Most people facing this question found out in the middle of everything else: a parent's house, a spouse's name on a deed, a trust binder in a desk drawer, and brothers or sisters asking what happens to the home they grew up in. The person reading this is often the one everyone is looking to: the named executor, the successor trustee, or the surviving spouse. The aim here is to put the steps in order so the house stops being one large, shapeless worry and becomes a set of questions with answers.
This page follows the house from title, to the court process (if any), to the person with authority over it, to taxes, and then to the choices a family has. A broader overview sits in the California estate settlement guide.
How Title Determines What Happens to the Property
The deed comes first. A deed is the recorded document showing who owns real property and how they hold it, and the California Courts self-help page on inventory and estimating property value notes that deeds are public records available at the County Recorder's Office in the county where the property is located. The wording on that deed shapes nearly everything that follows.
The common forms of ownership work this way:
- Joint tenancy. The California Courts page describes joint tenancy as ownership in equal shares by the people listed, where, if one dies, the property passes to the other. No probate is needed for that transfer; clearing the record usually means recording paperwork with the county recorder showing the death.
- Community property with right of survivorship. For a married couple or domestic partners holding title this way, the surviving spouse or partner takes the property by the survivorship right, again through recorded paperwork rather than a probate case.
- A revocable living trust. When the deed names a trustee of the trust, the successor trustee manages and transfers the house under the trust's terms, without a probate court.
- Sole ownership, or tenancy in common. A share held by the person who died with no survivorship right passes through probate or a simplified procedure, depending on value and circumstances.
Probate Code section 13050 reflects this split for the simplified procedures: property held in joint tenancy, and property in a trust revocable by the decedent during life, is excluded when the estate's value is counted.
Real property (land and buildings) and personal property (everything else, from bank accounts to furniture) follow different rules and different simplified procedures. That distinction comes back in the next section.
When Probate Is Required — and When It Is Not
Probate is a court-supervised process, held in the superior court of the county where the estate may be administered, in which a judge appoints someone to gather the property, pay debts and pass what remains to the people entitled to it. A first, quiet step applies to anyone holding the will: under Probate Code section 8200, unless a petition for probate is filed sooner, the custodian of a will has 30 days after learning of the death to deliver it to the clerk of that superior court and a copy to the named executor (or, if the executor cannot be found, a named beneficiary).
Not every estate needs full probate. The California Courts page Check if you can use a simple process to transfer property explains that, depending on how property is owned and the type and amount of it, a simpler process may apply. The Judicial Council's DE-300 form of maximum values lists the limits, which it says apply to deaths on or after April 1, 2025, and will next be adjusted April 1, 2028, unless a statute provides otherwise:
- The affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property. Under Probate Code section 13100, a successor may collect personal property without probate once 40 days have passed since the death, if the gross value of the California property, after exclusions, is not over the limit; DE-300 gives $208,850.
- The petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence. Under Probate Code section 13151, once 40 days have passed, a successor may petition the superior court for an order that they have succeeded to the decedent's primary residence in California if its gross value is not over the limit; DE-300 gives $750,000. The petitioner delivers notice of the petition to each heir and devisee named in it within five business days of filing.
- The affidavit for real property of small value. DE-300 gives a limit of $69,625 for all California real property, and the Judicial Council's DE-305 affidavit form requires that at least six months have passed since the death.
- The spousal or domestic partner property petition. Under Probate Code section 13650, a surviving spouse may ask the court for an order that administration is not necessary because all or part of the estate passes to the surviving spouse.
Whether probate is required turns on how title is held, the gross value of what would go through probate, and whether a trust or survivorship right applies. An estate attorney can apply those facts to a particular estate, and the probate court makes the formal determination when a petition is filed.
The Executor's or Administrator's Role With Real Property
An executor is the person a will names to carry out its terms. An administrator is the person the court appoints when there is no will or the named executor cannot serve. "Personal representative" is the umbrella term the Probate Code uses for either one once appointed. These are not interchangeable: an executor's claim starts with the will, while an administrator is chosen under Probate Code section 8461, which gives priority to the surviving spouse or domestic partner, then children, then grandchildren, then other issue, then parents, and continues through more distant relatives, the public administrator and creditors.
Appointment comes with a court document called letters (Letters Testamentary for an executor, Letters of Administration for an administrator). Banks, title companies and buyers ask for letters because they show the personal representative has authority to act for the estate.
With the house, the main duties are concrete. Under Probate Code section 8800, the personal representative files an inventory and appraisal of estate property within four months after letters are first issued; the court may allow more time that is reasonable for the case, and partial inventories are allowed within that period. With it, 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 Judicial Council's DE-147 statement of duties adds that the personal representative arranges for a court-appointed probate referee to value the property unless the court waives the appointment, and keeps estate money and property separate from their own.
Selling the house during probate follows one of two tracks. Under Probate Code section 10308, sales of real property are generally reported to and confirmed by the court before title passes. When the court has granted independent administration authority, Probate Code section 10580 provides for a notice of proposed action, given before the action, where the power being used requires one. In every track, the personal representative acts for all heirs and beneficiaries, not only those who agree with them.
The Successor Trustee's Role When Property Is in a Trust
A successor trustee is the person the trust document names to take over managing the trust after the original trustee, usually the person who created it, dies or can no longer serve. Being named successor trustee often arrives as a surprise, and the job can feel heavy without a judge to check in with. Unlike a personal representative, a successor trustee draws authority from the trust document itself, not from court letters.
When the person who created a revocable trust dies, the trust, or that portion of it, becomes irrevocable. Probate Code section 16061.7 then requires the successor trustee to serve a notification on each beneficiary and each heir of the person who died, generally within 60 days after the death, or within 60 days after learning of a person entitled to notice who was not known at the death. If the trustee's office was vacant at the death, the 60 days run from when the new trustee begins serving. The notification includes, among other things, the trust's creator and date, each trustee's name, address and telephone number, and the recipient's right to request a copy of the trust's terms.
To manage or sell a trust-held house, the successor trustee usually records documents with the county recorder showing the death and the trustee's authority. A title company or an attorney can say which documents a particular county and transaction call for.
The successor trustee follows the trust's instructions and California's trustee duties. Where beneficiaries are in conflict or misconduct is suspected, that contested matter is a different subject, handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.
Property Taxes, Basis, and the Questions a Professional Answers
Two separate tax questions attach to an inherited house: what the property tax bill will become, and what the property's value is for income tax if it is later sold. They are handled by different offices and different professionals.
Property tax reassessment. A transfer at death is generally a change in ownership, and the State Board of Equalization's change in ownership FAQ explains that a current market value higher than the prior assessed value will raise property taxes. The same page says a change in ownership statement is due within 150 days of the death when there is no probate, or with the inventory and appraisal when the estate is probated.
For transfers on or after February 16, 2021, Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2 allows an exclusion between parents and children, and between grandparents and grandchildren when the grandchild's parents who are the grandparents' children have died. The house must have been the transferor's principal residence and become the heir's principal residence within one year, and the heir files for the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within a year. Value above the prior taxable value plus $1,000,000 is added; the Board's Proposition 19 page describes that limit as biennially adjusted and says the transfer of a rental home between parents and children would not qualify. A claim is filed with the assessor within three years after the transfer, or before a transfer to a third party, or before the heir stops living there, whichever is earlier. Alternatively, a claim is timely within six months after a supplemental or escape assessment notice is mailed.
Stepped-up basis. Basis is the starting value used to measure gain when property is sold. Under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a), property acquired from a decedent generally takes a basis equal to its fair market value at the date of death, or at an alternate valuation date if the estate elects one.
A CPA, enrolled agent or tax attorney reviews income tax and basis questions; the county assessor's office handles reassessment and exclusion claims.
What Happens to the House: Options Families Consider
Once someone has authority over the house, the family's real question arrives: keep it, sell it, or something in between. There is no single right answer, and siblings often weigh it differently.
Keep the property. One heir may buy out the others, or the heirs may hold it together, live in it or rent it. Keeping a parent's home can preserve the Proposition 19 exclusion only if an eligible heir lives there, as described above.
Sell through a listing with a real estate agent. This puts the house before the open market, usually with preparation, showings and time before closing.
Sell to a cash buyer. A cash sale can reduce repairs, showings, financing uncertainty and time, though families weigh it differently; the usual tradeoff is a lower price.
Who can sign depends on the path the house took: the personal representative during probate, under the court confirmation or notice of proposed action rules described above; the successor trustee under the trust's terms; or the surviving owner where the house passed by survivorship. The comparison of options is set out further in keep vs. rent vs. sell, and the house-specific steps in inheriting a house in California.
The belongings inside raise their own choices. A family may sort and divide them, donate them, or turn to an estate sale, auction, consignment or cleanout service, each a category with its own tradeoffs.
Where heirs cannot agree, a dispute over the house is a contested matter for an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.
