Executor Checklist for California Estates

This checklist is for the person who has just learned they are named executor in a parent's, spouse's or relative's will. That person is often still arranging a funeral, fielding calls from siblings, and sorting through drawers of paperwork nobody explained. Most people facing this process have never seen a probate court filing, so the tasks below run in the order they usually happen, with a short note on why each one matters and which ones usually involve an attorney or tax professional. It assumes an uncontested administration.

Before You Start: What an Executor Is and What the Job Requires

A few words matter before any task begins. An executor is the person a will names to settle the estate. When the court appoints someone, that person becomes the personal representative, the person responsible for representing the estate in probate, according to the California Courts guide to property after someone dies. A trustee or successor trustee manages property held in a trust, which is a separate process from a probate estate.

• Locate the original will. Probate Code section 8200 requires whoever holds it to deliver it to the clerk of the superior court of the proper county within 30 days after learning of the death, unless a petition for probate has already been filed, and to send a copy to the named executor or, if the custodian does not know where the executor is, to a named beneficiary.
• Look for any trust documents. Property held in a trust is handled by the successor trustee, not through the probate steps below.
• Order several certified copies of the death certificate. Banks, insurers, agencies and the court clerk each tend to ask for one.
• Gather financial account statements. Bank, brokerage, retirement and loan statements show what the decedent owned and owed.
• Find deeds to real property. Real property means land and buildings, while personal property means everything else, such as accounts, vehicles and household goods, and the rules for each differ throughout the process.
• Collect vehicle titles and life insurance policies. Both show how those assets pass and to whom.

Being named in a will does not by itself give an executor power over the estate. Authority to act begins when the court issues Letters Testamentary, the document proving the appointment. If heirs or beneficiaries are in conflict, or misconduct is suspected, that contested matter is a different subject handled by an attorney who litigates probate cases.

Step 1 — Secure the Estate's Assets

These are protective tasks for the first days and weeks, before anything is filed.

• Secure the decedent's home. Changing the locks when the decedent lived alone and safeguarding jewelry, papers and other valuables protects what the beneficiaries will eventually receive.
• Collect and redirect the mail. Statements and bills that arrive by mail often reveal accounts and debts nobody knew about.
• Notify banks and financial institutions of the death. Notice helps prevent unauthorized transactions, and accounts usually stay open until the court process makes clear who may act.
• List every account and insurance policy. For each one, note whether it names a beneficiary or payable-on-death payee, because those usually pass outside probate.
• Identify property that passes outside probate. Under Probate Code section 5302, money in a joint account generally belongs to the surviving party unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent, and when the sole party to a payable-on-death account dies, the money goes to the named payee if surviving.
• Keep the mortgage, utilities and property insurance current. The estate remains responsible for these carrying costs while it is being settled.
• Hold off on distributing assets or paying debts. None of that can properly happen until Letters Testamentary are issued and the creditor process below has run.

Joint tenancy real property and trust-held assets also generally pass outside probate. Where a house is part of the estate, the practical choices for the family are a separate set of questions, explored in what to do when you inherit a house.

Step 2 — Determine Whether Probate Is Required

Not every estate needs a full court case. The California Courts guide to property after someone dies says that, depending on the amount and type of property, a family may or may not need to go to court, and that an estate may need probate even when there is a will.

• Estimate the value of what the decedent owned. Probate Code section 13050 leaves joint tenancy property, accounts passing to a surviving party or payee, property in a revocable trust, and registered vehicles, among other items, out of the small-estate calculation.
• Check the affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property. Under Probate Code section 13100, a successor may use it to collect particular items once 40 days have passed since the death, if the gross value of the decedent's California real and personal property, after those exclusions, does not exceed a limit the statute adjusts periodically.
• Check the petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence. This procedure is aimed at the decedent's home.
• Check the affidavit for real property of small value. This procedure covers real property within a limit set by statute.
• Check the spousal or domestic partner property petition. Probate Code section 13650 lets a surviving spouse ask the superior court for an order that administration is not necessary for property passing to that spouse.
• Confirm whether a living trust holds most of the assets. Those assets go through trust administration, handled by the successor trustee.

The dollar limits for these procedures are adjusted over time; the Judicial Council publishes the current figures and forms on the California Courts self-help site. A successor trustee has notice duties of their own: under Probate Code section 16061.7, the trustee serves a notification on beneficiaries and heirs within 60 days after the trust becomes irrevocable at the settlor's death. The California estate settlement guide sets these paths side by side.

Step 3 — File the Petition and Open Probate

If simplified procedures cannot transfer everything, the executor asks the court for appointment. The California Courts overview of formal probate describes the sequence.

• File the Petition for Probate (form DE-111). The overview says to file in the county where the decedent lived, or, for a decedent who lived outside California, in the California county where they owned property.
• Pay the filing fee or request a fee waiver. The overview says the fee is typically $435.00, usually reimbursed from the estate.
• Arrange mailed notice of the hearing. The overview says another adult who is not a party mails it to family members and anyone who may have a right to part of the estate.
• Arrange newspaper publication of the notice. The overview says it is published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city where the decedent lived.
• Attend the hearing. If the judge has no questions about the petition, notice or publication, the judge may grant the petition and appoint a personal representative.
• Sign the Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative (form DE-147). The Judicial Council form summarizes the duties a new personal representative takes on.

Many executors work with a probate attorney on these filings. Once the court appoints the executor, Letters Testamentary are issued, and several deadlines below run from that date.

Step 4 — Inventory and Appraise the Estate

The inventory is the estate's official list of what it owns, and much of what follows is measured against it.

• Open a separate estate bank account. Form DE-147 says the account name must show it is an estate account, and estate money is never mixed with personal funds.
• List every probate asset. Real property, bank and investment accounts, business interests and personal property of value all belong on the list.
• Value the cash items. Form DE-147 says the personal representative, rather than the referee, determines the value of certain cash items.
• Send noncash assets to the probate referee. Form DE-147 says a court-appointed referee values the property unless the court waives the appointment, and the court clerk can say how to reach the assigned referee.
• File the Inventory and Appraisal (form DE-160). Probate Code section 8800 requires filing within four months after letters are first issued, unless the court allows further time, and partial inventories must also be filed within that period.
• File the real property certification with the inventory. Probate Code section 8800 requires certifying either that the decedent owned no California real property or that a change in ownership statement was filed with the recorder or assessor of each county where the decedent owned property.

The date-of-death values matter later for income tax, as Step 6 explains.

Step 5 — Notify Creditors and Pay Valid Debts

This stage asks for patience, because paying the wrong debt early can leave the executor personally responsible.

• Mail notice to known creditors. Probate Code section 9050 requires notice of administration to the decedent's known or reasonably ascertainable creditors, in addition to the published notice, and form DE-147 says to mail it within four months after appointment.
• Use the Notice of Administration to Creditors (form DE-157). The California Courts overview names it as the formal notice form.
• Notify the state if the decedent received Medi-Cal. Form DE-147 says the State Director of Health Services is notified within 90 days after appointment.
• Review each creditor claim. The executor approves or rejects each claim, and a creditor whose claim is rejected may take the matter to court (often handled with an attorney).
• Pay approved debts in the order the Probate Code sets. The Probate Code fixes a priority order for debts and expenses, and a probate attorney can walk through it for a particular estate.
• Wait for court approval before paying any fees. Form DE-147 says the personal representative may not pay fees to themselves or an attorney without a prior court order.

Creditors have a limited period to file claims, set by the Probate Code; the California Courts self-help pages explain it.

Step 6 — Handle Taxes During Administration

Taxes are a common worry for executors. A CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney reviews income tax and basis questions; the county assessor's office handles reassessment and exclusion claims.

• Arrange the decedent's final personal income tax return. The California Courts overview says a final return is prepared for the person who died (usually with a tax professional).
• Arrange the estate's own return if it earned income. The overview says interest or profit from a sale during administration means the personal representative turns in a return for the estate.
• Record date-of-death values for later sales. Under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a), inherited property generally takes a basis equal to its fair market value at the date of death, with exceptions for certain elections.
• Check whether a parent-child or grandparent-grandchild exclusion applies. Under Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2, for transfers on or after February 16, 2021, the home must have been the transferor's principal residence and become the transferee's within one year, with a homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption filed within a year.
• File the exclusion claim with the county assessor. Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2 requires a claim within three years after the transfer, or before a transfer to a third party, or before an eligible transferee stops living there, whichever is earlier, or within six months after a supplemental or escape assessment notice is mailed.

For grandchildren, the exclusion applies only if all of their parents who are the grandparents' children have died. Section 63.2 also limits how much value the exclusion covers, and the county assessor publishes the claim form. A tax professional can confirm which federal and California estate tax rules apply.

Step 7 — Manage and Sell Estate Property

While the case is open, the executor looks after property that belongs to other people in the end.

• Keep insurance in force on estate property. Form DE-147 says to maintain appropriate insurance for the entire administration.
• Prevent waste and deterioration. Ordinary repairs and upkeep protect the value the beneficiaries will receive.
• Check the letters for independent administration authority. Independent administration is a California procedure that lets a personal representative take certain actions without a court hearing, after giving beneficiaries a notice of proposed action.
• Confirm how a sale of real property would be approved. Without independent administration authority, a sale of real property generally needs a court confirmation hearing (usually handled with a probate attorney).
• Manage personal property under the letters. Vehicles, household goods and accounts are generally handled by the executor under the authority the letters give.

When a family is weighing what to do with property, the options form categories. A listing with an agent may reach more buyers but brings repairs, showings and time. A cash sale can reduce repairs, showings, financing uncertainty and time, though how it compares with other options varies from family to family. An estate sale or auction can clear household contents, with less control over price. The keep, rent or sell comparison sets out how those choices differ for an inherited house.

Step 8 — Account to the Court and Distribute the Estate

This is the stage where the work becomes visible to the beneficiaries.

• Petition for final distribution or file a status report on time. Probate Code section 12200 requires one or the other within one year after letters are issued, or within 18 months when a federal estate tax return is required.
• Prepare the final report and account. The California Courts overview says no account is required if everyone entitled to distribution signs a written waiver or a receipt for their share.
• Calculate the statutory compensation. Probate Code section 10800 sets it at 4 percent of the first $100,000, 3 percent of the next $100,000, 2 percent of the next $800,000, 1 percent of the next $9 million, one-half percent of the next $15 million, and a reasonable amount set by the court above $25 million.
• Arrange notice of the final hearing. The overview says an adult who is not a party gives notice to interested persons.
• Transfer assets under the court's order. Deeds are recorded with the county recorder, accounts are retitled, and vehicle titles are transferred.
• Request discharge from the court. Discharge ends the executor's authority and responsibility.

The section 10800 compensation is measured by the inventory value plus gains on sales and receipts, less losses, without subtracting mortgages or other debts. The California Courts overview says attorney fees are also set by law as a percentage of the estate. The San Diego County estate settlement guide shows how one county's offices fit these steps.

Common Executor Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Most of these mistakes come from good intentions and acting too soon.

• Get Letters Testamentary first. An executor has no legal authority over estate property until the court issues them.
• Pay creditors and taxes before distributing. Distributing first can leave the executor personally liable.
• Notify every known creditor. A missed creditor can surface with a claim after distribution.
• Keep estate money separate from personal money. Form DE-147 warns that unapproved spending can lead to removal or personal repayment.
• Track every tax filing date. The final personal return and any estate return have due dates of their own.
• Maintain the property and its insurance. Form DE-147 says a representative who fails in their duties may face reduced compensation, removal or other sanctions.
• Leave non-probate assets off the inventory. Accounts with named beneficiaries and trust property pass outside probate.

The estate settlement checklist covers the wider tasks families face after a death. A dispute among heirs or an allegation of misconduct is a separate matter handled by an attorney who litigates probate cases.