies, which the county assessor's office publishes. A separate exclusion for transfers between spouses or domestic partners exists, and the assessor's office explains its current rules.
Basis. Under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a), the basis of inherited property, the starting figure for measuring gain on a later sale, is generally its fair market value at the date of death. A CPA, enrolled agent or tax attorney reviews basis questions.
Who has authority to sell depends on how title is held and on what the court or trust requires. The sale itself is a separate subject. More on these choices is in what to do with an inherited house and in keep, rent or sell decisions.
The Executor's and Trustee's Roles: What Each One Does
Families often use these titles loosely, and the confusion can cause real friction. California uses each one for something specific.
An executor is the person named in a will to carry out the estate's administration through probate. A personal representative is the broader term for whoever the court appoints to represent the estate, whether an executor or an administrator. An administrator is appointed by the court when there is no will. When a will names no executor, or every named executor declines or cannot act, Probate Code section 8440 calls for an administrator with the will annexed. For an administrator, Probate Code section 8461 sets an order of priority that begins with the surviving spouse or domestic partner, then children, grandchildren, other issue, parents and siblings, and continues through more distant relatives, the public administrator, creditors and others.
A successor trustee takes over a living trust after the original trustee dies or becomes incapacitated, and administers it outside court. Under Probate Code section 16061.7, when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because a settlor (the person who created it) has died, the successor trustee serves a notification on the beneficiaries and the deceased settlor's heirs, generally within 60 days. One person may hold both roles when there is both a will and a trust.
The duties include gathering assets, paying valid debts and expenses, notifying creditors and beneficiaries, filing tax returns and distributing what remains. When heirs disagree or misconduct is suspected, that contested matter is a different subject handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.
Financial Steps in the Weeks and Months That Follow
Once the first weeks pass, the work becomes steadier and more administrative. Much of it is record-keeping, and good records make every later step easier.
- Open an estate bank account. It keeps estate money apart from personal money once a personal representative or trustee has authority.
- List every asset and debt. This includes bank, investment and retirement accounts, real property, vehicles, business interests, belongings and debts.
- Cancel or transfer recurring services. Utilities, subscriptions and insurance on the home are usually reviewed early.
- Transfer vehicles through the DMV. Under Vehicle Code section 5910, when no other property needs probate, the heirs or named beneficiaries can generally transfer a vehicle regardless of its value by presenting the title and a sworn certificate, including a statement that unsecured creditors have been paid.
- File final income tax returns. These are the federal and California returns for the year of death.
- Check for estate income. Interest, dividends or rent received after death may call for an estate income tax return, as described above.
In a probate case, creditors are given notice and a period in which to file claims, and the court's process sets how that works. Belongings, from furniture to photographs, are often sorted, valued and divided in this same stretch of months. An estate settlement checklist sets these tasks out in order.
This page does not cover estate planning or settling property located outside California, where that state's law applies.
