Most people facing this question are standing in a parent's or spouse's home with a stack of unopened mail, a deed they have never read and relatives asking what happens to the house. Some have just learned they are named in a will or a trust. Others only know that the bank will not talk to them. This page explains, in order, how California treats a person's property after death. It starts with how the property was owned and moves on to the court processes, the trust route, timing and the tax questions heirs usually meet next.
How Property Transfers at Death in California
California law starts with a simple rule. Under Probate Code section 7000, title to a person's property passes at death to whoever the will names or, if the will names no one, to the heirs under the laws of intestate succession. Probate Code section 7001 then makes that property subject to administration "except as otherwise provided by law," and subject to the rights of beneficiaries and creditors. In practice, each asset follows one of four routes:
- Title or operation of law. Property held in joint tenancy passes to the surviving owner. The California Courts' inventory and property value guide says that if one owner dies, the property passes to the other.
- Beneficiary designation. Payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts, transfer-on-death deeds, and retirement accounts or life insurance with a named beneficiary go to the person named.
- Trust distribution. Property owned by a trust is handled by the successor trustee.
- Probate or a simplified procedure. Everything else goes through one of these court routes. Probate is the court-supervised process for identifying a deceased person's assets, paying debts and distributing what remains.
The rules can differ between two kinds of property. Real property is land and buildings. Personal property is everything else, including cash, bank accounts, vehicles and belongings. California is also a community property state, and that affects what a surviving spouse already owns.
Community Property and Separate Property: What California Law Provides
For married couples and registered domestic partners, the first question is often whose property it was in the first place. Community property, in general, is property acquired during the marriage or registered domestic partnership while the couple lived in California. Separate property generally includes what one person owned before the marriage, or received as a gift or inheritance during it, and kept separate.
The difference matters at death. Each spouse generally owns half of the community property. The surviving spouse's half is already theirs, so it is not inherited. The deceased spouse's half passes under the will or, without one, by intestate succession. Separate property passes entirely by will or intestate succession. It does not go to a spouse automatically.
The California Courts' inventory guide notes that a surviving spouse or domestic partner may own part of a property even when they are not listed on the title. It says the answer depends on whether the property is community property, one person's separate property, or both. California law generally gives registered domestic partners the same treatment as spouses.
How title is held, and what any will says, change the result. A family member reading old deeds in a parent's home can often tell from the deed's wording which kind of ownership is involved. A probate attorney can say how these rules apply when a title is unclear.
When There Is No Will: California's Intestate Succession Rules
Intestate succession is the order in which California law distributes a person's estate when there is no valid will. Probate Code section 6400 provides that any part of an estate "not effectively disposed of by will passes to the decedent's heirs." An heir is a person who inherits under these rules. A beneficiary is a person named in a will, a trust or an account.
The general order starts with the closest family, such as a surviving spouse or domestic partner and children, and reaches more distant relatives after them. The share each heir receives depends on the family facts, including whether the property was community or separate. If no heir can be found at all, the property can pass to the State of California, which is called escheat.
Adult children often assume the family house is now theirs. It is not automatically. Whether and how a child receives a parent's house depends on several facts:
- how title was held
- whether the house was in a trust
- whether there is a valid will
- whether probate or a simplified procedure is needed
A will also controls only probate assets. It does not override joint tenancy, a beneficiary designation or a trust. The house-specific questions come next for many families, and the guide to inheriting a house in California walks through them.
When Probate Is Required in California
Probate is generally needed for property titled in the deceased person's name alone when there is no joint owner, no named beneficiary and no trust holding it. This applies when the value is too high for a simplified procedure. The California Courts' guide to property after someone dies says that whether court is needed depends on "the amount and type of property." It also says an estate may need probate "even if they had a will."
Several kinds of property usually pass outside probate:
- jointly held property with a right of survivorship
- payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts
- property held in a living trust
- life insurance and retirement accounts with a named beneficiary
For bank accounts, Probate Code section 5302 provides that money left in a joint account belongs to the surviving party unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent. It also provides that money in a payable-on-death account goes to the surviving payee.
Eligibility for the simplified procedures turns on gross value, which is value before debts are subtracted. Probate Code section 13050 excludes several kinds of property from that count, including:
- joint tenancy property
- property in a trust revocable by the decedent
- registered vehicles
- multiple-party accounts, to the extent the money belongs to a survivor or payee
Probate is filed in the superior court of the county where the estate may be administered. The court appoints a personal representative, the person responsible for representing the estate. An executor is the person named in the will to do this. An administrator is appointed when there is no will or no named executor can serve. Under Probate Code section 8461, priority for appointment as administrator 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.
California's Simplified Procedures for Smaller Estates
Smaller estates often qualify for a shorter route. Each of California's simplified procedures has its own conditions and its own value limit. The Judicial Council names four of them.
- Affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property. Under Probate Code section 13100, when the gross value of the decedent's California property is within the adjusted limit and 40 days have passed since the death, the person entitled to the property may collect money owed to the decedent. That person may also receive tangible personal property, or have securities and similar property transferred, without letters of administration. Letters are the court document that gives a personal representative authority to act for the estate.
- Petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence. This is a court petition to transfer the decedent's main home in California when its value is within the limit.
- Affidavit for real property of small value. This is a filing with the court to transfer real property whose total value is within a lower limit.
- Spousal or domestic partner property petition. Under Probate Code section 13650, a surviving spouse may ask the superior court for an order that administration is not necessary because property passes to the surviving spouse. The petition may also ask the court to confirm the spouse's own ownership of property.
These routes are generally faster and less involved than full probate, but each has eligibility conditions. The value limits are adjusted periodically and depend on the date of death. The California Courts publish the current figures and forms on its page explaining how to check if you can use a simple process. The Judicial Council's DE-300 maximum values form lists the same limits by date of death.
Property Held in a Trust: What the Successor Trustee Does
A revocable living trust is an arrangement in which the person who created it held property in the trust's name during their lifetime and could change it. At death, a successor trustee steps in to manage and distribute that property under the trust's terms. Trust property generally does not go through probate because the trust, not the individual, holds title.
The successor trustee generally does several things:
- gathers the trust's assets
- pays debts and taxes as the trust directs
- distributes what remains to the trust's beneficiaries
A trustee is a different role from an executor. The trustee acts under the trust document and the Probate Code, usually without court supervision. An executor acts under a will and through the probate court.
One early duty has a deadline. Probate Code section 16061.7 requires the trustee to serve a notification on each beneficiary and on each heir of the deceased settlor when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because of a death. The settlor is the person who created the trust. The notification must be served within 60 days of the event, or within 60 days after the trustee learns of a person entitled to it who was not known at the time. If the trustee's office is vacant, the 60 days run from when the new trustee begins serving.
A trust only covers property that was actually transferred into it. A house or account left in the person's own name may still need probate or a simplified procedure. When beneficiaries and a trustee disagree or misconduct is suspected, that is a contested matter for an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.
How Long Property Can Stay in a Deceased Person's Name
California law does not set one deadline by which all property must be retitled after a death. Families who are still grieving often leave a house or an account alone for months, and nothing forces a single date.
Delay still has practical costs:
- Sales and loans. A house cannot be sold or refinanced until title is transferred.
- Ongoing bills. Property taxes, insurance and existing liens continue.
- Creditors. Creditors have a period set by the Probate Code to make claims against the estate.
- Records. For real property, a deed or court order is needed to change title. Until then, the county recorder's records still show the deceased person's name.
Some steps do have fixed timing. Under Probate Code section 8200, unless a petition for probate is filed first, the person holding an original will must deliver it to the superior court clerk within 30 days after learning of the death. That person must also deliver a copy to the named executor or, if the executor cannot be found, to a named beneficiary. Once probate is opened, the Probate Code sets further deadlines for the personal representative, and the California Courts self-help pages describe that timeline.
Over time, documents get harder to find, heirs harder to locate and title harder to clear. The estate settlement checklist sets out these steps in order.
Property Taxes and the Step-Up in Basis: What Heirs Should Know
Two tax ideas come up for nearly every heir. The first is federal. When someone inherits property, its cost basis, the starting figure used to measure gain for income tax, is generally adjusted to fair market value at the date of death. This is often called a step-up in basis. Whether it applies, and how, depends on the asset and how it was owned. This page does not say whether any estate or sale owes tax.
The second is California property tax. When real property changes ownership, the county assessor generally reassesses it at current market value. That reassessment can raise the tax bill substantially.
For transfers on or after February 16, 2021, Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2 can exclude a transfer between parents and children, or between grandparents and grandchildren, from reassessment. For grandchildren, all of the parents who are the grandparent's children must have died. The exclusion covers a family home or a family farm, and it is partial when the home's value exceeds a limit set in the statute. For a family home, three conditions apply:
- the home must have been the transferor's principal residence
- it must become the heir's principal residence within one year
- the heir must file for the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within a year
A claim must be filed with the assessor within three years after the transfer, or before a transfer to a third party, or before the eligible heir stops living there, whichever is earliest. As an alternative, a claim is timely if filed within six months after a notice of supplemental or escape assessment is mailed. A later claim may still be considered if the property has not passed to a third party, but it applies only going forward.
The county assessor's office answers reassessment questions and publishes the current forms. A CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney reviews income tax and basis questions. These rules weigh heavily in whether to keep, rent or sell.
