You may be the adult child going through a parent's papers, a surviving spouse handling bills that used to be shared, or the person a will or trust names to take charge, with siblings asking what happens next. Most people facing this process have never seen it from the inside, and the first weeks feel like a list with no order to it. This guide puts the work in the order it usually happens, says which office or document is involved at each point, and marks the places where a California attorney, CPA or the county assessor usually takes the lead.
Before You Start: Key Background on the Process
California estates are settled along one of three paths, and many families use more than one at the same time:
- Full probate, a case in the Superior Court that supervises collecting, paying and distributing the estate.
- Trust administration, carried out outside court by the trustee of a living trust.
- Simplified procedures that transfer qualifying property with an affidavit or a shorter court petition.
The roles have different names because they are different jobs. An executor is the person a will names to carry it out, appointed by the court. An administrator is appointed by the court when there is no will or the named executor cannot serve. Personal representative is the term covering both: the person who represents the estate in probate. A trustee manages property held in a trust, and a successor trustee is the person who takes over when the original trustee dies; neither runs a probate estate. An heir inherits by law when there is no will, and a beneficiary is named in a will, a trust, or an account designation.
The path is set by how each asset was titled, not by whether a will exists. A will alone does not avoid probate, and a house in a trust, a joint account and a life insurance policy can each pass by a different route.
Step 1: Locate and Review the Will, Trust, and Key Documents
The first job is gathering paper, and it is often the most emotional part, because it means going through drawers and files the person kept for years. A useful collection includes:
- The original will, not a copy, and any codicils
- Any trust agreement and every amendment
- Real property documents: deeds, title reports and recent property tax bills
- Personal property documents: bank and brokerage statements, vehicle titles, life insurance policies, and retirement account beneficiary designations
- Several certified copies of the death certificate, because banks, the county recorder, the DMV and other agencies each ask for one; how many depends on how many institutions are involved
A safe-deposit box held only in the decedent's name may need a specific legal procedure or a Superior Court order before the bank opens it; the bank or an attorney can say which applies.
Whoever holds an original will has a firm deadline. Under Probate Code section 8200, unless a petition for probate has already been filed, the custodian of a will must, within 30 days after learning of the death, deliver the will to the clerk of the superior court of the county where the estate may be administered, and deliver a copy to the executor named in it (or, if that person cannot be located, to a named beneficiary whose whereabouts are known). The California Courts' Guide to property after someone dies calls this "lodging the will." A custodian who fails to comply is liable for damages that failure causes.
Step 2: Determine Whether Probate Is Required
Probate is the court-supervised process for property the decedent held in their own name alone, with no beneficiary designation, no survivorship right and no trust behind it. Many assets never enter it, including:
- Property held in a living trust
- Accounts with a named beneficiary, such as life insurance, IRAs, 401(k)s and payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death accounts
- Jointly held property with a right of survivorship
- Community property held with a right of survivorship
For bank accounts, Probate Code section 5302 provides that money left in a joint account belongs to the surviving party unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent, and that a POD account passes to the surviving payee; a will cannot change those designations.
What remains may qualify for one of the simplified procedures, which the Judicial Council names this way:
- The affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property. Under Probate Code section 13100, once 40 days have passed since the death and the decedent's California property is within the dollar limit, a successor can collect money, tangible personal property and accounts or securities without letters.
- The petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence, a shorter court process limited to the decedent's main home in California.
- The affidavit for real property of small value.
- The spousal or domestic partner property petition. Probate Code section 13650 lets a surviving spouse ask the court to order that administration is not needed for property passing to the surviving spouse.
When those limits are measured, Probate Code section 13050 leaves out joint tenancy property, revocable trust property, multiple-party accounts that pass to a survivor, and registered vehicles, vessels and manufactured homes, among other items. The dollar limits depend on the date of death. The California Courts' page Check if you can use a simple process to transfer property publishes the current figures and says they are updated every three years, with the next update on April 1, 2028.
A house held only in the decedent's name that fits none of these procedures typically goes through full probate in the Superior Court.
Step 3: Open the Estate — Probate Court or Trust Administration
The probate path. Under Probate Code section 8000, any interested person may start probate by petitioning the court to determine the date and place of death and to appoint a personal representative, admit the will to probate, or both. The petition can be filed even if the will is lost or destroyed. The California Courts' Overview of formal probate says the case is filed in the county where the decedent lived (or, for someone who lived outside California, in a county where they owned property), and that notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city where the person lived.
The court appoints the executor named in the will, or an administrator when there is no will or the named executor cannot serve. Probate Code section 8461 sets the order of priority for administrator, beginning with the surviving spouse or domestic partner, then children, then grandchildren, then other issue, then parents, then brothers and sisters, and continuing through more distant relatives and others to creditors and any other person. The court then issues Letters Testamentary (when the court admits a will and appoints its executor) or Letters of Administration (when there is no will or no executor can serve). Letters are the document that gives the personal representative authority to act.
The trust path. A successor trustee takes over without a court filing. Under Probate Code section 16061.7, when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because a settlor (the person who created the trust) dies, the successor trustee must serve a written notification on each beneficiary and each heir of the deceased settlor within 60 days after the death, or within 60 days after learning that a person entitled to notice exists. If there is no trustee when the death occurs, the 60 days run from the date the new trustee begins serving.
Either role carries a fiduciary duty, meaning a legal obligation to act for the beneficiaries and heirs rather than for oneself. An attorney who handles California probate or trust administration can prepare the petition and court filings.
Step 4: Inventory and Appraise the Estate's Assets
This step turns a house full of papers into a single list with values, and it is where the size of the job becomes clear. Under Probate Code section 8800, the personal representative files an inventory and appraisal, combined in one document, within four months after letters are first issued to a general personal representative. The court may allow more time when it is reasonable, and partial inventories may be filed. At the same time, the personal representative certifies either that the decedent owned no California real property or that a change in ownership statement has been filed with the recorder or assessor of each county where the decedent owned property.
The Overview of formal probate says the personal representative usually contacts a probate referee to value non-cash assets. A probate referee is an appraiser appointed by the State Controller. The personal representative values cash items directly.
A successor trustee also identifies and values the trust's assets, though no court-appointed referee is involved, and real estate on either path is often valued by a licensed appraiser. The list separates real property (land and buildings) from personal property (accounts, vehicles, belongings).
Date-of-death values matter beyond the inventory: they affect the federal income-tax basis of inherited assets, which comes up again in Step 6.
Step 5: Notify Creditors and Pay Valid Debts
Families often worry that the decedent's debts now belong to them. Generally, the debts are paid from the estate, and serving as personal representative or successor trustee does not make that person owe them personally; the risk lies in how the estate is handled, such as paying heirs before valid claims are resolved.
In probate, notice reaches creditors two ways. The published newspaper notice from Step 3 is one. Under Probate Code section 9050, the personal representative also gives notice of administration to the decedent's known or reasonably ascertainable creditors, in addition to publication; a creditor who has demanded payment from the decedent or the estate counts as known.
Creditors then have a limited period to file claims, and a late claim may be barred. The California Courts' Overview of formal probate says the personal representative provides formal notice to creditors and pays the estate's debts from the estate. The personal representative reviews each claim and allows or rejects it, and a rejected creditor may take the matter to court.
As a general rule, the costs of administration, including court fees, the personal representative's fees and attorney fees, are paid before ordinary unsecured creditors. A secured creditor, such as a mortgage lender, keeps its rights in the property securing the debt.
A successor trustee has a similar duty to identify and pay the decedent's valid debts from trust assets, though the court-supervised claims process does not apply in the same way.
Step 6: Handle Taxes — Income, Property, and Estate
Taxes during estate settlement fall into three groups, and each has its own professional.
Income tax. The Overview of formal probate says a final personal income tax return is prepared for the person who died. That means the federal Form 1040 and California Form 540 for the year of death. If the estate or trust earns income during administration, such as rent, interest or dividends, a fiduciary income tax return (federal Form 1041, California Form 541) may be needed. Inherited assets generally take a new basis tied to their date-of-death value, which affects gain on a later sale. A CPA, enrolled agent or tax attorney handles these returns and basis questions.
Federal estate tax. A federal estate tax return may be required for large estates. The IRS publishes the current filing threshold.
Property tax. A transfer of real property at death can lead to reassessment at current market value. For transfers on or after February 16, 2021, Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2 excludes certain parent-child transfers, and grandparent-grandchild transfers when the grandchild's parents who are the grandparents' children have all died, if a claim is filed with the assessor. For a home, it must have been the transferor's principal residence, 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. Above a value limit set in the statute, only part of the home's value is excluded. The claim is due within three years after the transfer, or before the property is transferred to a third party, or before an eligible transferee stops occupying it, whichever is earliest. A claim filed within six months after a supplemental or escape assessment notice is mailed also counts as timely. A later claim, if the property has not gone to a third party, can still apply going forward. The county assessor's office reviews eligibility.
Step 7: Transfer Assets to Heirs and Beneficiaries
Distribution is the step families wait for, and it comes last for a reason: under Probate Code section 11640, the personal representative petitions for an order for final distribution when all debts have been paid or adequately provided for, or the estate is insolvent, and the estate is in a condition to be closed. Otherwise administration may continue for a reasonable time.
The Overview of formal probate says courts usually require a report about a year after appointment. It also says the closing filing includes a final report, a final account showing what came in and went out, and the petition for final distribution, though the final account is not needed if everyone entitled to distribution signs a written waiver or a receipt for their share. After the court's order, the personal representative distributes the assets and is then discharged.
How property moves depends on the asset:
- Real property. A new document is recorded in the county where the property sits: a court order, a trustee's deed, an affidavit of death of joint tenant, or a spousal property order, depending on title and path.
- Accounts. Institutions generally ask for certified letters in probate, or a certification of trust and a death certificate for trust assets.
- Vehicles. The California DMV has its own transfer procedures.
- Belongings. Personal property follows the will or trust, or California's intestate succession rules when there is no will.
A successor trustee distributes according to the trust's terms without a court order unless a dispute arises. Families inheriting a house often weigh their options next, covered in what to do when you inherit a house and in comparing keep, rent or sell decisions.
Typical Timeline: What to Expect
There is no single schedule, and that uncertainty is hard when relatives keep asking for a date. Full probate generally takes the longest, because it runs on court hearings, publication, the creditor-claims period, the four-month inventory window and, usually, a report to the court about a year after appointment.
Trust administration is generally faster because no court supervises it, but the trustee still serves notice, pays debts, files tax returns and transfers assets. Simplified procedures are usually quickest for estates that qualify: the personal property affidavit can be used once 40 days have passed, while the primary residence petition involves a court hearing.
Factors that lengthen any path include:
- The number and complexity of assets
- The number of creditors and claims
- Whether real property has to be sold
- Tax returns that must be filed before closing
- Court scheduling in the county
Disagreements among heirs, challenges to a will or trust, or disputed creditor claims extend any timeline significantly; a contested matter is a different subject, handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Most of the errors that slow an estate come from doing the right task at the wrong time:
- Missing deadlines. The 30-day will rule, the 60-day trust notice, the inventory window and tax due dates all run on their own clocks, and a missed one can expose the fiduciary to personal liability.
- Distributing too early. Paying heirs before debts and taxes are settled can leave the estate unable to pay valid claims.
- Treating every asset as a probate asset. Trust property, joint tenancy property and accounts with beneficiaries pass outside probate.
- Keeping thin records. Every receipt and payment has to be accounted for, and gaps lead to disputes at the final accounting.
- Overlooking the reassessment claim. A late Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2 claim can mean a higher property tax bill for the years before it is filed.
- Acting without authority. Taking control of assets before letters issue, or before successor trustee status is confirmed, can create legal problems.
- Mixing up the roles. An executor and a trustee follow different rules in different settings.
An estate settlement checklist can help keep these deadlines in view.
When the process gets complicated
No will can be found
Without a will, an administrator is appointed under the priority order in Step 3, and the property passes to heirs under California's intestate succession rules.
Property in another state
California's procedures cover California property. Real estate in another state is governed by that state's law.
Heirs who disagree
When family members dispute the will, the trust or a fiduciary's conduct, the matter becomes contested and is handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.
Debts larger than the estate
An insolvent estate can still be closed under Probate Code section 11640, but creditors are paid in a legal order and heirs may receive nothing. An attorney can say how that order applies. The wider California estate settlement guide explains how the paths fit together.
