Most people facing this question have just been told, or have just realized, that the job is theirs. Perhaps a parent's will names you as executor, or a spouse's trust lists you as the next trustee, or there is no document at all and siblings are looking at you. The questions tend to arrive all at once: what authority comes with the role, whether this has to go to court, and what happens first. This page explains who holds each role in California, what probate is, what each role involves, and how the work ends.
The Person in Charge: Executor, Administrator, or Successor Trustee
Each title describes a different job, and California law does not treat them as interchangeable.
An executor is the person named in the will to carry out its instructions. Under Probate Code section 8420, "the person named as executor in the decedent's will has the right to appointment as personal representative," but the court still makes the appointment.
An administrator is appointed by the court when there is no will, or when the named executor cannot or will not serve. Probate Code section 8461 sets the order of priority for appointment, starting with the surviving spouse or domestic partner, then children, grandchildren, other issue, parents, and brothers and sisters; the list continues through more distant relatives, the public administrator, creditors and "any other person."
Personal representative is the umbrella term. Probate Code section 58 defines it to include an executor, an administrator, an administrator with the will annexed, a special administrator, a successor personal representative and a public administrator acting under the code, among others.
A successor trustee takes over a living trust after the person who created it dies. That person manages only trust property, under the trust's terms and the Probate Code's trustee rules. A personal representative manages the probate estate. The same person can hold both roles, but they are separate jobs covering separate property.
What Probate Is and When It Applies in California
The California Courts describe probate, in their Guide to property after someone dies, as the legal process used to transfer or inherit property after the owner has passed away. In plain terms, it is a court-supervised process in which a personal representative collects the property, pays the bills, and distributes what remains. The probate division of the superior court handles it, and the same guide notes that an estate may need probate even if there was a will.
Much property passes outside probate. Probate Code section 5302 generally gives money left in a joint account to the surviving party unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent, and gives a payable-on-death account, once its sole party dies, to the named payee if surviving. Property held in joint tenancy, property in a revocable trust and the vehicles and other items listed in Probate Code section 13050 are left out when California measures an estate for its simplified procedures.
Those simplified procedures, in the Judicial Council's terms, are:
- The affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property, which lets a successor collect money and personal property without court.
- The petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence, a court petition for transferring the home.
- The affidavit for real property of small value, which covers real estate below a set value.
- The spousal or domestic partner property petition, which asks the court to confirm that property passes to the survivor.
Under Probate Code section 13100, the affidavit is available only when the gross value of the decedent's California real and personal property, excluding the property described in Probate Code section 13050, does not exceed a limit "as adjusted periodically," and only after 40 days have passed since the death. The California Courts' self-help guide publishes the current figure. Probate Code section 13650 allows the spousal petition to ask that administration of all or part of the estate is not necessary. Trust planning that covered everything usually keeps a home out of court; the topic of inheriting a house in California follows from there.
The Personal Representative's Duties Under California Law
Once appointed, a personal representative becomes, as the Judicial Council's form DE-147 Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative puts it, "an officer of the court." The work follows a sequence, and seeing it in order makes it more manageable.
Deliver the will. Under Probate Code section 8200, unless a petition for probate is filed earlier, the custodian of a will has 30 days after learning of the death to deliver it to the clerk of the superior court in the county where the estate may be administered, and to deliver a copy to the named executor or, if that person cannot be found, to a named beneficiary.
Get appointed. The court issues Letters, the document that authorizes the personal representative to act for the estate: Letters Testamentary for an executor, Letters of Administration for an administrator.
Find and protect the property. DE-147 says the representative attempts to locate and take possession of the property, keeps estate money in a separate estate account, and maintains insurance.
Inventory and appraise. DE-147 states the inventory and appraisal is filed within four months after Letters are first issued, with a change of ownership statement filed at the same time in each county where the decedent owned real property.
Notify creditors. DE-147 states notice goes to each known creditor within four months after appointment, and, if the decedent received Medi-Cal, to the State Director of Health Services within 90 days after appointment.
Keep accounts. DE-147 explains that the court reviews the representative's accounts.
Tax returns for the decedent and the estate are part of the job; a CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney handles those questions. The personal representative does not decide who inherits. The will controls, and without one, California's intestate succession law does. An estate settlement checklist lays these tasks out in sequence.
The Successor Trustee's Role When a Living Trust Is Involved
A successor trustee's authority comes from the trust document, not from a court order. Under Probate Code section 15660, when a trust has no trustee and the trust names the person to fill the vacancy or gives a practical way to appoint one, the vacancy is filled as the trust provides; a court appoints a trustee only if that method and an agreement among the adult beneficiaries both fail.
For someone stepping in after a parent's death, this often means the work can begin without a hearing. The core tasks resemble probate: gather trust property, pay debts and taxes, and distribute what remains under the trust's terms.
One early step has a deadline. Probate Code section 16061.7 requires the trustee to serve a notification when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because a settlor (the person who created the trust) dies. It goes to each beneficiary and each heir of the deceased settlor, and is served no later than 60 days after the death, or 60 days after the trustee learns of a person entitled to notice who was not known at the time. If the trustee's office was vacant, the period starts when the new trustee begins serving. The notification includes, among other items, the settlor's identity, each trustee's contact information, and a statement that the recipient can request a copy of the trust's terms.
Property left outside the trust may still need probate, which brings in the personal representative's role described above.
Closing the Estate: What Happens at the End of the Process
Closing means the last bills are paid, the property reaches the people entitled to it, and the person in charge is finished. For a family, that is often the moment the weight lifts.
In probate, the personal representative accounts to the court for what came in, what was spent and what remains, which DE-147 describes as subject to court review. The court then orders final distribution, and after the property is distributed, the personal representative is discharged from the role.
In a trust administration, the successor trustee distributes property under the trust's terms, commonly collects signed receipts from beneficiaries, and the administration ends when everything is distributed and obligations are met, usually without a court order.
An estate bank account is closed once debts, taxes and expenses are paid and the remaining funds distributed. Keeping the records afterward helps answer later questions from beneficiaries or tax agencies.
How long this takes depends on the size and complexity of the estate, whether creditors file claims, and whether tax returns are still pending. The broader California estate settlement guide walks through each stage in more depth.
Professionals Who Commonly Help Settle an Estate
Several kinds of professionals regularly help with settling an estate, and each has a defined part.
A probate attorney helps a personal representative or successor trustee with court petitions, required notices, creditor claims and distribution. The California Courts' self-help guide notes that a lawyer's fees can usually be paid from estate property, and DE-147 states that fees to the representative or the attorney are not paid without a prior court order.
A CPA or enrolled agent prepares the decedent's final income tax returns and the estate's or trust's returns, and explains questions such as basis, the tax value assigned to inherited property.
A probate referee values the estate's non-cash property for probate. DE-147 states that a court-appointed referee determines the value unless the court waives the appointment; the representative values certain "cash items" directly.
When heirs disagree, a will or trust is challenged, or misconduct is suspected, the matter becomes a contested one, a different subject handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases. Silver Lining Estate is an educational resource that explains what happens after a death and the choices a family has.
