What to Do When a Parent Dies in California

Most people facing a parent's death have never settled an estate before. They are often an adult child or a surviving spouse, and they are grieving while siblings ask what happens to the house. Some have just learned they were named executor or successor trustee. Banks, agencies and relatives want answers that nobody has yet. This page walks through what happens after a death in California, in order, so a family can see which tasks are pressing and which can wait.

The broad path runs from the death itself to settling the estate, then to the house and belongings, and finally to taxes and the professionals who help. A longer California estate settlement guide follows the same order in more depth.

The First Hours and Days: Immediate Steps

A physician, hospice nurse or coroner pronounces the death, and then a funeral home takes custody of the body. If the death was unexpected or no one was present, the county coroner or medical examiner may become involved before the funeral home does. California law gives the funeral director the job of preparing the death certificate and registering it with the local registrar (Health & Safety Code section 102780).

Once those first calls are made, the work turns to protecting what is there. Families commonly lock the house, change the locks if others have keys, keep the car in a safe place, and tell the homeowner's insurer that the house is now empty.

Finding the documents comes next. This means the will, any trust, beneficiary forms, and any written wishes about burial. One rule carries a deadline. A person who 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. The custodian must also send a copy to the named executor or, if the executor cannot be found, to a named beneficiary. The deadline does not apply if a petition to probate the will has already been filed (Probate Code section 8200). A custodian who fails to do this is liable for damages it causes.

If the will may be in a safe deposit box held in the parent's sole name, a person with the key can open it before a court has appointed anyone. That person needs proof of death and proof of identity, may make an inventory, and may remove only the wills, trust documents and burial instructions (Probate Code section 331).

Nothing else gets handed out yet. Debts, taxes and claims are not known in the first weeks. A person who distributes property before then can end up answerable for what was owed.

The Social Security Administration also needs to know about the death. The agency sets its own rules for benefits paid around the date of death.

Death Certificates: How Many You Need and Where to Get Them

Certified copies of the death certificate are issued by the State Registrar, the local registrar, or the county recorder. A certified copy carries the issuing office's certification, and a photocopy does not. Banks and brokerages commonly ask for one, as do insurers, pension plans, the DMV, the county recorder for real property, the courts and federal agencies, and many keep the copy. Families often order more copies than seem necessary, because ordering again later takes more time. Funeral homes typically order a first set for the family.

California issues two kinds of certified copies. An authorized copy goes to a person who swears, under penalty of perjury, that they are an "authorized person." That statement is notarized for a mailed request, made in person at the counter, or verified electronically (Health & Safety Code section 103526). The statute defines who counts as an authorized person. Anyone else receives an informational copy, which bears the legend "INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY." Settling an estate usually calls for authorized copies. An informational copy works mainly for family records.

What Happens to the Estate: Probate, Trusts, and Simplified Procedures

The California Courts' self-help guide describes probate as the legal process used to transfer or inherit property after the person who owned the property has passed away. It also notes that "a person's estate may need to go through probate even if they had a will" (California Courts, Guide to property after someone dies). The superior court has jurisdiction over the administration of a decedent's estate (Probate Code section 7050). Whether a family needs court at all depends on how each asset was titled, what kind of asset it is, and the total value. Having a will does not decide it.

The roles are different. In probate, the court appoints a personal representative, meaning the person who collects the property, pays the bills, and distributes what remains. An executor is the person named in the will for that job. If no executor is named, or the named executor cannot or will not act, the court appoints an administrator with the will annexed (Probate Code section 8440). When there is no will, an administrator is chosen by an order of priority that starts with the surviving spouse or domestic partner, then children, then grandchildren, and continues through other relatives (Probate Code section 8461).

A successor trustee is someone else again. This person takes over a trust under the trust's own terms. The successor trustee's authority comes from the trust document rather than from a court appointment. When a revocable trust becomes irrevocable at a death, the trustee must serve a notification on each beneficiary and each heir. That notice is due within 60 days of the death, or within 60 days of learning of a person entitled to it. If the trustee's office was vacant, the 60 days run from the date the new trustee starts serving (Probate Code section 16061.7).

Some property passes outside both. Life insurance and retirement accounts with a named beneficiary go to that person. Payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts go to the named payee. For a joint bank account, the money generally belongs to the surviving party unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent, and a will cannot change that (Probate Code section 5302).

Simplified procedures serve smaller estates. The Judicial Council's names for them are the affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property, the petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence, the affidavit for real property of small value, and the spousal or domestic partner property petition. The affidavit lets a "successor of the decedent" collect property once 40 days have passed since the death, if the California estate's gross value is under a limit that is adjusted periodically (Probate Code section 13100). A "successor of the decedent" means the beneficiaries under the will, or the heirs if there was no will (Probate Code section 13006). Some property is left out when that value is counted, including joint tenancy property, trust property, and registered vehicles (Probate Code section 13050). A surviving spouse can ask the court to find that administration of property passing to them is not necessary (Probate Code section 13650). The California Courts self-help guide publishes the current limits.

The Parent's Home: Who Can Sell It and What Happens to the Property Tax

Title answers the first question. A house held in the trust is under the successor trustee's authority, as the trust's terms set out. A house in the parent's name alone generally needs a personal representative or a simplified procedure before anyone can transfer it. A probate attorney can say whether a particular sale by an executor needs court approval. A house held in joint tenancy is set aside when the estate is valued for the simplified procedures. A title officer or attorney can confirm how the surviving owner's title is cleared.

Selling involves listing, pricing, offers, escrow and closing, and that process is a separate subject. The options are worth knowing as categories. A listing with an agent exposes the house to the open market but needs repairs, showings and time. A cash sale can reduce repairs, showings, financing uncertainty and time, but how well it fits depends on each family's circumstances. Keeping or renting the house is also possible, and keep vs. rent vs. sell compares those paths. The contents of the house, which are personal property, may go to an estate sale, consignment, donation or a cleanout.

Property tax. For transfers on or after February 16, 2021, Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2 allows the transfer of a parent's principal residence to a child to be excluded from reassessment, in whole or in part, when a claim is filed. Several conditions apply:

• The home must have been the parent's principal residence.
• The home must become the child's principal residence within one year of the transfer.
• The child must file for the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within a year.

The claim is due within three years of the transfer, or before a sale to a third party, or before the child stops living there, whichever is earliest. Alternatively, a claim is timely if filed within six months after a supplemental or escape assessment notice is mailed. A late claim may still be considered if the house has not been sold, but the exclusion then applies only from the year of filing. The county assessor's office takes the claim and can explain how much of the value the exclusion covers. More on these choices is in inheriting a house in California.

Tax Matters After a Parent Dies in California

Taxes rarely feel pressing in the first weeks. They do shape later decisions, especially about the house.

A final individual income tax return is generally due for the year of death and covers income up to that date. If the estate or trust earns income after the death, such as rent, dividends or interest, separate federal and California fiduciary income tax returns may be required.

Stepped-up basis. "Basis" is the figure used to measure gain when property is sold. Under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a), the basis of property acquired from a decedent is generally "the fair market value of the property at the date of the decedent's death." The statute provides exceptions, including an elected alternate valuation date. In plain terms, if a parent bought a house decades ago and a child sells it soon after inheriting, gain is generally measured from the date-of-death value, not from the parent's purchase price. Property in a revocable trust can qualify under the statute's terms. Whether a given sale produces taxable gain depends on the facts. A CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney reviews income tax and basis questions for a specific estate. The county assessor handles reassessment.

Notifying Agencies and Closing Accounts

Each of these offices and companies handles a death in its own way.

• Report the death to Social Security. The agency's own office explains survivor benefits for a spouse or dependent children and what happens to recent payments.
• Notify Medicare and Medi-Cal. Under Welfare & Institutions Code section 14009.5, the state may claim against the estate in two situations. The first is the real property of a member who was an inpatient in a nursing facility and meets federal criteria. The second is when the parent was 55 or older when receiving services. The second type of claim is not made when there is a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, a surviving child under 21, or a blind or disabled child. The state also waives its claim when enforcing it would cause substantial hardship.
• Contact Veterans Affairs if the parent served. The agency explains which burial and survivor benefits apply.
• Retitle vehicles through the DMV. When nothing else needs probate, heirs or beneficiaries can transfer a vehicle of any value by signing a certificate under penalty of perjury. The certificate states facts that include the date and place of death and that unsecured creditors have been paid (Vehicle Code section 5910).
• Contact each bank, brokerage and retirement plan. Each sets its own requirements. These usually include a certified death certificate and proof of authority, such as court letters in probate or trust documents for a trust.
• File life insurance claims. Each insurer asks for a certified copy and its own claim form.
• Cancel or transfer the remaining accounts. This covers utilities, subscriptions, credit cards, the driver's license and the passport. Closing accounts promptly lowers the risk of identity theft in a deceased person's name.
• Forward the mail. Redirecting it to the person settling the estate helps bills and statements surface.

A step-by-step estate settlement checklist puts these tasks in order.

When the Estate Is Contested or Something Seems Wrong

Sometimes heirs disagree with each other, or someone suspects an executor or trustee of misconduct. That is a contested matter, and it is handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases. This page covers settling an estate, not disputes over it.