What Is Probate in California?

Most people searching for this are not studying law. They are an adult child sorting a parent's mail, a surviving spouse looking at a deed with one name on it, or a person who has just learned they were named executor and has no idea what that asks of them. Usually someone in the family is already asking, "Do we have to go to court?" This page lays out what probate is, when California requires it, how the steps run, and what the person in charge is responsible for, so the next decision is clearer.

What Probate Is and What It Does

Probate is the court-supervised process that settles a deceased person's debts and transfers the remaining property to heirs or beneficiaries. California's Courts describe it as the legal process used to transfer or inherit property after the owner has passed away, handled by the probate division of the superior court (California Courts, Guide to property after someone dies).

Two paths lead in. A person who dies with a will dies testate; one who dies without a will dies intestate. Under Probate Code section 7000, title passes at death to the person named in the will or, if there is no such gift, to the heirs under the laws of intestate succession, subject to Probate Code section 7001, which makes the property subject to administration and to the rights of beneficiaries and creditors except as otherwise provided by law. A beneficiary is someone who receives under a will or trust; an heir is someone who inherits under the intestate rules.

The case is filed in the Superior Court of the county where the decedent lived; if the decedent lived outside California but owned property here, it is filed in a California county where that property is (California Courts, Overview of formal probate).

Probate generally reaches property in the decedent's name alone that does not pass some other way. That includes real property (land and buildings) and personal property (bank accounts, vehicles, belongings, investments), and California treats the two differently in several procedures.

When Probate Is Required in California — and When It Is Not

Whether formal probate is needed depends on how the property was owned, what kind of property it is, its value, and the date of death. The California Courts note that an estate may need probate even if the person had a will.

Property that passes by another route stays out of the count. Probate Code section 13050 excludes, for the simplified procedures, joint tenancy property, property held in a trust the decedent could revoke, certain property passing to a surviving spouse, and multiple-party accounts to the extent the money belongs to a surviving party or payable-on-death payee, along with registered vehicles, numbered vessels and registered manufactured homes; it also excludes the value of amounts due to the decedent for services in the Armed Forces of the United States and of salary or other compensation owing to the decedent, up to a capped amount that is adjusted periodically. Life insurance and retirement accounts with a named beneficiary also commonly pass to that beneficiary rather than through probate.

For what remains, California offers simplified procedures, which the Judicial Council lists on its DE-300 maximum values form. For a death on or after April 1, 2025, it gives these limits:

• Affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property: gross California real and personal property, excluding section 13050 property and any primary residence in a succession petition, of no more than $208,850.
• Petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence: a primary residence in California with a gross value of no more than $750,000.
• Affidavit for real property of small value: all California real property, excluding section 13050 property, worth no more than $69,625.

The fourth, the spousal or domestic partner property petition under Probate Code section 13650, lets a surviving spouse ask the court for an order that administration is not necessary for all or part of the estate passing to the surviving spouse; the form lists no dollar limit for it.

These figures are adjusted every three years. The California Courts' simple-transfer page says the next update is April 1, 2028, and lists different limits for earlier dates of death. If the estate fits none of these, formal probate is generally the remaining route.

The Probate Process: How It Unfolds Step by Step

For the family, formal probate means a series of filings and hearings in which one person is given legal authority and then reports back to the judge. The California Courts describe this sequence:

1. Lodge the will. Under Probate Code section 8200, the person holding an original will delivers it to the superior court clerk within 30 days after learning of the death, unless a petition for probate is filed earlier, and sends a copy to the named executor or, if the executor cannot be found, to a named beneficiary.
2. File the petition. Under Probate Code section 8000, any interested person may, at any time after the death, petition the court to determine the date and place of death and to appoint a personal representative, probate the will, or both. The California Courts' page lists the typical filing fee as $435.00, with a fee waiver available for financial hardship.
3. Publish notice. Notice is published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city where the decedent lived.
4. Appointment and letters. At the hearing, the judge may appoint the personal representative, who then receives letters (Letters Testamentary for an executor, Letters of Administration for an administrator), the court document showing authority to act.
5. Notify creditors. The representative gives formal notice to creditors, who have a set period under the Probate Code to file claims.
6. Inventory and appraisal. Under Probate Code section 8800, this is filed within four months after letters are first issued to a general personal representative, or within further time the court allows; a probate referee usually values non-cash assets.
7. Pay debts and costs. Debts, taxes and costs of administration are paid from the estate.
8. Close the estate. A final report, account and petition for final distribution go to a hearing where the judge decides on distribution.

How long this takes depends on the estate's complexity, creditor claims, any disputes and the court's calendar. A contested matter, such as heirs in conflict or suspected misconduct, is a different subject handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.

The Executor's Role and Responsibilities

An executor is the person named in a will to carry it out. An administrator is the person the court appoints when there is no will or the named executor cannot serve. California uses personal representative for either, and the California Courts describe that person as the one who "collects all the property of the person that died, pays their bills, and then distributes any remaining property."

When no executor is available, Probate Code section 8461 sets the order of priority for appointment as administrator: the surviving spouse or domestic partner, then children, grandchildren, other issue, parents, and brothers and sisters, with the list continuing through more distant relatives, the public administrator, creditors and any other person. This order governs who may serve, not who inherits.

The work includes locating and securing property, notifying creditors and beneficiaries, managing property while the case is open, filing the decedent's final income tax return and any estate income tax return, filing the inventory, and distributing only as the court allows. If the decedent owned California real property, section 8800 also requires a certification, filed with the inventory, that a change in ownership statement was filed with each county recorder or assessor where the property sits.

The representative is a fiduciary: someone the law requires to act for the estate and its beneficiaries, not for themselves. Most executors are not attorneys, and many work with a probate attorney. The California Courts note that attorney fees are set by law, generally as a percentage of the estate's value, and that a self-represented executor can often pay for a consultation on a single question. A step-by-step estate settlement checklist can help keep the tasks in order.

Property That Passes Outside Probate

Many families reasonably wonder why some of a parent's property seems to move on its own while the rest waits for court. The answer is in how each item was titled.

Living trusts. Property placed in a revocable living trust during life is managed after death by the successor trustee, the person the trust names to take over, without probate. When the trust becomes irrevocable at a settlor's death, Probate Code section 16061.7 requires the trustee to serve a notification on each beneficiary and each heir of the deceased settlor within 60 days of the death, or within 60 days of learning of a person entitled to it.

Joint tenancy. Real property held in joint tenancy passes to the surviving co-owner. For joint bank accounts, Probate Code section 5302 provides that money left on deposit belongs to the surviving party unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent.

Community property with right of survivorship. Married couples and registered domestic partners in California can hold property this way, and the survivor takes it.

Beneficiary designations. Payable-on-death accounts generally go to the payee under section 5302, and under section 5302(e) a will cannot change that designation. Life insurance and retirement accounts generally go to the named beneficiary.

Even outside probate, title and tax steps remain, especially for a house; the guide on inheriting a house in California walks through them. Income tax and basis questions are reviewed by a CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney; reassessment questions go to the county assessor's office.

Intestate Succession: Who Inherits When There Is No Will

Intestate succession is the set of California laws that decide who inherits when a person dies without a will or trust that covers the property, as the California Courts define it. Under Probate Code section 7000, the decedent's heirs take that property.

The rules sit in the Probate Code and turn on which relatives survive. A surviving spouse or registered domestic partner comes first in line, children and their descendants are next, and the statute then reaches out to more distant family in a fixed order. A judge applies that order as written rather than choosing among relatives.

For a surviving spouse, the share depends on the character of the property. Community property, generally what a married couple acquired during the marriage, is treated differently from separate property, such as what one spouse owned before marriage or inherited. The spouse's share of separate property also depends on whether children, parents or siblings survive. The California Courts' probate guide is the place to start for the terms, and a probate attorney can apply the rules to a specific family.

Common Missteps During California Probate

Nobody arrives at a first probate case knowing its rhythm, and most problems are procedural rather than dramatic. These are worth recognizing:

• Missing a filing deadline. The will-lodging period, the inventory period and creditor-claim responses each run from a different starting point, described above.
• Distributing too early. Property generally waits until debts and costs are paid and the court authorizes distribution.
• Overlooking assets. Safe-deposit boxes, uncashed checks, final paychecks and digital accounts in the decedent's name alone are easy to miss.
• Mixing up the two kinds of property. Treating a payable-on-death account as if it needs court approval, or a solely owned account as if it does not.
• Commingling funds. Estate money kept in the representative's personal account blurs the record the court will review.

These are procedural points, not a complete list. A probate attorney advises on the specifics of a given estate. For the wider picture beyond probate, including trust administration and taxes, see the California estate settlement guide.

How Silver Lining Estate Can Help

Silver Lining Estate is an educational resource that explains what happens after a death in California and the choices a family has. Readers in San Diego County can also open the San Diego County estate guide for the local offices involved.