The California probate process typically runs nine months to a year and a half, sometimes longer, and it exists to move a deceased person’s solely owned assets through a court-supervised path: a personal representative is appointed, assets are inventoried, debts and taxes are paid, and whatever remains goes to the heirs or beneficiaries. Estates valued at $208,850 or less can skip formal probate using simplified transfer procedures. The rules sit in the California Probate Code, and the fees, which are calculated on gross value and paid twice (once to the attorney, once to the representative), are the part that most often surprises families.
When You Actually Need Probate
Probate is required when a person dies owning assets solely in their own name with no beneficiary designation or other transfer mechanism attached. A house titled only in the deceased person’s name, a bank account without a payable-on-death beneficiary, or a brokerage account without a transfer-on-death designation all have to go through probate before title can change.
Several categories of property bypass probate entirely:
- Joint tenancy property passes automatically to the surviving co-owner.
- Community property with right of survivorship transfers to the surviving spouse without court involvement.
- Assets held in a revocable living trust pass under the trust terms, managed by the successor trustee.
- Life insurance proceeds, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts go directly to the named beneficiary.
If every asset falls into those categories, no probate is needed. The problem usually starts with one significant asset the deceased person forgot to retitle.
Small Estate and Spousal Shortcuts
For deaths occurring on or after April 1, 2025, California raised the small-estate thresholds to $208,850 for personal property and $69,625 for real property.1California Courts. Check if You Can Use a Simple Process to Transfer Property If the gross value of the California estate (excluding non-probate assets like trust property and joint tenancy) is at or below $208,850, heirs can use a small estate affidavit to collect personal property without filing a probate petition. The affidavit becomes available 40 days after the death. For real property valued at $69,625 or less, a separate affidavit of succession procedure transfers title.2Judicial Council of California. Maximum Values for Small Estate Set-Aside and Disposition of Estate Without Administration
A surviving spouse has another option, and it has no size limit. When all of a deceased spouse’s property passes to the surviving spouse, by will or by intestacy, the survivor can file a spousal property petition to confirm ownership without full probate.3California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 13500 It covers community property and the deceased spouse’s separate property alike, as long as everything is going to the surviving spouse. Significantly faster and cheaper than regular administration.
How a Probate Case Starts
The case is filed in the superior court of the county where the deceased person lived at death, regardless of where the death actually occurred.4Justia. California Probate Code 7050-7052 – Jurisdiction and Venue If the person owned property in multiple California counties, the residence county handles the whole thing.
Any interested party can file the first petition: the person named as executor, an heir, or even a creditor. The petition identifies the deceased person, lists known heirs and beneficiaries, describes the estate in general terms, and submits the original will if there is one. The filing fee for a first petition for letters testamentary or letters of administration is $435 as of 2026.5Judicial Council of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule
After filing, the court schedules a hearing. Notice must be published in a local newspaper and mailed to all known heirs and beneficiaries. If no one objects, the personal representative is usually appointed at that first hearing.
The Personal Representative
The personal representative runs the estate: collects assets, pays bills, files taxes, and distributes what’s left. When a will names an executor, that person has priority. When there’s no will, or the named executor can’t or won’t serve, the court follows a statutory priority list starting with the surviving spouse or domestic partner, then children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, and more distant relatives, with creditors and “any other person” at the bottom.6California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 8461
The representative must be legally competent and free of disqualifying conflicts. Most will need to post a bond before taking office, which functions as insurance against mismanagement or theft. The bond can be waived if the will says so and the court agrees, or if every person entitled to a share waives it.7Judicial Council of California. Waiver of Bond by Heir or Beneficiary The premium, if a bond is required, comes out of estate funds.
Once appointed, the representative receives either Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one). These are the documents banks and title companies will ask to see.
IAEA Authority
Whether the representative acts under the Independent Administration of Estates Act (IAEA) shapes how fast the case moves. With IAEA authority, the representative can handle most estate business without court approval for every transaction, including selling personal property, paying debts, and investing estate funds.8California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 10500 “Full authority” also covers selling real estate; “limited authority” excludes real property transactions. A will can prohibit IAEA authority entirely, which forces the representative back to court for nearly every significant action and drives up costs.
Even with IAEA authority, advance notice goes to all heirs and beneficiaries before certain major actions. If someone objects, the representative has to seek court approval for that specific transaction.
Inventory and the Probate Referee
Within four months of appointment, the representative files an inventory and appraisal listing every asset and its date-of-death value. The representative can personally value cash and bank accounts. Real estate, business interests, securities, and collectibles must be appraised by a court-appointed probate referee.
The referee’s fee is set by statute at one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of the appraised value.9Justia. California Probate Code 8960-8964 – Commission and Expenses of Probate Referee On a $1 million estate, that is $1,000, paid from estate funds.
Creditor Claims and Payment Priority
The representative notifies creditors in two ways. A general notice is published in a newspaper, and written notice is mailed to every creditor the representative knows about or can reasonably identify. The mailed notice must go out within four months of appointment, or within 30 days of learning about a particular creditor, whichever is later.10California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 9050-9052
Creditors have to file claims by the later of four months after letters were first issued or 60 days after notice was mailed or delivered to them.11Justia. California Probate Code 9100-9104 – Time for Filing Claims Missing that deadline usually kills the claim. The representative then approves or rejects each one; a rejected creditor can petition the court.
When an estate can’t pay everyone, California sets a priority order. Administrative expenses (court costs, attorney fees) come first, then funeral and burial costs, then taxes. Secured creditors look to their collateral. Unsecured creditors like credit card companies, medical providers, and personal lenders share proportionally in what remains. Beneficiaries get nothing until valid creditor claims are satisfied or the priority order is exhausted.
What California Probate Costs
This is the part that catches families off guard. Both the personal representative and the estate’s attorney are entitled to statutory fees based on the gross value of the estate, not the net value after mortgages and debts. The same scale applies to each, so the estate pays it twice:12Justia. California Probate Code 10810-10814 – Compensation of Attorney for Personal Representative
- 4% of the first $100,000
- 3% of the next $100,000
- 2% of the next $800,000
- 1% of the next $9,000,000
- 0.5% of the next $15,000,000
- Above $25,000,000, a reasonable amount set by the court
On a $1 million estate, that’s $23,000 for the attorney and $23,000 for the representative, $46,000 total. On a $2 million estate, the combined statutory fees reach $66,000. Because the calculation uses gross value, an estate with a $1 million house and a $700,000 mortgage still pays fees on the full $1 million. Both the representative and the attorney can also petition for “extraordinary” fees on top of the statutory amount for work beyond ordinary administration, such as litigation or complex tax issues.
Other costs include the $435 filing fee, the referee’s 0.1% commission, bond premiums when required, newspaper publication costs, and recording fees for real property transfers. All of these come out of estate assets.
Who Inherits
If there is a valid will, assets pass to the beneficiaries it names. Specific bequests (a particular item to a particular person) are distributed first, then the residuary estate (everything else). The will can also create trusts for minors or impose conditions on inheritance.
Without a will, California’s intestate succession rules take over. Community property and quasi-community property pass entirely to the surviving spouse. The surviving spouse’s share of the deceased person’s separate property depends on who else survives:
- With one child or the descendants of one child, the spouse gets half of the separate property.
- With two or more children or their descendants, the spouse gets one-third.
- With no children but surviving parents or siblings, the spouse gets half.
- With no children, parents, or siblings, the spouse gets everything.
Whatever doesn’t go to the surviving spouse passes first to the children in equal shares, then to parents, siblings, grandparents and their descendants, following a detailed statutory sequence.13California Legislative Information. California Probate Code PROB 6402
Preliminary and Final Distribution
Beneficiaries sometimes need money before the case closes, which can take well over a year. The representative can petition the court for a preliminary distribution, a partial payout before debts, taxes, and expenses are fully resolved. The court will want to see that enough assets remain to cover outstanding obligations and that creditors aren’t prejudiced. Beneficiaries and creditors get notice and can object.
Final distribution happens after all debts are paid, taxes are settled, and the representative files a detailed accounting of every estate transaction. Beneficiaries can review the accounting and object. Once the court approves it along with the proposed distribution plan, the representative executes the transfers: new deeds for real estate, liquidating or re-registering investment accounts, delivering personal property. The court then issues a final order of discharge, the representative’s authority ends, and the estate ceases to exist.
Tax Obligations
The representative must obtain a federal employer identification number (EIN) for the estate, free through the IRS website.14Internal Revenue Service. Information for Executors The estate needs its own EIN because income earned after the date of death (rent, interest, dividends) is taxable to the estate and reported on a fiduciary income tax return, IRS Form 1041.
The deceased person’s final individual income tax return covers January 1 through the date of death and is due by the normal April filing deadline the following year. The representative is personally responsible for filing it.
Federal estate tax applies only to estates exceeding the exemption, which is $15 million per person for 2026, with a top rate of 40% above that threshold. California imposes no state estate tax or inheritance tax, so the federal obligation is the only estate-level tax concern.
Will Contests and Fiduciary Breaches
A will admitted to probate can be challenged within 120 days. Common grounds are lack of mental capacity when the will was signed, undue influence, fraud (such as a forged signature), and improper execution like missing witnesses. Contests are difficult to win because courts start from the presumption that a properly executed will reflects the person’s true intentions.
The representative is a fiduciary and owes the estate and its beneficiaries a duty of loyalty, care, and impartiality. Self-dealing (buying estate assets at a discount, borrowing estate funds, mixing estate money with personal accounts) is the fastest route to removal and personal liability. When the court finds a breach, it can reverse the transaction, remove the representative, and order a “surcharge” that comes out of the representative’s own pocket to reimburse the estate. Serious cases involving theft can also lead to criminal prosecution.
Beneficiaries who suspect mismanagement should act early. Filing a petition with the probate court triggers a hearing where the representative has to account for their actions. The person alleging misconduct carries the burden of showing it, but once a pattern of self-dealing or negligence is established, courts take it seriously.