Estate Settlement FAQ

Most people facing this question are standing in a parent's or spouse's house, holding a stack of mail and a set of keys. Relatives are asking what happens next. Some are wondering whether the house can stay in the family, whether a court has to be involved, and what they are personally responsible for. This page answers the questions families ask most often, in the order the work usually unfolds. It moves from who inherits, to how the estate is settled, to the house and the belongings, to the tax questions, and then to the professionals who help.

What estate settlement means in California

Estate settlement is the whole job after a death. It includes listing what the person owned, paying valid bills and taxes, and transferring the rest. Under Probate Code section 7000, title to a person's property passes at death to whoever the will names. If there is no will, it passes to the person's heirs under California's rules of intestate succession, meaning inheritance when there is no will. This rule is subject to the Probate Code's other provisions on administration.

The work runs on two tracks. Probate is the court-supervised process. The non-probate track covers a trust, joint tenancy, beneficiary designations and the simplified court procedures. Many estates use both tracks at once. The difference between estate administration and estate settlement comes down to that split.

The roles are different, and each word has its own meaning:

• Executor: the person a will names to be in charge. A court must still appoint the executor before they can act in probate.
• Administrator: the person a court appoints when there is no will or the named executor cannot serve.
• Personal representative: the umbrella term for either one once the court appoints them.
• Trustee or successor trustee: the person who manages and distributes trust property under the trust's terms. This is not a probate role.
• Heir: a person who inherits under the law when there is no will.
• Beneficiary: a person named in a will, a trust or an account to receive something.

The law also treats real property and personal property differently. Real property means land and buildings. Personal property means everything else, such as money, cars and household belongings.

What happens during probate in California

The probate case is filed in the county where the person lived. The California Courts' Overview of formal probate says that if the person lived outside California but owned property here, the case is filed in the California county where that property is.

There is often an earlier step. Under Probate Code section 8200, whoever holds an original will must deliver it to the superior court clerk within 30 days after learning of the death, unless a probate petition is filed first. That person must also send a copy to the named executor. If the executor cannot be found, the copy goes to a named beneficiary whose whereabouts are known.

The California Courts' overview describes the stages in this order:

1. File the petition. The petition asks the court to appoint a personal representative.
2. Publish notice. Notice of the hearing is mailed to the heirs and beneficiaries and also published in a newspaper, as Probate Code sections 8110 and 8120 require.
3. Attend the hearing. At the hearing, a judge decides whom to appoint.
4. Notify creditors. The personal representative gives formal notice to creditors and pays valid debts from the estate.
5. Inventory the estate. The personal representative files an inventory and appraisal, usually with a probate referee valuing the non-cash assets.
6. Report to the court. The page says courts usually require a report a year after appointment.
7. Close the estate. The case ends with a final report, a final account and a petition for final distribution. The page notes that a final account is not needed if everyone entitled to a share signs a written waiver or acknowledges receiving their share.

The same page says fees to administer an estate are generally set by law as a percentage of the total value of the estate, and that the lawyer is generally paid at the end of the case from the money left in the estate. How long probate takes depends on how complex the estate is and on the court's calendar. A fuller picture of when probate is required depends on how the property was titled.

When simplified procedures apply instead of full probate

A smaller estate may qualify for a shorter path. The Judicial Council names four simplified procedures:

• Affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property: used under Probate Code section 13100 and the sections that follow it. Once 40 days have passed since the death, the successor can collect money owed to the decedent, receive belongings, and transfer accounts or securities. No letters are needed, provided the gross value of the decedent's California property stays within the limit.
• Petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence: used to transfer the person's main home in California.
• Affidavit for real property of small value: used for real property that falls within a lower limit.
• Spousal or domestic partner property petition: under Probate Code section 13650, a surviving spouse, or the surviving spouse's personal representative, guardian or conservator of the estate, may ask the superior court to order that administration is not necessary for property passing to the surviving spouse.

The Judicial Council's DE-300 Maximum Values form (Rev. April 28, 2025) lists the limits for deaths on or after April 1, 2025: $208,850 for the personal property affidavit, $750,000 for the primary residence petition, and $69,625 for real property of small value. Earlier deaths use earlier figures. The Judicial Council's Check if you can use a simple process to transfer property page says the next update will be on April 1, 2028.

Probate Code section 13050 leaves some property out of these totals, including:

• property held in joint tenancy;
• property in a trust the decedent could revoke;
• account funds that belong to a survivor or a payable-on-death payee;
• registered vehicles, vessels and some manufactured homes.

These procedures have no appointed personal representative and no court accounting, but each one has its own eligibility conditions. More detail appears in estate settlement without probate.

Assets that pass outside probate

A great deal of what a person owned may never pass through a court at all.

Revocable living trust. Property held in a revocable living trust passes under the trust's terms. A successor trustee manages it. The successor trustee is the person the trust names to take over when the person who made the trust can no longer serve. Under Probate Code section 16061.7, when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because of a death, the continuing or successor trustee must serve a notification on each beneficiary and each heir. The notification is due within 60 days of the death. If a person entitled to notice was unknown at the time, the 60 days run from when the trustee became aware of that person. If the trustee's office was vacant, they run from when the new trustee began serving.

Joint tenancy. Property held in joint tenancy passes to the surviving co-owner by operation of law. Title is usually cleared by recording a document that shows the death.

Bank accounts. Under Probate Code section 5302, money 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 generally belongs to the surviving payee once the sole or last party has died. A will cannot change either result.

Beneficiary designations. Life insurance, retirement accounts and transfer-on-death accounts go to the named beneficiary.

Passing outside probate does not always free an asset from debts or taxes. How each one applies depends on the asset and the estate.

Transferring real property after a death in California

For a family, the house usually comes down to two questions: whose name goes on the title, and what the property tax bill becomes.

The title document. The document that transfers title depends on the track:

• a court order in probate or under the primary residence petition;
• a deed signed by the successor trustee for trust property;
• a recorded proof of death for joint tenancy.

The county recorder records the document.

The assessor filing. Under Rev. & Tax. Code section 480, the person who now owns the property must file a change in ownership statement with the county recorder or assessor. The deadline depends on the track:

• Probate: the personal representative files it before or at the time the inventory and appraisal is filed.
• Trust: the trustee files it within 150 days after the date of death.
• All other transfers at death: the new owner files it within 150 days after the date of death.

Reassessment. Reassessment means the county resets the property's taxable value to its current market value. The State Board of Equalization's Change in Ownership FAQ explains that an inheritance is a change in ownership. It also lists transfers on the death of a spouse among the transfers that are excluded from reassessment.

The parent-child exclusion. For transfers on or after February 16, 2021, Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2 can exclude a parent-to-child transfer of a principal residence from reassessment, but only if a claim is filed. It can also cover a grandparent-to-grandchild transfer when the grandchild's parents who are children of the grandparents have died. The home must become the child's principal residence within one year, and the child must file for the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within a year. The exclusion applies only up to a value limit. The county assessor's office publishes the current figure and reviews claims.

Income tax basis. Under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a), property inherited from a decedent generally takes a basis equal to its fair market value at the date of death. Basis is the starting value used to measure gain when the property is later sold. The statute contains elections and exceptions. A CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney reviews how basis applies to a particular estate.

Deadlines and notices the personal representative must meet

For many families, the dates are the part that keeps people up at night. It helps to see them side by side, because they do not all start from the same moment. Some run from the death itself, and others run from the day the court issues letters, which is the court document that gives a personal representative authority to act.

The table below gathers the deadlines this page has already described.

A few of these deserve a little more explanation.

The inventory and appraisal. This is often the largest single task in a probate case. The court may allow more time, and partial inventories may be filed within the four-month period. Alongside the inventory, the personal representative files a certification. It states either that the decedent owned no California real property or that the change in ownership statements have been filed. In practice, this ties the property tax filing for the house to the inventory.

Notice to creditors. The Probate Code sets the claim period and how notice is given. Because the timing depends on the facts of each case, this is one of the places where a probate attorney can explain how the period runs.

The trust notification. If there is a trust, this is the 60-day notice described earlier. It applies to the successor trustee rather than to a court-appointed personal representative.

Tax returns. The decedent's final federal and California income tax returns follow the normal filing rules for the year of death. A federal estate tax return is required only for some larger estates, and the IRS publishes the current threshold. These filings are usually handled by a CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney.

A fuller estate settlement checklist puts these tasks in sequence.

When to work with an attorney, CPA, or other professional

The California Courts' Guide to property after someone dies suggests talking to a lawyer for specific answers about a situation. It also notes that a lawyer's fees can usually be paid from the estate, which can ease some of the worry about cost.

It can help to think of the professionals by the question each one answers:

• "How does the court process apply to us?" A probate attorney prepares court filings, handles creditor questions and explains how the Probate Code applies to the facts.
• "What do we owe in tax, and what is the house worth for tax purposes?" A CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney handles the final income tax returns, the estate's income tax return, basis questions and any federal estate tax.
• "How does the house get into the right name?" A real estate attorney or a title company handles deed preparation and recording.
• "Will the property tax bill change?" The county assessor's office answers reassessment and exclusion questions.

Sometimes the family does not agree. Where heirs, a trustee or an executor are in conflict, or misconduct is suspected, the matter becomes contested. That is a different subject, and it is handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.

This page also does not cover creating or funding a will or a trust. That is estate planning.

Silver Lining Estate is an educational resource and does not provide these services. Common estate settlement mistakes often begin where a family acts before the right professional is involved.