Most people facing a house like this are standing in rooms that still hold someone's whole life: the dishes in the cupboard, the mail on the counter, the closet no one wants to open yet. Siblings may be asking what they can take. A landlord, a neighbor or the bank may be asking when the house will be empty. Someone may have just learned they are the executor or successor trustee, with no idea what that job allows. This page walks through who has authority, what the belongings are in the eyes of the law, the choices a family has for the contents, and how the house itself and its taxes are handled.
Who Has Authority Over the House and Its Contents
Authority comes from one of three sources: the will, the trust, or the court. An executor is the person named in a will to carry it out. That person acts once the Superior Court appoints them and issues letters. An administrator is appointed by the court when there is no will or no executor who can serve. Probate Code section 8461 sets the order of priority for that appointment, starting with the surviving spouse or domestic partner, then children, then grandchildren, and continuing through other relatives to the public administrator, creditors and any other person. The Probate Code calls the executor or administrator, once appointed, the personal representative.
A successor trustee is named in a trust to take over when the person who made it dies. That person acts under the trust document without a court appointment. Probate Code section 16061.7 requires the trustee to serve a written notification on the beneficiaries and heirs within 60 days after the trust becomes irrevocable at a death. The 60 days can instead run from when the trustee learns of a person entitled to notice, or from when a new trustee starts to serve if the office was vacant.
An heir inherits under California's rules when there is no will. A beneficiary is named in a will or trust. Either one has an interest in the estate, but neither has authority to act alone.
The house and the things inside it usually come under the same authority. Until letters are issued, or the successor trustee has confirmed their role under the trust, the family's job is to secure and preserve. It is not to sell or give away. Probate cases are filed in the Superior Court of the county where the estate may be administered. Unless a petition for probate of the will is filed earlier, whoever has custody of the original will must, within 30 days after learning of the death, do both of the following: deliver the will, personally or by registered or certified mail, to that court's clerk, and deliver a copy of the will to the person named in the will as executor if that person's whereabouts is known, or if not, to a beneficiary named in the will whose whereabouts is known. A custodian who fails to comply is liable for all damages sustained by anyone injured by the failure. This rule is in Probate Code section 8200.
Personal Property Inside the House: What It Is and Why It Matters
Personal property is everything that is not land or a building. The California Courts' self-help page on inventory and estimating property value defines real property as land and buildings, including some long-term leases. It describes personal property as all other property, whether you can touch it or not. A car, jewelry, furniture, stock and cash are all personal property. Almost everything inside the house falls into this group.
The same California Courts page explains how to list what the person owned. It says to list items of high value one by one. For household goods, it says a family can generally write down the category and an estimated total value. It also notes that no appraisal is needed for that first estimate. A formal appraisal may be needed later if the estate goes to court. In a formal probate, the inventory and appraisal is a required step. A probate referee, appointed through the court, generally appraises many of the assets. The personal representative does not set those values alone.
A careful inventory protects the person in charge if other heirs later ask what happened to something. It also records the date-of-death values that matter for tax purposes. Paperwork found in the house deserves the same care as valuables. Deeds, vehicle titles, bank and retirement statements and life insurance policies show what the person owned and how. That same page notes that a personal representative must be appointed to get bank records.
Before Anything Is Moved, Donated, or Discarded
Probate Code section 9650 gives the personal representative the right, and the duty, to take possession or control of the estate's property. It also requires them to pay taxes on the estate and to take all steps reasonably necessary to manage, protect and preserve it. This is a fiduciary duty, meaning a duty to act for everyone with an interest in the estate rather than for oneself. Giving away or throwing out items before they are listed can leave that person answerable to the other heirs.
Some steps are about protection and can come early. These include locking up, changing locks, removing food that will spoil, and keeping utility costs from running up. Selling, donating or discarding anything of possible value is a different matter. That waits for authority and an inventory.
Value is not always obvious. Collectibles, tools, jewelry and artwork are common examples of things that look ordinary and appraise higher. A box of letters can matter deeply to one sibling and not at all to another.
When heirs disagree about who has authority or what happened to property, that becomes a contested matter. A contested matter is a different subject, handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.
How Personal Property Is Distributed or Liquidated
Families usually handle the contents of a house through several paths, often more than one at once:
- Distribution in kind. Heirs take specific items, which in a probate estate generally needs court approval or records that follow the will or the rules for inheritance without a will.
- Estate sale. A sale of household contents held at the house, which can move many items at once, with pricing set by whoever runs it and proceeds going to the estate.
- Auction. Items consigned to an auction house or sold online, which can reach more buyers but may take longer and carry fees.
- Donation. Items given to charitable organizations, which may bring a charitable deduction depending on the facts.
- Cleanout. Removal of items with no resale or donation value.
The right mix depends on how much is in the house and what it is. It also depends on how quickly the estate has to move and whether the heirs agree. These are family decisions, not ones this page can make. Money from any sale is an estate asset and falls under the same fiduciary duty. A CPA or tax attorney can say whether a donation brings a deduction. When several people share the estate, the questions around inherited property with multiple owners often come up at this stage too.
The House Itself: Probate, Trust Administration, and the Path to Transfer
Title decides the path, not the contents. The California Courts self-help page linked above lists the ways a deed may hold title. These include a transfer on death deed, joint tenancy, sole and separate property, community property, and title in a trust's name. It also says deeds are public records at the County Recorder's Office in the county where the property is located.
- In a trust. The successor trustee transfers the house under the trust's terms, without a probate case.
- Joint tenancy. The surviving joint tenant generally records proof of the death with the county recorder, and the house does not go through probate.
- Community property with right of survivorship. A surviving spouse or domestic partner generally uses a similar recorder-based transfer.
- In the decedent's name alone. The house usually goes through formal probate in the Superior Court, unless a simplified procedure fits.
California's simplified procedures include several options. One is the affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property. Another is the petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence. A third is the affidavit for real property of small value. There is also the spousal or domestic partner property petition. Their dollar limits are adjusted over time, and the California Courts publish the current figures. For those limits, Probate Code section 13050 leaves out of the count several kinds of property. These include joint tenancy property, property in a revocable trust, and registered vehicles.
If the house is sold during probate, the sale may need court confirmation or a notice of proposed action. Which one applies depends on the authority the court gave the personal representative, and a probate attorney explains that difference. If a loan remains, an inherited house with a mortgage raises its own questions. The wider choice of whether to keep or sell the house usually comes after this step.
Property Taxes and the Proposition 19 Rules for Inherited Property
A transfer at death is generally a change in ownership, and a change in ownership can lead the county to reassess the house to current market value. For transfers on or after February 16, 2021, Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2 sets out an exclusion from that reassessment. It covers a principal residence passing between parents and children. It also covers a residence passing from grandparents to grandchildren, but only when all of the grandchild's parents who are the grandparents' children have died.
The conditions are strict. The house has to have been the parent's principal residence. It has to become the child's principal residence within one year of the transfer. The child has to file for the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within a year. The exclusion keeps the existing taxable value only up to a value limit, which is adjusted over time. The county assessor publishes the current figure. A child who does not move in does not get the exclusion for the home, and the house is reassessed.
A claim has to be filed with the county assessor. The deadline is the earliest of three dates: three years after the transfer, before the house is transferred to a third party, or when an eligible child no longer lives there. A claim also counts as on time if it is filed within six months after the assessor mails a supplemental or escape assessment notice. A late claim can still be considered if the house has not been sold, but then it applies only going forward. The county assessor's office answers questions about a specific property. More on these rules appears in Proposition 19 and inherited property.
Income Tax and the Stepped-Up Basis on Inherited Property
Under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a), the general rule is that property passing from a person who has died takes a basis equal to its fair market value on the date of death. Basis is the starting figure used to measure gain when the property is later sold. People call this a "stepped-up basis." The statute names some exceptions, including an election to use a different valuation date.
In practice, a house sold soon after the death, near its date-of-death value, may show little taxable gain. The result still depends on the facts, including how title was held and the price. The same rule reaches inherited personal property such as furniture, collectibles and vehicles. That is one more reason the date-of-death values in the inventory matter.
A CPA, enrolled agent or tax attorney reviews the basis and income tax questions for a specific estate. The questions that come up at a sale are gathered under taxes when selling an inherited house.
Disclosure Rules When the Inherited House Is Sold
The person with authority to sell takes on the seller's role, and with it the seller's disclosure duties. That person may be the executor, the administrator or the successor trustee. California has disclosure rules for residential sales. These include rules about whether a death on the property has to be disclosed, and the answer can depend on when the death happened and what the buyer asks. The Transfer Disclosure Statement is one of the standard California seller forms.
A real estate attorney, or the listing agent, explains which disclosures apply to a particular house and a particular kind of sale. This page does not cover how a house is listed or sold.
