California Probate Process: Choose the Right Transfer Path

Probate is one way property transfers after a death in California. It is not the only way, and it is not automatic. Whether a court process is needed — and which one — depends on facts you can usually establish from paperwork: how each asset was titled, whether a beneficiary or trust was named, where the person lived when they died, the date of death, what kind of California property is involved and what it is worth, and whether a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner inherits. The California Courts self-help guide is clear that not every estate requires the court, and the answer turns on the amount and type of property the person owned.

The short answer. Many California estates never need formal probate. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, personal property up to $208,850 transfers by affidavit after 40 days, and a primary residence up to $750,000 by court petition. Property with a named beneficiary, a surviving joint owner or a funded trust transfers outside the court entirely. Formal probate is what is left over.

Two things are worth knowing before anything else. Being named executor in a will is not the same as having authority. Until a judge appoints you and the court issues Letters, a bank, title company or the DMV has no basis to treat you as the estate's representative. And the county matters: probate is handled by the probate division of the superior court, and local rules, local forms and filing practice differ from county to county.

Verified August 5, 2026. Next scheduled review: January 15, 2027.

Start here, depending on your situation

• Start with the paperwork, not a form, if you have not confirmed how each asset was titled — deeds, account statements, beneficiary designations, retirement and life-insurance forms, any trust document — because title and beneficiary designations decide which property the court process reaches at all.
• Start with the California Courts pages on transfers that may not need formal probate if the California property looks modest and is mainly bank accounts, wages or personal belongings, to check whether a simplified procedure may be available for the date of death. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025 the personal-property affidavit reaches $208,850 and a primary residence up to $750,000 goes by court petition; the matrix below carries the measures and exclusions that decide it.
• Start with the spousal or domestic partner property petition if you are a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, because California has a dedicated court procedure for property passing to a surviving spouse.
• Prepare for formal probate if the California property with no other transfer path includes real estate above the simplified-procedure maximums, or no simplified procedure fits the assets and date of death.
• Don't choose yet — pause and get professional review if more than one person claims the right to be appointed, if the estate may owe more than it holds, if there is a business interest, out-of-state real estate or a contested claim, or if recorded title does not match what the family believes.

Confirm the procedure, forms and filing requirements with the probate division of the superior court in the decedent's county of domicile before you file anything. Get a California probate attorney or an estate CPA involved before you sell, transfer or distribute property, or if a deadline has already passed.

What needs attention now, and what can wait

This sequence is general operational guidance, not a legal conclusion about any particular estate.

Now. Secure the home and vehicles, and keep property insurance in force — lapsed coverage on an empty house is one of the costliest early mistakes. Locate the original will if there is one, and do not alter or discard it. Order several certified copies of the death certificate; our first-week checklist covers how many you are likely to need and who to notify. Keep paying time-sensitive obligations that protect property, such as a mortgage, insurance premium or utility, from the right account. Do not distribute anything, and do not sell or sign over property.

Soon. Build an asset list showing how each item is titled and whether a beneficiary was named. Notify the institutions that need to know, and ask each what it requires from an estate representative. If there is a will, arrange for it to be delivered to the correct superior court — that duty has its own deadline, below. Identify the county of domicile and open that court's probate page. Get a realistic read on debts.

Later. Court appointment if it is needed, creditor notice and claims, inventory and appraisal, tax filings, sale of property, accounting, distribution and closing the case.

Only if applicable. Formal probate, a federal estate tax return, ancillary administration for real estate in another state, business succession, contested appointment or contested claims, and administration of an estate that cannot pay everything it owes.

On this page

• Before you file: identify the facts that control the route
• Common California situations and the route that usually fits
• Choose the California transfer path
• Are you personally responsible for the debts?
• Formal probate: open, administer and close
• Forms used in a California probate case
• Deadlines and how long California probate may take
• Costs and statutory compensation
• Check the county court before you file
• Choosing the right kind of help
• Questions people ask about California probate

Before you file: identify the facts that control the route

People often start by asking how big the estate is. That is the wrong first question in California, because each simplified procedure measures a different thing and excludes different property. Work through the five route facts below first — domicile, property location and title, date of death, title and beneficiary designations, and whether a court has issued Letters. They determine which procedure is on the table at all.

Route fact to establish	Why it changes the route
State of domicile at death	Sets the governing law and the venue county, and with it that county's local rules, forms, e-filing and publication practice
Location and title of real property	Real estate is handled where it sits; California property owned by a nonresident may need a California proceeding, and out-of-state property its own process there
Date of death	Maximum values for the simplified procedures apply by date of death, not the date you file
Title and beneficiary designations	Joint tenancy, community property with right of survivorship, TOD and POD registrations, named beneficiaries and funded trust property generally move outside the probate estate. A will, by contrast, directs only what the court process reaches; with no will, California's intestate succession rules decide who inherits and in what shares, and community property is treated differently from separate property
Whether a court has issued Letters	Nothing requiring estate authority should happen before this

Do not access accounts, sign a deed, sell a vehicle or transfer property based on being named in a will. If an institution asks for proof of authority, that is a signal to establish the route first, not to improvise.

Common California situations and the route that usually fits

Before you compare procedures, find the row closest to your situation. This table maps estate shape and your role to the route people in that position usually end up using, then sends you to the detailed tables below. It is a starting point for the confirmation work, not a determination about any estate.

Situation and your role	What decides it	Route that usually fits	Free route	Deadline in play	Next action
Surviving spouse. House held as community property with right of survivorship, accounts joint	The form of title on the deed and each account registration	No administration, or the spousal or domestic partner property petition (California Probate Code § 13650) for anything in the decedent's sole name	Institution paperwork; a recorded affidavit of death	Will lodging, 30 days	Pull the deed and every account registration before filing anything
Adult child, successor. No will, about $40,000 in accounts, no real estate	Gross value against $208,850; the § 13050 exclusions; the date of death	Affidavit for collection of personal property (§ 13100)	Yes — this is the free route	40-day wait	Check the DE-300 column for the date of death, then wait out the 40 days
Nominated executor. A will, a home that was the parent's residence, small accounts	Whether it was the primary residence, and its appraised gross value against $750,000	Petition to determine succession to primary residence (§ 13151), with a § 13100 affidavit for the accounts	Court self-help and county forms	40-day wait; will lodging, 30 days	Arrange the probate referee valuation; open the county probate page
Nominated executor. Larger home, accounts, and a rental in another state	Value beyond every simplified maximum; property outside California	Formal probate here, plus a proceeding in the other state	Court self-help, though it is thin at this complexity	Will lodging, then the § 8800 and § 9100 clocks once Letters issue	File DE-111 in the county of domicile; get counsel in the second state before anything is sold
Representative, appointed or nominated. The estate appears to owe more than it holds	Creditor priority and whether anything has already been paid	Formal probate, with an attorney	Fee waiver; legal aid; county self-help for procedure	The § 9100 claim period	Stop paying anyone, including relatives, and consult a probate attorney
Beneficiary or competing petitioner. A sibling holds the house and will not communicate, or more than one person seeks appointment	Priority for appointment; whether a case is already open	Formal probate with a litigation attorney	Court self-help for procedure only; State Bar referral service	The § 8110 notice and the hearing date	Check the county docket for an existing case; verify any attorney through the State Bar search
Any role. There was a will, but no one can find the original	Whether a copy exists, who last had custody, and whether intestate succession applies instead	Formal probate; proving a lost will is attorney work, and the estate may otherwise proceed as though there were no will	Court self-help for procedure only	Will lodging, 30 days, if the original is later found	Search the safe deposit box, the drafting attorney's file and the county clerk before assuming it is gone, then get counsel
Any role. The person received Medi-Cal long-term care after age 55	Whether assets pass through probate, and whether a spouse or partner survives	A non-probate route materially changes what DHCS can reach	The DHCS notice itself is free	DHCS written notice, 90 days	Send the notice with a death certificate; ask an elder law attorney before choosing a route
Successor trustee. Everything was supposed to be in a living trust	Whether the trust was actually funded — check the deed and the account registrations	Trust administration, with a court route only for anything left outside it	Trust document and institution paperwork	Will lodging, 30 days, if there is a pour-over will	Verify funding asset by asset before assuming no court process is needed

Where a row does not name a professional, the triggers for getting one are the same across all of them and are listed under when self-help may not be enough.

Choose the California transfer path

This is the decision the rest of the page depends on. Each row below is a separate statutory procedure with its own measuring stick, waiting period and paperwork. They are not tiers of one process, and an estate can use more than one — a beneficiary designation for a retirement account, say, and a court petition for a house. Read your row in both tables against the five route facts above, then open the linked official source before selecting any form. Nothing here determines whether a particular estate qualifies; that belongs to California law, the court and a licensed adviser applying them to the actual documents and titles.

California transfer-path matrix, table A: does this route apply? Verified August 5, 2026. Every row is Verified with limitation for the reasons given under "How these rows were verified."

Route	May apply when	Maximum and what it measures	Waiting period	Primary form
Transfer outside probate by title or designation	Property in a living trust, in joint tenancy or community property with right of survivorship, or with a named beneficiary or TOD/POD registration	No statutory maximum; set by the title or contract	None by statute; each institution sets its own process	The institution's own claim or transfer paperwork; a deed or affidavit may be recorded
Spousal or domestic partner property petition	Property passing to, or already belonging to, a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, including the decedent's half of community property	No dollar maximum under California Probate Code § 13650	None by statute	DE-221, with the court's order on the matching Judicial Council form
Spousal affidavit for unpaid earnings	A surviving spouse or registered domestic partner collecting salary or other compensation an employer still owes the decedent	$20,875 (deaths on or after April 1, 2025), measured as the compensation owed, under California Probate Code §§ 13600–13601	None by statute	An affidavit or declaration presented to the employer, with DE-300 attached
Affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property	Personal property only — accounts, wages, securities, vehicles, belongings. Not real estate	$208,850 (deaths on or after April 1, 2025), measured as the gross value of the decedent's California real and personal property, excluding property described in California Probate Code § 13050 and anything included in a § 13151 petition	40 days after death	An affidavit under California Probate Code § 13100; many counties publish a local form
Petition to determine succession to primary residence	One California property that was the decedent's primary residence	$750,000 (deaths on or after April 1, 2025), measured as the gross value of that residence only, under California Probate Code § 13151	40 days after death	DE-310, with the order on DE-315
Affidavit re real property of small value	A California real property interest of small value	$69,625 (deaths on or after April 1, 2025), measured as the gross value of all California real property in the estate, excluding § 13050 property, under California Probate Code § 13200	Six months after death	DE-305
Small estate set-aside for a surviving spouse and minor children	A surviving spouse or minor children need the estate set aside for their support	$107,900 (deaths on or after April 1, 2025), measured as the net value of the estate excluding all liens and encumbrances at the date of death and the value of any probate homestead set apart under California Probate Code § 6520, under §§ 6600–6613	Not stated on DE-300; confirm with the county court	A petition to the probate court with DE-300 attached; ask the probate clerk which form or pleading the county requires
Formal probate	California probate property with no other transfer path, or facts that put the other procedures out of reach	No maximum	None; the court's calendar sets timing	DE-111 to open; DE-150 evidences the appointment
No administration at all	Everything passes by title, trust or designation and nothing remains in the decedent's sole name	Not a choice; a description of the estate	None, but the will-lodging duty still applies	None; the original will still goes to the clerk

Table A: California transfer paths, verified August 5, 2026. Every row Verified with limitation.

California transfer-path matrix, table B: what each route costs, and what it leaves open. Verified August 5, 2026. Every row is Verified with limitation.

Route	Court involvement	Typical cost and who pays	Typical time	What it does not resolve	Personal liability exposure
Transfer outside probate by title or designation	Usually none	No court fee; institution paperwork, plus a county recording fee for a deed or affidavit. Amounts set by each institution and county, not verified here	Set by each institution; not fixed by statute	Debts, taxes, a title problem found later, or a trust that was never funded	None from administration. A joint account holder, co-signer or guarantor stays liable on their own obligation
Spousal or domestic partner property petition	Petition, hearing and court order	A filing fee, usually advanced by the petitioner; confirm the amount with the county court	The court's calendar sets the hearing	Property not passing to the spouse; appoints no representative and starts no creditor claim period	California Probate Code § 13550 makes a surviving spouse personally liable for the decedent's debts chargeable against property passing without administration, capped by § 13551 at its value at death less liens; § 13552 limits that liability once administration opens and the claim period runs
Spousal affidavit for unpaid earnings	None; presented to the employer	No court fee; the employer may require notarization. Employer-set, not verified here	Set by the employer's payroll process; not fixed by statute	Anything other than compensation the employer owes; appoints no one and starts no creditor claim period	Not separately verified here. A surviving spouse who takes property without administration can be liable for the decedent's debts under California Probate Code §§ 13550–13551; ask an attorney whether that reaches compensation collected this way
Affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property	None; presented to the institution holding the property	No court fee; the successor pays any notarization or medallion signature guarantee required	Days to weeks after the 40-day wait, set by the institution rather than a court	Real estate, title defects, creditor claims or taxes; appoints no one	California Probate Code § 13109 makes the transferee personally liable for the decedent's unsecured debts, capped at the value of the transferred property when the affidavit is presented, less liens and encumbrances
Petition to determine succession to primary residence	Petition and court order; a probate referee valuation is required	A filing fee, plus the referee's commission under § 8961; confirm the fee with the county court	The referee's appraisal first, then the court's calendar	Personal property, other real estate, or creditor claims	California Probate Code § 13156 makes the petitioner who receives the property personally liable for the decedent's unsecured debts, capped at its fair market value at the date of death less liens and encumbrances
Affidavit re real property of small value	Filed with the court, then recorded; no hearing	A court filing fee and a county recording fee; confirm both before filing	Six months' wait, then processing and recording	Personal property, or creditor claims	California Probate Code § 13204 makes the transferee personally liable for the decedent's unsecured debts, capped at the property's fair market value when the certified affidavit issues, less liens and encumbrances
Small estate set-aside for a surviving spouse and minor children	Petition, notice and court order	A filing fee, usually advanced by the petitioner; confirm the amount with the county court	The court's calendar sets the hearing	Property beyond what the court sets aside	Liability for the decedent's debts on a set-aside is governed by the set-aside statutes themselves and is not resolved here; this route needs legal advice before you rely on it
Formal probate	Full supervision, petition to discharge	$435 to file, a separate fee to settle the account, publication, certified copies, any bond premium, the referee's commission, and statutory compensation unless waived — paid from the estate, though someone advances the early costs	The California Courts guide describes 9 to 18 months, sometimes longer	Non-probate assets; a dispute the parties will not settle	Fiduciary duty with personal exposure until discharge; see the administration section below
No administration at all	None, except the will-lodging duty	Institution paperwork and any recording fee	Each institution's own timeline	Debts, taxes, or an asset later found in the decedent's sole name	None from administration; each person's own obligations are unaffected

Table B: California transfer paths, verified August 5, 2026. Every row Verified with limitation.

The values in table A come from the Judicial Council's DE-300, Maximum Values for Small Estate Set-Aside and Disposition of Estate Without Administration, effective April 28, 2025. It carries one column for deaths between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2025 and another for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, and the amounts adjust on a three-year cycle, with the next adjustment scheduled for April 1, 2028. Open the current DE-300 and check the date-of-death column before relying on any figure.

Three distinctions cause most of the confusion. The $208,850 figure gates collection of personal property; it is not a license to transfer a house. The $750,000 figure applies only to a primary residence through a court petition, not to all California real estate. The $69,625 figure applies to real property of small value through a different affidavit with a six-month wait. For how these compare with other states, see our small-estate procedures by state guide; for the general shape of probate as a legal process, see how probate works.

What counts toward the maximums, and what does not

Totalling the wrong things is the most common way people reach the wrong route. California Probate Code § 13050 leaves specific property out of the count. Add up the decedent's real and personal property, plus any life insurance or retirement benefit payable to the estate itself. Then leave out:

• Cars, boats and mobile homes.
• Real property outside California.
• Property held in a trust, including a living trust.
• Real or personal property the decedent held with someone else in joint tenancy.
• Community, quasi-community or separate property that passed directly to a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner.
• Life insurance, death benefits and other assets that pass directly to a named beneficiary rather than to the estate.
• Unpaid salary or other compensation owed to the decedent, up to $20,875 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025.
• Bank accounts owned by more than one person, including the decedent.
• For the § 13100 affidavit specifically, any property included in a § 13151 primary-residence petition.

One rule surprises almost everyone: you may not subtract the decedent's debts, and you may not subtract the mortgage. The measure is gross value, so a house with $400,000 owed on it still counts at its full appraised value. Confirm the current exclusion amounts on DE-300 for the date of death before you total anything.

Who may use each simplified route

The simplified procedures are not open to whoever is closest to the family. They run to the "successor of the decedent," which California Probate Code § 13006 defines for each particular item of property: if there is a will, the beneficiary or all the beneficiaries who take that item under it; if there is no will, the person or all the persons who take that item under California's intestate succession rules. Where more than one person succeeds to an item, they act together. If you are not sure which category you are in, that is a question for an attorney before you sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury.

Two things catch people out. A trust that was signed but never funded does not keep property out of court, and that is the most common reason a family expecting no court process ends up in one — check the deed and the account registrations before relying on the trust. And a surviving spouse who could use the spousal petition may still choose full probate on purpose, because opening administration starts the creditor claim period and closes the door on late claims. Both are worth a conversation with an attorney first.

Who has authority over the estate, and when it begins

A large share of early mistakes come from role confusion. The person named in a will, the person the court appoints, the trustee of a living trust and someone who held a power of attorney are four different roles in law, even when they are the same human being. A power of attorney ends at death and gives no authority afterward. A trustee's authority comes from the trust document, not the probate court. A personal representative's authority comes from the court's order and the Letters that follow — which is why banks, title companies and transfer agents ask for a certified copy of the Letters rather than a copy of the will.

The authority table below sets out who is recognized by whom.

Role	What it covers	Who recognizes the authority	What it changes
Executor named in a will	A nomination only, until the court acts	No one yet; nomination alone is not authority	Nothing transfers on this basis; the nominee usually files the petition
Administrator	Court-appointed representative when no executor serves or there is no will	The probate court, by order and Letters	Same duties as an executor; a bond is more often required
Personal representative	Umbrella term for an appointed executor or administrator	The probate court; institutions rely on the Letters	Fiduciary duty to the estate, creditors, heirs and the court
Trustee of a living trust	Property already titled in the trust	The trust document and the institutions holding trust assets	Usually no probate case; accountability runs to beneficiaries
Agent under a power of attorney	Nothing after death	No one; the authority ends at death	Using it after death creates personal risk
Beneficiary or heir	A right to receive, not to administer	The court, trustee or paying institution	May request information; cannot sell or transfer estate property
Successor using a small-estate affidavit	Specific property under a specific statute	The institution or county recorder, depending on the procedure	Faster and cheaper, but carries responsibility for unpaid debts up to what is received

The role definitions come from the California Probate Code and the California Courts self-help guide. What an individual bank, brokerage, insurer, title company or county recorder accepts as proof is that institution's own policy, is not verified here, and should be confirmed directly.

You are also not required to serve. California Probate Code § 8420 gives the person named in a will the right to appointment, not an obligation, and someone who does not want the role can decline before appointment; the court then looks to the alternate named in the will or to the statutory priority list. Someone already appointed who needs to stop petitions the court to resign under California Probate Code § 8520 and accounts for whatever they handled — not a decision to make alone. Either way, whoever holds the original will still has to deliver it to the court.

If the person received Medi-Cal

This changes what is at stake in the choice above, so it belongs here rather than with taxes. For deaths on or after January 1, 2017, the California Department of Health Care Services may recover only from assets in the probate estate; property transferring by survivorship, by trust, or by a payable- or transfer-on-death designation is outside what it can reach. Recovery covers specified long-term-care services received at age 55 or older, and DHCS does not pursue a claim where there is a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, a surviving child under 21, or a surviving child of any age who is blind or disabled.

Separately, and whichever route you choose, California Probate Code § 215 requires the estate attorney — or, if there is none, the beneficiary, the personal representative, or whoever holds the decedent's property — to give the Director of Health Care Services written notice of the death, with a copy of the death certificate, no later than 90 days after the date of death. Notifying the county Medi-Cal office or Social Security does not satisfy this. DHCS can waive a claim for substantial hardship. Do not pick a route on this basis alone; an elder law attorney is the right person to ask.

How these rows were verified

Sources were reopened on August 5, 2026. Legal and procedural claims come from the California Probate Code and the Judicial Council forms; process descriptions from the California Courts self-help guide; anything about how a specific bank, recorder or court office behaves is institution or county practice, labeled as such.

Every row carries Verified with limitation rather than Verified for a documented reason: two official sources display superseded figures. The California Courts page on transfers that may not need formal probate contradicts itself — its narrative section states that the small-estate limit is $184,500 for anyone who died on or after April 1, 2022, while its own summary table further down the same page correctly shows $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025. Separately, the Probate Code sections linked throughout this page display the original statutory figures rather than the current ones: § 13100 still reads $166,250, because California Probate Code § 890 places the inflation adjustment in form DE-300 instead of in the statute text. Several county self-help pages also still describe earlier real-property figures. The controlling numbers are on the current DE-300, and this page uses them rather than the stale page text. Rows stay marked as limited until those pages align and a qualified California legal editor records the reconciliation. Where a source could not close a question, this page says so instead of estimating. Next scheduled review: January 15, 2027, with a separate check calendared for the April 1, 2028 adjustment.

Are you personally responsible for the debts?

This answer is the same whichever route above applies to your estate, and it is the question people are most often given a wrong answer to — sometimes by a collector.

The estate is responsible for the decedent's debts out of estate property. A surviving family member is generally not personally responsible for those debts simply because they are related to the person who died, or because they are the executor — the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau states that you are not typically responsible for repaying the debt of someone who has died, and that being an authorized user on a card does not create that responsibility. The exceptions are narrow: a jointly held account or a loan you co-signed or guaranteed; California's community property rules, which can reach a surviving spouse; secured collateral, where the lender's claim follows the property rather than the person; and, for anyone who used one of the simplified procedures above, the decedent's unsecured debts up to the value of what they received. A collector may contact the estate's representative about a claim against the estate, but it may not tell a relative outside those categories that they must pay from their own money. A call is not a bill. Debts are not erased by death; they are paid, or not paid, out of estate property — and a representative who distributes before debts and taxes are resolved can end up personally exposed. If the estate may not cover everything it owes, stop and get an attorney involved before paying anyone.

Formal probate: open, administer and close

If formal probate is the route, the California Courts self-help guide describes it as three main parts — opening a case, administering the estate, and closing the estate. That framing is useful because the parts are genuinely different kinds of work: opening is about getting authority, administering is about using it as a fiduciary on the court's clock, and closing is about proving the estate was handled properly before anything is distributed.

Stage 1: opening the case

Start with venue. The petition is filed in the superior court of the county where the person was domiciled at death. If they lived outside California but owned property here, California Probate Code § 7052 addresses venue, and the county where the property sits becomes relevant. Confirm venue with the court; a petition filed in the wrong county costs weeks.

If there is a will, someone has custody of it, and that carries its own duty. Under California Probate Code § 8200, the custodian must deliver the original will to the clerk of the superior court of the county in which the estate may be administered and send a copy to the person named as executor, on the timing set out in the deadlines table below. This is a lodging duty. It is not a deadline to file for probate, and it applies whether or not anyone intends to open a case.

The petition itself is Judicial Council form DE-111. It asks the court to admit the will if there is one, appoint a personal representative, and usually grant authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act, which permits certain actions with notice rather than a separate court order for each. The court sets a hearing date at filing.

Notice is then the gating task, and it runs on two tracks. California Probate Code § 8110 requires notice of the hearing to each heir and to each devisee, executor and alternative executor named in any will offered for probate. California Probate Code § 8121 separately requires publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the city where the person lived, or where the property is located where the court has jurisdiction under § 7052. Both notices go out on form DE-121, and the deadlines table below carries the timing. Which newspapers a county accepts, and whether the court or petitioner arranges publication, is local practice.

Before the hearing, many courts post examiner notes flagging defects in the paperwork; curing them early is often the difference between being appointed and being continued. If the court grants the petition, it signs an order for probate (DE-140), a bond is posted if required and not waived, the appointee acknowledges the fiduciary duties on DE-147, and the clerk issues Letters on DE-150. Authority begins here, not earlier. Order several certified copies of the Letters; banks, title companies and transfer agents will each want one.

Stage 2: administering the estate

Administration is where most of the calendar time and most of the personal exposure sit. The broad estate-wide tasks — notifying agencies, tracking accounts, keeping records — are covered in our executor checklist; what follows is the California court layer.

Gather and protect. Retitle accounts into the estate's name where appropriate, obtain a federal employer identification number if one is needed, keep insurance current, and keep estate money strictly separate from personal money. Commingling is the fastest route to a contested accounting.

Where personal exposure actually attaches. Five things create it:

• Distributing before the creditor period closes and taxes are resolved.
• Mixing estate money with your own.
• Self-dealing — buying estate property yourself, selling it to a relative, or paying yourself outside the court's order. The court treats this seriously even when the price looks fair.
• Failing to keep records good enough to account.
• Missing a tax filing the estate owed.

Most California executors are also beneficiaries, which is normal and permitted, but it means your interest as an heir and your duty to the other heirs and to creditors can point in different directions. When they do, the duty controls. If you are unsure whether something counts as self-dealing, that uncertainty is the reason to ask before acting rather than after.

Inventory and appraise. California Probate Code § 8800 sets the filing period for the inventory and appraisal, running from the issuance of Letters, and allows the court to grant more time when circumstances warrant. The representative values cash and cash-equivalent items; a court-appointed probate referee appraises the rest — real property, securities, business interests, vehicles — on form DE-160 with attachment DE-161.

Notify creditors and handle claims. Known and reasonably ascertainable creditors receive notice of administration on form DE-157. California Probate Code § 9100 sets the claim deadline, which runs from the issuance of Letters or from the notice given to that particular creditor, whichever leaves more time; the deadlines table below carries both. Claims arrive on DE-172 and are allowed or rejected on DE-174. Deciding which claims are valid, in what order they are paid, and what to do when there is not enough to pay them all is legal work, not clerical work. Who bears those debts is covered under are you personally responsible for the debts? above.

Sell or transfer only within the authority granted. Under independent administration authority, some transactions require advance notice to interested persons on form DE-165, Notice of Proposed Action, giving them a chance to object; others still require a court order. Read the order carefully — full and limited authority are not the same, and sales of real property are treated differently from ordinary transactions.

Taxes are a separate discipline. The final income tax return, an estate income tax return in some cases, property tax reassessment, the basis of inherited property and, for larger estates, a federal estate tax return are distinct filings on distinct clocks — see what California does not tax, and what the federal government might below. Nothing here is tax advice; this is the point to bring in a CPA or tax attorney.

Do not distribute during this stage — not to yourself, not to a sibling who needs money, not as an advance. Distribution is a closing-stage act that follows a court order.

Stage 3: accounting, distribution and closing

Closing is not "pay the heirs." It is proving to the court that the estate was administered properly, then transferring property under the court's order.

The personal representative prepares a final report and account — what came in, what went out, what remains, and the proposed distribution. Beneficiaries entitled to an account may waive it in writing in some circumstances, but a waiver does not remove the requirement for a petition for final distribution. That petition asks the court to approve the account, fix compensation, and order who receives what. California Probate Code § 11640 frames the condition: the court orders distribution when the estate is in a condition to be closed, with debts, expenses and taxes paid or adequately provided for. Where a claim is disputed or a liability uncertain, the court may direct that a reserve be held back.

After the order, property moves: deeds recorded, accounts transferred, checks issued, and each recipient signs a receipt. Those receipts are filed, and the representative asks for discharge on form DE-295, which formally ends the role and its fiduciary exposure. The court's order controls distribution — not the will alone, not a family agreement, and not this page. A dispute about the account, the compensation, a claim or a distribution is a moment for counsel.

Forms used in a California probate case

Judicial Council forms are statewide, but many counties also require local forms alongside them, and a filing can be rejected for missing one. Open each form through the California Courts probate forms index, where the form page shows its current revision date, and check your county's probate page for local requirements. Listed below in the order they arise: opening, administration, closing, then route selection and the simplified procedures.

Form	What it is
DE-111	Petition for Probate
DE-121	Notice of Petition to Administer Estate
DE-140	Order for Probate
DE-147	Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative, signed before Letters issue
DE-150	Letters — the court's evidence of authority
DE-157	Notice of Administration to Creditors
DE-160 / DE-161	Inventory and Appraisal, and its attachment
DE-165	Notice of Proposed Action
DE-172 / DE-174	Creditor's Claim; Allowance or Rejection of Creditor's Claim
DE-295	Ex Parte Petition for Final Discharge and Order
DE-300	Maximum Values for Small Estate Set-Aside and Disposition of Estate Without Administration
DE-221	Spousal or Domestic Partner Property Petition
DE-305	Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value
DE-310 / DE-315	Petition to Determine Succession to Primary Residence, and the order

A form list is a map, not filing instructions: which forms a case needs depends on the route, the assets, the county and the facts.

Deadlines and how long California probate may take

Two different things get called "the timeline," and they behave differently. Statutory deadlines are fixed by the Probate Code and attach to a triggering event. Case duration is an observation about how long cases tend to run, and it is not a promise.

Statutory deadlines. Sources reviewed August 5, 2026.

Event, and who acts	What triggers it	Period	If it is missed	Can it be cured?	Source
Deliver the original will to the court — whoever has custody of it	Knowledge of the death, while holding the will	Within 30 days	The custodian is liable for damages sustained by anyone injured by the failure	Yes — deliver it late; the duty does not expire	California Probate Code § 8200
Notice of the death to DHCS, if the person received Medi-Cal — the estate attorney, or the beneficiary, representative or person holding the property	The date of death	Within 90 days	The duty remains, and DHCS's claim against the probate estate is unaffected by late notice	Yes — send the notice with a death certificate	California Probate Code § 215
Mailed notice of the hearing — petitioner	The hearing date set by the court	At least 15 days before the hearing	The hearing is continued and appointment is delayed	Yes — re-notice and take a new date	California Probate Code § 8110
Published notice — petitioner, through an accepted newspaper	The hearing date set by the court	First publication at least 15 days before the hearing; three publications, with at least five days between the first and last, not counting publication dates	The hearing is continued	Yes — re-publish and take a new date	California Probate Code § 8121
Inventory and appraisal filed — representative, with the probate referee	Letters first issued to a general personal representative	Within four months; the court may allow more time	The court can require the representative to appear and explain	Yes — the statute lets the court allow more time on request	California Probate Code § 8800
Creditor's claim — creditor	Letters first issued, or notice to that creditor	The later of four months after Letters first issue, or 60 days after notice reaches the creditor	A late claim is generally barred	Sometimes — § 9103 allows a petition to file late in narrow circumstances, and that is attorney work	California Probate Code § 9100
Petition for final distribution, or a status report — personal representative	Issuance of Letters	Within one year; within 18 months if a federal estate tax return is required	Under § 12202 the court may cite the representative to appear, and may order administration to continue or a petition to be filed	Yes — file the status report or the petition	California Probate Code § 12200

These periods are stated as the statutes state them. Do not calculate your own case dates from this table — extensions, local practice, service rules and case facts all affect the actual date, and the court and your attorney are the right sources for a date you will rely on.

How long does California probate take if nothing is contested?

The California Courts self-help guide describes formal probate as typically running 9 to 18 months and sometimes longer. Treat that as a qualified official observation rather than a schedule. A case runs at the speed of its slowest dependency, and family agreement does not shorten most of them: the creditor-claim period has to run; the court's calendar sets when the appointment hearing happens and how quickly defects can be cured; the inventory waits on the probate referee's appraisal; a property sale adds its own cycle, sometimes with court confirmation; tax filings and clearances have their own calendars; and a dispute over appointment, an accounting, a claim or a distribution adds an unpredictable amount. The § 12200 one-year and 18-month triggers are reporting obligations, not a promised closing date.

Costs and statutory compensation

California probate costs come from several separate places, and lumping them into one number is how people end up with a badly wrong expectation. The categories below are charged by different parties on different bases.

Cost	Who charges it	Basis	What changes it
Court filing fee	Superior court	Flat, per filing, set by statute	County surcharges; fee waivers; how many petitions the case needs
Publication of notice	The newspaper	Set by the newspaper	Which papers the court accepts
Certified copies	Court clerk	Flat, per copy, per the fee schedule	How many institutions require one
Bond premium	A surety company	Priced on the bond amount	Whether a bond is required or waived
Probate referee	Court-appointed referee	Percentage of appraised value, plus expenses	The value and mix of non-cash assets
Carrying and sale costs	Vendors, lenders, insurers	Varies	Whether the estate holds real property
Attorney and representative compensation	Attorney; personal representative	Statutory schedule for ordinary services, plus court-approved extraordinary fees	The statutory base; waivers; extraordinary work
Accounting and tax preparation	CPA or tax professional	Hourly or flat, by engagement	The estate's tax posture

On the court filing fee: the Judicial Branch's statewide civil fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 sets $435 at item 121 for the first-filed petition for letters of administration or letters testamentary in a decedent's estate, with a separate fee for a later petition to settle an account. Certain fees vary in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Francisco because of a local courthouse-construction surcharge. Confirm the amount with the county court before filing, and ask about a fee waiver if paying it is a hardship. The California Courts guide notes that costs of administration are often well over $1,000, before any professional fees.

The probate referee's compensation is statutory: California Probate Code § 8961 sets a commission of one-tenth of one percent of the value of the property the referee appraises, plus actual and necessary expenses, with § 8963 setting a floor of $75 and a ceiling of $10,000 absent a court order for more.

Compensation for ordinary services is most often misdescribed. It is not "4% of the estate." California Probate Code § 10800 sets a graduated schedule for the personal representative, and California Probate Code § 10810 sets the same schedule separately for the attorney:

Portion of the statutory base	Rate
First $100,000	4%
Next $100,000	3%
Next $800,000	2%
Next $9,000,000	1%
Next $15,000,000	0.5%
Above $25,000,000	A reasonable amount set by the court

Three details matter more than the percentages. The base is the value of the estate accounted for by the personal representative — appraised inventory value, plus gains over appraisal on sales, plus receipts, less losses from appraisal on sales — computed without reference to encumbrances, so a mortgaged house counts at appraised value rather than equity. The representative's and the attorney's compensation are separate provisions, so an estate with an attorney may bear both. Extraordinary services such as litigation, tax work or a difficult sale are compensated separately, require court approval, and are generally paid at the end of the case under the court's order. A representative may also waive compensation, and family members often do. None of this is an estimate for any particular estate.

Worked through the schedule: a house appraised at $600,000 plus $50,000 in accounts gives a statutory base of $650,000 — 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000 and 2% of the remaining $450,000, or $16,000 for the personal representative and the same again for the attorney, computed separately. Add the $435 first filing, a second filing fee to close, roughly $650 for the referee, publication and certified copies. The house counts at $600,000 even if $400,000 is still owed on it. This shows how the schedule works; it is not an estimate for any actual estate.

What California does not tax, and what the federal government might

Three different taxes get confused with one another, and California does not have two of them.

Tax	Does California impose it?	Who pays it, and when
California estate tax	No. The State Controller's Office confirms that no California estate tax return is required for anyone who died on or after January 1, 2005	Not applicable
California inheritance tax	No. Some other states impose one on the person receiving property; California does not	Not applicable
Federal estate tax	Federal, not state — it applies in every state	The estate, before anything is distributed, and only where the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds the basic exclusion amount for the year of death — $15,000,000 for deaths during 2026, under Revenue Procedure 2025-32

That federal figure has changed repeatedly and is set to keep changing, so check the amount for the actual year of death rather than a number you read somewhere.

The federal item most often missed is portability: a surviving spouse can inherit the deceased spouse's unused exclusion, but only if a Form 706 portability election is made — even when no tax is owed and the estate is nowhere near the threshold. The return is generally due nine months after death, and the IRS notes that an automatic six-month extension is available to all estates, including those filing solely to elect portability, by filing Form 4768 on or before that date. If those dates have already passed, the election is often still available. For an estate that was not otherwise required to file a return at all, the Form 706 instructions provide that executors filing to elect portability may file on or before the fifth anniversary of the death under Revenue Procedure 2022-32, with a specific statement typed at the top of the return. Missing the nine-month date is not the end of it. The relief has conditions, so ask a CPA or tax attorney — sooner rather than later, because the five years do run out. The final income tax return and, in some cases, an estate income tax return are separate filings again.

One California item is easy to overlook: inheriting a home can change its property tax assessment, whichever route moved it. Under Proposition 19, the parent-child exclusion applies only to a family home that was the parent's principal residence and becomes the child's — at least one eligible child must live there and claim the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within one year of the transfer. A rental or vacation home does not qualify. The exclusion is also capped: it covers the parent's factored base year value plus an inflation-adjusted allowance, which the State Board of Equalization set at $1,044,586 for transfers occurring February 16, 2025 through February 15, 2027, with the next adjustment due February 16, 2027. Value above the cap is added to the assessment. The claim goes to the county assessor where the property sits.

Check the county court before you file

California probate law is statewide; California probate practice is local. The same petition can be accepted in one county and rejected in the next for a missing local attachment. Treat this county check as a required step, not a footnote.

1. Find the right court. Identify the county of domicile — or, for a nonresident who owned California real estate, the county where the property sits — and open that court's site through the Judicial Branch's superior court directory.
2. Read the probate division page and local rules. Local rules govern hearing procedures, accountings, bonds, notice and much else.
3. Download the county's local probate forms. Some are mandatory. San Diego requires a local attachment to the initial petition alongside DE-111, published on its probate forms page with its local probate rules.
4. Check the filing method. E-filing rules differ by county and by who is filing. Alameda's probate division makes e-filing mandatory for attorneys and optional for self-represented parties; Santa Clara requires attorneys to e-file the petition and notice of hearing while parties without an attorney may file over the counter. Confirm the current rule, accepted payment methods and window or drop-box hours.
5. Check publication and examiner practice. Ask which newspapers the court accepts, who arranges publication, whether examiner notes are posted before the hearing, when they appear, and by when defects must be cured.

Step 5 is where cases quietly lose weeks, so the table below does that lookup for sixteen of California's fifty-eight counties. It is not a complete set, and the forty-two counties not listed are not covered here. For any of those, open the superior court directory, find the county's probate page and ask the clerk the same question. Where a court publishes no posting time, that is stated rather than guessed. All sixteen pages were opened August 5, 2026; court practice changes without notice, so reconfirm before relying on a date.

County	Court's probate page	When pre-hearing examiner notes appear
Los Angeles	Probate Division	Typically posted two weeks before the hearing; matters to clear must be addressed by filing by the third court day before
San Diego	Probate	On the online register of actions; filings to clear a defect are due at least five court days before the hearing, on a local response form
Orange	Probate	Ready roughly three weeks before the hearing; text or email alerts are offered when a note is posted
Riverside	Probate	Usually created ten court days before the hearing and updated three court days before, in the evening
San Bernardino	Probate Notes	About two weeks before the hearing and available for seven days after, through the court access portal
Santa Clara	Probate Division	Advance Case Status Reports post generally two court days before the hearing, and no later than 5:00 pm the court day before
Alameda	Probate	About two weeks before the hearing; issues must be cleared by 12:00 pm two court days before or the matter may be dropped rather than continued
Sacramento	Probate	Searchable online by case number; the court publishes no posting time, so check early and often
Contra Costa	Probate	Calendar notes are ordinarily available six to eight days before the hearing on the court's public portal
Fresno	Probate	Available through case search; the court publishes no posting time, so check early and often
Kern	Probate	Examiner notes are published and questions may be emailed to the examiner; the court's probate page states no posting time, so check early and often
San Mateo	Probate tentative rulings	Posted by 3:00 pm the prior court day under the court's local rule
San Joaquin	Probate notes and tentative rulings	Posted roughly ten to fifteen days before the hearing; documents clearing a note should be filed at least one week ahead
Stanislaus	Probate Notes	Posted on the court's website and updated as corrections are filed; the court publishes no posting time, so check early and often
Solano	Probate pre-grants and notes	Notes generally available one week before the hearing; pre-grants post after 2:00 pm the court day before
Tulare	Tentative rulings and probate examiner recommendations	The court aims to post by 3:00 pm the day before the hearing

Court clerks and self-help centers can explain procedure and tell you what a filing requires. They cannot tell you which route to choose or what the law means for your family — that boundary is real, and it is not a brush-off.

Choosing the right kind of help

Most of this page describes work you can do yourself, at no cost beyond filing fees, using the court's own materials. Some of it is not. This section is about telling those apart.

When self-help may not be enough

Get individualized legal, tax or accounting help if any of these is true:

• The appointment is contested, or more than one person seeks it.
• The estate may not be able to pay everything it owes.
• There are competing or questionable wills, or the original cannot be found.
• A will, deed or beneficiary designation was changed late in life in circumstances that do not sit right, or where someone may have been pressured.
• A beneficiary is a minor or lacks capacity.
• The estate holds a business interest.
• There is real property in another state, which usually requires its own proceeding there.
• There is a federal estate tax, income tax or basis question.
• Title records do not match the family's understanding.
• A deadline has been missed.
• A sale or a claim is contested.

Our page on when probate legal help may be useful covers that decision in depth.

Where to start, by situation

• Best for a first look at any California estate: the California Courts self-help probate guide and the county court's probate page — free, official, the same materials court staff work from.
• Best when cost is the barrier: the California Courts directory of free and low-cost legal help and the county self-help center. Availability and scope vary by county.
• Best for finding a lawyer for a defined question: a State Bar–certified lawyer referral service. Certification means the service meets State Bar standards; it is not an endorsement of any individual attorney.
• Best for checking anyone you are considering: the State Bar's attorney license and discipline search, before you sign anything or pay a retainer.
• Best where you suspect someone was exploited: a California probate attorney, and Adult Protective Services or local law enforcement where the concern involves an older adult. This is not a wait-and-see situation.
• Best if you also need support rather than procedure: our grief resources page, which carries no offers and no advertising.
• Best when the facts are unclear: pause and get professional review before acting. Doing nothing irreversible while you get advice is a legitimate choice, not a failure to act.

Match your situation to a next move

Situation	Confirm before you engage or pay
Modest personal property, clear title, no dispute — the court's own materials and the clerk	Which procedure applies to the date of death; whether a local form is required; what the institution accepts; what the measure excludes
Real property, no dispute — limited-scope or full representation	Whether limited-scope work is offered and what it covers; the fee basis in writing; who does the work; whether court appearances are included
Contested appointment, competing wills, or a disputed claim — a litigation attorney, not a document service	Bar license and discipline record; experience in that county's probate court; fee basis; who the client is
Possible insolvency or tax questions — a probate attorney and, separately, a CPA	Whether they handle insolvent estates or fiduciary tax returns; how creditor priority will be assessed; what the engagement excludes

Use the same questions for every option, and get answers in writing before money changes hands. Estate Made Clear does not rank, recommend or refer providers, and no probate advance, inheritance advance, paid document-retrieval or finder service belongs in this decision. California also registers legal document assistants at the county level; an assistant may prepare forms you have already chosen, but may not advise you on which procedure to use and is not a lawyer. Anyone advising you on which route to take should be a licensed California attorney — check them through the State Bar search above. One further warning: California probate filings are public records, and mail and phone solicitations often follow within weeks of a filing. Nothing that arrives that way is from the court.

Questions people ask about California probate

Is it true that the executor has 30 days to file for probate in California?

No. The 30-day rule in California Probate Code § 8200 is a will-custodian duty: whoever holds the original will must deliver it to the clerk of the proper superior court, and send a copy to the person named as executor, within 30 days of learning of the death. That obligation exists whether or not a case is ever opened. When a petition must be filed is a separate question, and depends on the estate's facts.

Can we use the small-estate affidavit to transfer a house?

No. The affidavit under California Probate Code § 13100 covers personal property — accounts, wages, securities, belongings — and does not transfer California real estate. Real property has separate procedures: a court petition for a primary residence under § 13151, or an affidavit for real property of small value under § 13200 after six months. Each has its own measure and maximum. Check the current DE-300 for the date of death.

The person who died lived outside California but owned property here. Which court handles it?

California Probate Code § 7052 provides for venue in California where a nonresident decedent left property in the state, and the county where the real property sits becomes the relevant one. There may also be a proceeding in the state of domicile. Confirm with the California county court and get advice in both states; ancillary administration is a common source of expensive missteps.

What happens if the estate cannot pay everything it owes?

There is a statutory order for paying claims when estate assets are not enough, and getting it wrong can leave the personal representative personally responsible. This is not a self-help situation. Stop before paying anyone, including a family member who was owed money, and get a California probate attorney involved. The estate's inability to pay does not by itself make a surviving relative responsible — a relative is generally not personally liable, and the exceptions are the narrow ones set out above.

Who pays the filing fee and the other upfront costs?

Someone usually has to advance them, because estate funds are often inaccessible until Letters issue. The filing fee, publication, certified copies and any bond premium come due early; the referee's commission and the statutory compensation come later, subject to the court's order. Properly documented advances made for the estate are typically reimbursable as expenses of administration. Ask the court about a fee waiver if the filing fee is a hardship.

Your next step

Before you fill in any form, list each asset and write down how it was titled and whether a beneficiary was named. The worksheet below is the shape that answer needs to take. Fill in one row per asset, and note beside it where the paperwork lives — the bank, the attorney's file, the safe deposit box, a drawer at home. Do not write down account numbers, policy numbers or Social Security numbers; you need the type of asset and how it is held, not the identifying details.

Asset	How it is titled	Beneficiary named?	Where the property is	Gross value	Which maximum it counts toward
e.g. checking account	Sole name / joint tenancy / community property with right of survivorship / trust / POD or TOD	Yes / no / unknown	California / another state	Appraised or statement value	§ 13100 count / § 13151 residence / § 13200 real property / excluded under § 13050

Then open the California Courts probate guide and your county's probate page together, and confirm which route the date of death and property type point to. Keep the house insured and secured, keep records of anything you pay, and hold off on distributing or transferring anything until authority is in place and debts and taxes are resolved. If the picture is unclear, that is a normal place to be, and a good reason to ask a California probate attorney a specific question before acting rather than after.

This page is process education written by the Estate Made Clear editorial team from official California sources. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and Estate Made Clear is not a law firm, a court, a government agency or a tax adviser.

Estate Made Clear is an independent publisher, supported by advertising and, on some pages, disclosed referral links. This page carries no referral links and no paid placement, no provider paid to appear on it or was omitted for declining to, and if a compensated link is added to this page, it will be disclosed here. Every figure here carries the date its source was last opened, the page is rechecked on the schedule shown above, and corrections and updates (hello@estatemadeclear.com) are dated when they are made.

Sources and last verified date

Last verified: August 5, 2026

Next review: January 15, 2027.

• Guide to property after someone dies — California Courts Self-Help Guide — supports the framing that whether a court process is needed depends on the amount and type of property owned.
• When formal probate may not be needed — California Courts Self-Help Guide — supports the simplified and nonprobate route categories, the § 13050 exclusion list, and the internal contradiction described in the methodology, where the page's narrative text still states $184,500 while its own summary table shows the current amounts.
• If you need formal probate — California Courts Self-Help Guide — supports the three-part structure of a formal case, the qualified 9-to-18-month duration statement, and the observation that administration costs are often well over $1,000.
• Find probate forms — California Courts Self-Help Guide — the official index used for the form table and for current form revision dates.
• Maximum Values for Small Estate Set-Aside and Disposition of Estate Without Administration (DE-300) — Judicial Council of California — the controlling source for every simplified-procedure maximum in table A, effective April 28, 2025.
• Notice of Proposed Action (DE-165) — Judicial Council of California — supports the description of notice of proposed action under independent administration authority.
• Probate Code § 215 — California Legislative Information — supports the 90-day notice of death to the Director of Health Care Services and who owes it.
• Probate Code § 890 — California Legislative Information — supports the three-year adjustment cycle that places the current maximums on DE-300 rather than in the statute text.
• Probate Code § 6401 — California Legislative Information — supports the reference to intestate succession and the community-property distinction.
• Probate Code § 7052 — California Legislative Information — supports venue where a nonresident decedent left property in California.
• Probate Code § 8110 — California Legislative Information — supports the 15-day mailed notice requirement before the hearing.
• Probate Code § 8121 — California Legislative Information — supports the publication timing, frequency and newspaper requirements.
• Probate Code § 8200 — California Legislative Information — supports the 30-day will-custodian lodging and copy duty and the custodian's liability for damages.
• Probate Code § 8420 — California Legislative Information — supports that a person named as executor has the right to appointment, not an obligation to serve.
• Probate Code § 8520 — California Legislative Information — supports the resignation route for an appointed personal representative.
• Probate Code § 8800 — California Legislative Information — supports the four-month inventory and appraisal period and the court's power to allow more time.
• Probate Code § 8961 — California Legislative Information — supports the probate referee's one-tenth of one percent commission and expenses, with the § 8963 floor and ceiling.
• Probate Code § 9100 — California Legislative Information — supports the creditor claim deadline as the later of four months after Letters or 60 days after notice.
• Probate Code § 9103 — California Legislative Information — supports the narrow circumstances in which a late creditor claim may be allowed.
• Probate Code § 10800 — California Legislative Information — supports the personal representative's ordinary compensation schedule and the definition of the statutory base.
• Probate Code § 10810 — California Legislative Information — supports the separate attorney ordinary compensation schedule.
• Probate Code § 11640 — California Legislative Information — supports the conditions for an order for final distribution.
• Probate Code § 12200 — California Legislative Information — supports the one-year and 18-month petition-or-status-report trigger.
• Probate Code § 12202 — California Legislative Information — supports the citation the court may issue when the closing deadline passes.
• Probate Code § 13006 — California Legislative Information — supports the definition of "successor of the decedent" who may use the simplified procedures.
• Probate Code § 13050 — California Legislative Information — supports the list of property excluded when totalling an estate against the simplified-procedure maximums.
• Probate Code § 13100 — California Legislative Information — supports the personal-property affidavit procedure, its 40-day wait, and its exclusion of § 13050 property and property in a § 13151 petition.
• Probate Code § 13109 — California Legislative Information — supports the transferee's personal liability for the decedent's unsecured debts and its cap.
• Probate Code § 13151 — California Legislative Information — supports the primary-residence succession petition, its $750,000 gross-value measure and its 40-day wait.
• Probate Code § 13156 — California Legislative Information — supports the petitioner's personal liability for the decedent's unsecured debts and its date-of-death cap.
• Probate Code § 13200 — California Legislative Information — supports the affidavit for real property of small value and its six-month wait.
• Probate Code § 13204 — California Legislative Information — supports the transferee's personal liability under the small-value real property affidavit and its cap.
• Probate Code § 13550 — California Legislative Information — supports the surviving spouse's liability for the decedent's debts where property passes without administration, with the § 13551 cap and the § 13552 limit.
• Probate Code § 13650 — California Legislative Information — supports the spousal or domestic partner property petition and the absence of a dollar maximum.
• Statewide civil fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 — Judicial Branch of California — supports the $435 first-filed probate petition fee at item 121 and the local surcharge counties.
• Superior courts directory — Judicial Branch of California — supports locating the correct county superior court.
• Get free or low-cost legal help — California Courts Self-Help Guide — supports the free and low-cost assistance pathway.
• Find a lawyer referral service — State Bar of California — supports the certified referral service pathway.
• Attorney licensee search — State Bar of California — supports verifying an attorney's license and discipline record.
• Estate Recovery Program — California Department of Health Care Services — supports the probate-estate limit on Medi-Cal estate recovery for deaths on or after January 1, 2017 and the survivor exemptions.
• Does a person's debt go away when they die? — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — supports the default rule that surviving relatives are not typically responsible, the named exceptions, and the limits on what a collector may say.
• California Estate Tax — California State Controller's Office — supports that no California estate tax return is required for deaths on or after January 1, 2005.
• Revenue Procedure 2025-32 — Internal Revenue Service — supports the federal basic exclusion amount applicable to deaths during 2026.
• Frequently asked questions on estate taxes — Internal Revenue Service — supports the nine-month due date and the automatic six-month extension on Form 4768, including for estates filing solely to elect portability.
• Instructions for Form 706 — Internal Revenue Service — supports the five-year late portability election for estates not otherwise required to file, and the statement required at the top of the return.
• Revenue Procedure 2022-32 — Internal Revenue Service — the underlying guidance extending the simplified portability election period to the fifth anniversary of death.
• BOE adjusts the Proposition 19 intergenerational transfer exclusion amount — California State Board of Equalization — supports the $1,044,586 allowance for transfers from February 16, 2025 through February 15, 2027.
• Proposition 19 — California State Board of Equalization — supports the parent-child exclusion conditions, the one-year residence and exemption requirement, the value-cap mechanism, and the exclusion of rental and vacation property.
• Probate forms — Superior Court of California, County of San Diego — supports the local-forms example, including the local attachment to the initial petition.
• Probate rules — Superior Court of California, County of San Diego — supports the local-rules example.
• Probate notes — Superior Court of California, County of San Diego — supports the San Diego row of the county table.
• Probate Division — Superior Court of Los Angeles County — supports the Los Angeles row of the county table.
• Probate — Superior Court of California, County of Orange — supports the Orange row of the county table.
• Probate — Superior Court of California, County of Riverside — supports the Riverside row of the county table.
• Probate notes — Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino — supports the San Bernardino row of the county table.
• Probate Division — Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara — supports the Santa Clara row of the county table and its attorney e-filing rule.
• Probate — Superior Court of California, County of Alameda — supports the Alameda row of the county table and its mandatory attorney e-filing rule.
• Probate — Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento — supports the Sacramento row of the county table.
• Probate — Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa — supports the Contra Costa row of the county table.
• Probate — Superior Court of California, County of Fresno — supports the Fresno row of the county table.
• Probate — Superior Court of California, County of Kern — supports the Kern row of the county table.
• Probate department tentative rulings — Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo — supports the San Mateo row of the county table and its 3:00 pm local-rule posting time.
• Probate notes and tentative rulings — Superior Court of California, County of San Joaquin — supports the San Joaquin row of the county table and its one-week clearing practice.
• Probate notes — Superior Court of California, County of Stanislaus — supports the Stanislaus row of the county table.
• Probate pre-grants and notes — Superior Court of California, County of Solano — supports the Solano row of the county table.
• Tentative rulings — Superior Court of California, County of Tulare — supports the Tulare row of the county table.