Most people facing this question are standing on one side of a family conversation that suddenly has legal weight. One person has just been named executor of a parent's estate and is trying to work out what they owe brothers, sisters or a surviving spouse in the way of information. Another is a beneficiary who has heard little since the funeral and wants to know what they are entitled to see, and when. Both are often grieving, and both want the same thing: a clear picture of what the probate process itself requires.
This page explains those communication points in the order they arise in a California probate case, from the opening notice to the final account.
What California Law Requires of an Executor Toward Beneficiaries
An executor is the person named in a will to administer the estate. California's Probate Code uses a broader term, personal representative, for whoever the court appoints to run the estate. That covers both an executor and an administrator, who is appointed when there is no will or the named executor cannot serve. For an administrator, Probate Code section 8461 sets an order of priority that begins with the surviving spouse or domestic partner, then children, then grandchildren, then other issue, then parents, then brothers and sisters, and the list continues through other relatives and others to the public administrator, creditors and any other person.
A beneficiary is a person named in a will or trust to receive property. An heir is someone who would inherit under California law if there were no will. The two often overlap but are not the same.
The personal representative's duties begin when the court issues letters, the document that gives the representative authority to act. The death alone does not start them. The Judicial Council's Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative (form DE-147) says the appointed representative "become[s] an officer of the court." In general terms, that role carries a duty to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed about how the estate is being administered. The broader set of tasks is laid out in a guide to executor responsibilities in California.
The Notice of Petition to Administer Estate
The first formal message most beneficiaries receive is the Notice of Petition to Administer Estate. It tells them that someone has asked the Superior Court to open probate. The California Courts' Overview of formal probate explains that when the petition is filed, the clerk gives the petitioner a hearing date. At that hearing, the judge appoints the personal representative.
Probate Code section 8110 says that at least 15 days before the hearing, the petitioner must deliver notice to each heir of the decedent, "so far as known to or reasonably ascertainable by the petitioner." Notice must also go to each devisee, executor and alternative executor named in any will being offered for probate, even if a later document purports to revoke that gift or appointment. A devisee is a person who receives property under a will.
In plain terms, the notice tells recipients who died, who filed the petition, and where and when the hearing will take place, so anyone with a concern can attend or object. The same court page adds two requirements. An adult who is not a party to the case does the mailing, and the petitioner arranges for notice to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city where the decedent lived. For many beneficiaries, this envelope is the first sign that probate has begun.
Inventory, Appraisal, and What Beneficiaries Are Entitled to See
The inventory and appraisal, often called the I&A, is the estate's formal list of what the decedent owned and what it is worth. DE-147 describes three duties that lead to it:
- The representative must try to locate and take possession of the decedent's property that is to be administered.
- A court-appointed probate referee values the property unless the court waives that appointment, while the representative values certain "cash items."
- The representative files the inventory and appraisal with the court within four months after letters are first issued.
The inventory includes both real property (land and buildings) and personal property, such as bank accounts, vehicles and belongings. The two are handled differently. DE-147 says that when the inventory is filed, the representative must also file a change of ownership statement with the county recorder or assessor in each county where the decedent owned real property. Property that passes outside probate, such as joint tenancy property, trust property, and accounts or policies with a named beneficiary, generally does not appear in the probate inventory.
The I&A is filed in the court case. A beneficiary does not have to depend only on the executor's goodwill to see it. Under Probate Code section 1250, at any time after letters issue, any interested person may file a written request for special notice. This includes a devisee, heir, creditor or trust beneficiary. Special notice can cover petitions, inventories and appraisals (including supplemental ones), objections to an appraisal, accounts, and status reports. A copy of the request must be delivered to the personal representative or the representative's attorney, and an original filed with the clerk must be accompanied by a written admission or proof of service.
The Accounting: What It Is and When Beneficiaries Receive It
An account is the representative's formal financial record of the estate. DE-147 describes it as showing all money and property received, what was spent, the date of each transaction, and what remains after expenses. Probate Code section 10900 says an account includes a financial statement and a report of administration. The report states whether notice to creditors was given, lists filed creditor claims and the action taken on each, and identifies unpaid claims along with any real or personal property that secures them. In probate, a creditor's "claim" is a demand for payment of a debt of the decedent, certain taxes, or funeral expenses (Probate Code section 9000).
Accounts can be required during the case and at its end. Under Probate Code section 10950, the court may order an account at any time, on its own motion or on petition of an interested person. The court must order one if an interested person petitions more than one year after the last account was filed or, if none has been filed, more than one year after letters were issued.
At the close, the California Courts' formal probate page says the representative files a final report, final account and petition for final distribution, and an adult who is not a party gives notice of the hearing to interested persons. The same page adds that a final account does not have to be filed if all the persons entitled to distribution sign a written waiver of account or a written acknowledgment of receipt of their share.
So does an executor have to show the accounting to beneficiaries? In a California probate case, the account is filed with the court for review, beneficiaries receive notice of the hearing, and that account is the main document through which they can see how the estate was managed. The only exception is when everyone entitled to distribution has signed the waiver or acknowledgment.
Ongoing Communication During Administration: What Beneficiaries Can Ask For
The months between appointment and final distribution are where most frustration builds, for executors and beneficiaries alike. The formal notices can be far apart. Meanwhile a house may be on the market, creditor claims may be arriving, and family members may be calling.
Beneficiaries can ask the executor for updates at any time, for example on the status of a sale, the payment of debts, or where the case stands in court. As a general principle, the executor has a duty to respond to reasonable requests for information. That duty does not require a running commentary on every decision. Long silence, especially while assets are being sold or large expenses paid, is what tends to raise concern. A single slow reply is not automatically a breach of the executor's fiduciary duty, which is the legal duty to act in the beneficiaries' interest. An executor who refuses all communication may be in breach of that duty.
The court process itself offers routes to information: the special notice request in Probate Code section 1250 and a petition for an account under Probate Code section 10950. The California Courts' formal probate page adds that courts usually require a report about a year after appointment.
Where beneficiaries and the executor are in open conflict, or where misconduct is suspected, the matter becomes a contested probate case. That is a different subject, handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.
What Happens When a Beneficiary Does Not Respond
Executors sometimes face the opposite problem from silence: a beneficiary who cannot be found, or who never answers. The estate does not simply skip that person. Probate Code section 8110 already measures notice by who is known to or "reasonably ascertainable by" the petitioner, so the effort to find people starts before the first hearing.
Reasonable efforts typically include checking known addresses, asking other relatives, and searching public records. When a beneficiary still cannot be located, the personal representative generally may ask the probate court for instructions on how to handle that share. What happens to that share depends on the facts and on the court's order. An executor balancing several beneficiaries' interests may also find the overview of settling an estate with multiple beneficiaries useful context.
Limits on What an Executor Can Do Without Notifying Beneficiaries
For a beneficiary, the biggest worry is often a decision made without warning, such as the family house being sold. California law addresses this with a procedure called the Notice of Proposed Action. The personal representative uses it to give beneficiaries written notice before taking certain significant steps, such as selling or leasing real property or borrowing against estate assets.
In general, the process works like this. The representative sends written notice of the proposed action. A beneficiary who disagrees may object in writing within the period the notice gives. If no one objects, the representative may proceed. If someone does object, the representative generally cannot go ahead without court approval. Some actions need court approval whether or not anyone objects.
DE-147 is direct about the stakes for the executor. Without prior court order, the representative may not pay fees to themselves or their attorney. A representative who skips required court permission may be removed or made to reimburse the estate personally, or both. So an executor generally cannot sell estate real property or take other major steps without either the notice process or court approval. When a sale is in view, the next question is often who has authority to sell: Can an Executor Sell Estate Property?.
A trust follows different rules. When a revocable trust becomes irrevocable at a settlor's death, Probate Code section 16061.7 requires the successor trustee to serve a notification on beneficiaries and heirs within 60 days. The trustee vs. executor difference matters here because the two roles carry different duties.
