Most people facing this filing have never seen one before. An adult child or surviving spouse who has just received letters from the court is often still sorting mail, finding bank statements in kitchen drawers, and fielding questions from siblings who want to know what the estate is worth and when anything will be distributed. The inventory is where that question first gets a formal answer, and it is one of the first real deadlines a personal representative meets. This page explains what the document is, what goes on it, who values what, and how it is filed.
What the Inventory and Appraisal Is
The inventory and appraisal is a single court document. Probate Code section 8800 requires the personal representative to "file with the court clerk an inventory of property to be administered in the decedent's estate together with an appraisal of property in the inventory," and says the two "shall be combined in a single document."
A personal representative is the person the court appoints to represent the estate in probate. According to the California Courts guide to property after someone dies, that person "collects all the property of the person that died, pays their bills, and then distributes any remaining property" to the heirs or beneficiaries. An executor is the person named in a will to take charge. When there is no will, or the named person cannot serve, the court appoints an administrator. Probate Code section 8461 sets the order of priority, starting with a surviving spouse or domestic partner, then children, then grandchildren, and continuing through a longer list.
The Judicial Council's Inventory and Appraisal form, DE-160, is the main form, and its attachment, DE-161, carries the item-by-item listings. Both real property and personal property appear on it. Real property is land and buildings. Personal property is everything else, from furniture and jewelry to stock and cash.
What Goes on the Inventory — and What Does Not
Probate Code section 8850 says the inventory "shall include all property to be administered in the decedent's estate." The key phrase is "to be administered." Property that passes to someone outside probate is not part of the estate the court supervises, so it does not belong on this document.
Typical probate property is anything held in the decedent's name alone with no named beneficiary or survivor. That often includes a house titled only to the decedent, household furnishings, jewelry, a car, and bank or brokerage accounts with no co-owner or payable-on-death payee. A share held as a tenant in common also generally belongs to the estate, because that form of ownership carries no right of survivorship.
People often ask which assets are "exempt" from probate. The clearer way to put it is that some property passes outside probate. That generally includes property held in a living trust, property held in joint tenancy, and accounts or policies with a named beneficiary. The California Courts inventory guide notes that joint tenancy property passes to the other owner when one dies. For joint bank accounts, Probate Code section 5302 generally gives the remaining funds to the surviving party "unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent," and gives a payable-on-death account to the named payee. Whether a particular item is in or out depends on how title was held, so the deed and the account paperwork decide it.
If the decedent was married, the inventory must also show, as far as the personal representative can tell, which property was community, quasi-community or separate property, under Probate Code section 8850(c).
The Probate Referee's Role in Valuing Assets
A probate referee is an appraiser appointed by the California State Controller to value estate property. The State Controller's Probate Referees page explains that candidates "must pass a state-administered test on probate procedures and appraisal principles," that the Controller appoints "at least one probate referee per county," and that referees complete 15 hours of continuing education each year.
The personal representative does not pick the referee. Probate Code section 8902 generally requires the personal representative to deliver the inventory "to the probate referee designated by the court," along with the data the referee needs, and says the referee "shall appraise all property other than that appraised by the personal representative." In practice, that usually means real property, stocks and other securities, business interests, and most tangible items. The Judicial Council's form on the duties and liabilities of a personal representative adds that a court-appointed referee values the property "unless the appointment is waived by the court."
The personal representative values a defined group of items under Probate Code section 8901. These include money and cash items such as uncashed checks issued on or before the death, certain checks issued after death for wages or refunds, accounts in financial institutions, cash deposits and money market funds, and lump-sum life insurance, retirement and annuity proceeds payable on death. An item is left to the referee if, in the personal representative's opinion, its fair market value differs from its face value.
The referee is paid a fee set by law from the estate. An attorney handling the probate, or the referee's office, can explain how it is figured for a given estate.
How Detailed the Inventory Must Be
Each item needs enough description that anyone reading it can tell exactly what it is. The Probate Code spells out a few cases. Under Probate Code section 8850(b), money owed to the decedent is listed with the debtor's name, the date, the original amount and any endorsements. Security for that debt, such as a deed of trust, is listed too, and if the security is real property, the inventory gives the recording reference or, if it was never recorded, a legal description. A partnership interest is listed and appraised as a single item.
For household goods, the California Courts inventory guide says that, for an estimate, a person "generally do[es] not need to list every item" of things like tools, clothes, furniture or kitchen items, and can write down the category with a total value. The same guide says to list items of high value individually, such as a collection, an expensive watch or a piece of jewelry. How the formal filing groups household contents is a practical question to raise with the referee.
The value being measured is fair market value at the date of death. It is not what it would cost to replace an item, and it is not what the item means to the family. That distinction matters most when sorting a parent's belongings, where a well-loved table may carry little market value and an unnoticed piece of jewelry may carry a great deal.
The division of labor stays the same throughout: the personal representative identifies and describes the property accurately, and the referee assigns values to the items the referee appraises.
The Filing Deadline and What Happens After
The deadline runs from the court's paperwork, not from the date of death. Probate Code section 8800(b) says the inventory and appraisal "shall be filed within four months after letters are first issued to a general personal representative," and the court "may allow such further time" as is reasonable in the particular case. A personal representative may also file partial inventories, but all of them must be filed before that time runs out.
The document is filed with the clerk of the Superior Court where the probate is pending. At the same time, Probate Code section 8800(d) requires a certification that either the decedent owned no California real property, or a change in ownership statement has been filed with the county recorder or assessor in each county where the decedent owned property. For a family keeping the house, that county filing often comes up alongside property tax questions under Proposition 19, which are part of inheriting a house in California.
Property found later goes on a supplemental inventory. Probate Code section 8801 requires a supplemental inventory and appraisal, prepared the same way as the original, "within four months after the personal representative acquires knowledge of the property," with further reasonable time allowed by the court.
The appraised values also matter for income tax. Under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a), the basis of inherited property is generally its fair market value at the date of death, with exceptions in that section. Basis is the starting figure used to measure gain on a later sale. A CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney reviews how this applies to a given estate. Where heirs disagree with the inventory or with how the personal representative is acting, that is a contested matter handled by an attorney who litigates probate cases.
What the Personal Representative Does — Step by Step
The inventory is one task inside a longer estate settlement checklist. These steps describe what the role involves under California probate procedure.
- Gather the records. Bank and brokerage statements, deeds, vehicle titles and insurance policies usually show what the decedent owned and how title was held.
- Sort probate from non-probate property. Trust property, joint tenancy property and accounts with a named beneficiary generally pass outside probate, as described above.
- List each item clearly. Each item gets a description specific enough to identify it.
- Value the cash-type items. The personal representative appraises the items Probate Code section 8901 lists.
- Send the inventory to the referee. The referee designated by the court receives the inventory and supporting documents under Probate Code section 8902.
- Review the returned appraisal. The referee's values come back on the document, and the personal representative checks that the descriptions and figures match the records.
- File with the court. The completed inventory and appraisal, with its certification, is filed within four months after letters are first issued.
Two practical points shape these steps. The Judicial Council's duties form says estate money must be kept separate from the personal representative's own money, in an account named as an estate account. The California Courts guide also notes that deeds are public records at the county recorder's office, while bank records generally require a court-appointed personal representative to obtain. The wider sequence of probate is set out in the California estate settlement guide.
