Estate Settlement Process in California

If someone close to you has died and you have just been handed the paperwork, a set of keys, or a role in a will or trust, the weeks ahead can feel like a job with no instructions and relatives waiting on every answer. Most people facing this process have never seen it from the inside. This guide walks through it in the order it usually happens, from the first days after the death to the final distribution, and says where a licensed professional usually steps in.

Before You Start: What Shapes the Process

The first question is whether the person who died (the decedent) had a revocable living trust holding their assets, or whether property passes under a will or, with no will, under California's inheritance rules. A trust usually leads to trust administration; property in the decedent's name alone usually points toward probate or a simplified procedure.

The roles differ. An executor is the person named in a will to administer a probate estate. An administrator is appointed by the court when there is no will or the named executor cannot serve. Personal representative covers both. A trustee manages trust property, and a successor trustee takes over when the person who created the trust dies. An heir inherits under the law when there is no will; a beneficiary is named to receive property under a will, trust, or account.

The law also treats real property (land and buildings) differently from personal property (money, accounts, vehicles, belongings), so the steps below separate them.

Documents to locate early include the original will, any trust instrument, recent financial statements, deeds, vehicle titles and beneficiary designation forms.

Where family members are in conflict or misconduct is suspected, that is a contested matter, a different subject handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.

Step 1: Secure Assets and Obtain Death Certificates

The first days are practical. Families typically lock and check a vacant home, change locks where others have keys, collect mail, cancel recurring charges, and notify banks so accounts are protected. Notifying the Social Security Administration and any pension or annuity payer of the death is also part of this stage.

Certified copies of the death certificate come from the county vital records office. Banks, courts and transfer agents each tend to ask for their own certified copy, so families often order several.

The original will and any trust papers need to be found and kept safe. Under Probate Code section 8200, unless a petition for probate is filed earlier, whoever has custody of a will must, within 30 days after learning of the death, deliver it to the clerk of the Superior Court in the county where the estate may be administered, and deliver a copy to the named executor, or, if the executor cannot be located, to a named beneficiary whose whereabouts are known. A custodian who fails to do so is liable for damages caused. The California Courts call this "lodging the will".

Step 2: Determine Whether Probate Is Required

Probate is the court process for transferring property after death; the California Courts' Guide to property after someone dies notes that an estate may need probate even when there is a will. Whether it is needed depends on how each asset was held.

Some property passes outside probate. Under Probate Code section 5302, money in a joint account generally belongs to the surviving party, and a payable-on-death account goes to the named payee, unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent; a will cannot change those designations. Life insurance and retirement accounts with named beneficiaries, joint tenancy property, and trust property also pass outside the will. Probate Code section 13050 excludes these, along with registered vehicles, vessels and manufactured homes, when the value of an estate is measured for the simplified procedures.

California's simplified procedures, as the Judicial Council names them:

• The affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property. Under Probate Code section 13100, a successor may use it once 40 days have passed since the death; the California Courts' simple-transfer page gives a limit of $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025.
• The petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence. The same page gives a $750,000 limit for a California main home for deaths on or after April 1, 2025.
• The affidavit for real property of small value. That page gives $69,625 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025.
• The spousal or domestic partner property petition. Probate Code section 13650 lets a surviving spouse ask the court to find that administration is not needed for property passing to them.

These limits are adjusted every three years; the next update is April 1, 2028, and the Judicial Council's Maximum Values for Small Estate Set-Aside & Disposition of Estate Without Administration lists the figures by date of death.

Step 3: Open the Estate — Probate or Trust Administration

This is the step that starts the formal clock. On the probate track, the California Courts' formal probate overview says the case is filed in the county where the decedent lived, or, if they lived outside California, in the county where they owned property. Notice is generally published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city where the decedent lived, and at a court date a judge may appoint a personal representative.

Appointment comes with letters: letters testamentary for an executor, letters of administration for an administrator. Letters are the document banks, title companies and agencies ask to see. With no will, Probate Code section 8461 sets priority for appointment as administrator, starting with a surviving spouse or domestic partner, then children, then grandchildren, then other issue, then parents, then brothers and sisters; the list continues through other relatives and others to the public administrator, creditors and any other person.

Once appointed, the personal representative gives notice of administration to known or reasonably ascertainable creditors under Probate Code section 9050, in addition to the published notice.

On the trust track, the successor trustee usually acts under the trust instrument itself, without opening a court case. Probate Code section 16061.7 requires the trustee to serve a notification on each beneficiary and each heir no later than 60 days after a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because of a death, or 60 days after learning of a person entitled to it. The notice must include, among other things, the trustee's contact information and the right to request a copy of the trust terms.

Step 4: Inventory and Appraise the Estate's Assets

For the family, this is the point where everything is listed and valued as of the date of death. 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, or within further time the court allows; partial inventories are permitted but all must be filed within that time.

The Judicial Council's Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative explains that a court-appointed probate referee values the property unless the court waives the appointment, while the personal representative values certain cash items.

Real property adds a step. With the inventory, Probate Code section 8800 requires a certification that either the decedent owned no California real property, or a change in ownership statement has been filed with the recorder or assessor of each county where they owned property.

A successor trustee prepares a similar list for the trust, which is not usually filed with a court.

Date-of-death values matter later. 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, with exceptions for certain valuation elections. A CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney reviews how that applies to a particular asset.

Step 5: Pay Debts, Taxes, and Expenses

Beneficiaries often wonder why distribution takes months. Valid debts, administration costs and taxes are paid first. Under Probate Code section 9100, a creditor must file a claim by the later of four months after letters are first issued to a general personal representative or 60 days after notice of administration was mailed or delivered to that creditor.

The formal probate overview says administration costs are often well over $1,000 and can be much more, and that fees to the personal representative and any attorney are generally set by law as a percentage of the estate's value and usually paid at the end.

Income the estate or trust earns after the death may require fiduciary income tax returns. A federal estate tax return is required only for estates above a federal exemption that changes over time; a CPA or tax attorney reviews whether either applies.

Property tax is a separate question. Under Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2, for transfers on or after February 16, 2021, a parent-to-child or qualifying grandparent-to-grandchild transfer of a principal residence can avoid reassessment if the home becomes the transferee's principal residence within one year and the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption is filed within a year. The exclusion covers value up to the existing taxable value plus $1,000,000; value above that is added. The claim is filed with the county assessor within three years after the transfer, or before a transfer to a third party or the transferee moving out, whichever is earlier, or within six months after a supplemental or escape assessment notice is mailed. More on this, and on keeping or renting a home, appears in what to do with an inherited house.

Step 6: Distribute Assets to Beneficiaries and Close the Estate

Distribution is when property finally reaches the people entitled to it. Under Probate Code section 11640, once debts are paid or provided for, or the estate is insolvent, and the estate can be closed, the personal representative petitions for an order for final distribution. The formal probate overview says this comes with a final report and account, though a final account is not needed if everyone entitled to distribution signs a written waiver or a receipt for their share.

Probate Code section 12200 sets an outer limit: the personal representative either petitions for final distribution or files a status report within one year after letters issue, or within 18 months if a federal estate tax return is required.

Real property moves by recording: in probate, the order for final distribution is recorded with the county recorder; in a trust, the successor trustee signs and records a deed. Vehicles follow the DMV's own transfer procedures.

A successor trustee distributes under the trust's terms after debts and taxes are paid, generally without a court order unless a dispute arises or the trustee asks the court for instructions. The estate settlement checklist lists these closing tasks in order.

Typical timeline

No single figure fits every estate. A simplified procedure can begin once its waiting period has passed, such as the 40 days for the personal property affidavit. Probate runs through publication, appointment, the four-month inventory and creditor periods, and the one-year (or 18-month) status point described above, and the court's overview says the court gives more time when assets and debts need it. Trust administrations avoid court calendars but still wait on notices, valuations and debts. Sales, disputes and court scheduling all lengthen the process. A county-level view appears in the San Diego County estate guide.

When the Process Gets More Complicated

Some estates take longer, and recognizing your situation here can explain a delay that otherwise feels personal.

Property in another state

Real property outside California is generally handled under that state's law, often in a separate proceeding there.

A business or closely held shares

These usually need specialized valuation before the inventory is complete.

Debts larger than the assets

An insolvent estate can still close under Probate Code section 11640, but creditors are paid before beneficiaries receive anything.

Missing heirs or a minor beneficiary

An heir who cannot be found, or a beneficiary who is a minor or incapacitated, can require added court notice or supervision of that share.

A contest or suspected misconduct

A will or trust contest, an undue influence claim or a breach of duty is a different subject handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.

A house in the estate

Who has authority to sell, whether a sale needs court confirmation or a notice of proposed action, and how title is cleared depend on the letters and the trust terms; a probate attorney can say which applies. The California estate settlement guide covers each track in more depth.