A Probate Checklist California Executors Can Actually Use

If someone close to you has died in California and you are named in the will, or you are the relative stepping up because there is no will, a probate checklist California executors can follow makes the first months far easier. This guide covers the role, the route check, the legal deadlines and when an attorney usually helps.

What a California executor does

California calls the person in charge a personal representative: an executor if the will names you, an administrator if there is no will. Your authority comes from Letters (Judicial Council form DE-150), issued by the Superior Court in the county where the person lived.

You gather what the person owned, pay valid debts and expenses, keep complete records and pass what is left to the people entitled to it. Before Letters issue, you sign form DE-147, a statement of your duties. It reminds you to use an estate bank account, never mix estate money with your own, and manage assets with the care of a prudent person.

Route check: does the estate need formal probate?

Many California estates never reach a full court case. First set aside assets that pass outside probate: living trust property, joint tenancy property, multi-owner bank accounts, life insurance and accounts with a named beneficiary. Debts are not subtracted when you value what remains.

Then compare the probate estate with the limits for deaths on or after April 1, 2025 (form DE-300):

• Small estate affidavit: probate estate of $208,850 or less, usable once 40 days have passed since the death (Probate Code §§13100, 13101).
• Primary residence petition (DE-310): main home worth up to $750,000, after 40 days.
• Real property of small value (DE-305): real property of $69,625 or less, no sooner than six months after the death (Probate Code §13200).
• Spousal or domestic partner property petition (DE-221): property passing to a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner.

If none fits, formal probate starts with a Petition for Probate (DE-111). You can ask there for authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act, which allows many actions with less court supervision.

Probate checklist California deadlines

Several limits run from the date Letters are first issued, so record that date carefully.

If the decedent received Medi-Cal, the Department of Health Care Services is notified within 90 days of appointment. For California real property, a change in ownership statement goes to the county no later than the inventory (Revenue and Taxation Code §480).

The order of the main steps

Formal probate usually runs in this sequence:

1. File DE-111, mail notice to heirs and beneficiaries, and publish notice in a newspaper where the decedent lived.
2. After the hearing, the court signs an Order for Probate and the clerk issues Letters.
3. Get an EIN for the estate, open the estate account, and file IRS Form 56 to show you are the fiduciary.
4. Send creditor, Medi-Cal and Franchise Tax Board notices, then allow or reject each claim.
5. Prepare the inventory. You value cash items; a probate referee usually values the rest.
6. File tax returns, petition for final distribution and transfer property once the court orders it.

Taxes and fees at a high level

California has no state estate tax or inheritance tax for current deaths. Federal filings still apply: a final Form 1040, Form 1041 if the estate has gross income of $600 or more in a tax year, and Form 706 only above the basic exclusion amount ($15,000,000 for 2026 deaths) or to elect portability for a surviving spouse.

Executor and attorney compensation for ordinary services is set by statute (Probate Code §§10800, 10810): 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, then lower rates. Court filing fees, the probate referee and publication are separate estate costs; check the court's current fee schedule.

When to get professional help

You may handle probate without a lawyer, and attorney fees come from the estate. California courts have held, though, that a non-lawyer executor cannot represent the estate outside the probate case, for example in a civil lawsuit. An attorney is usually worth considering if the will is disputed, debts may exceed assets, there is a business or out-of-state property, or a beneficiary is a minor.

The Steady Executor California kit gathers these rules into five files: a user guide to the process and deadlines, an executor workbook that calculates due dates and tracks assets, debts and distributions, financial letters for banks, insurers and creditors, services and agencies letters for utilities, credit bureaus and government offices, and beneficiary letters with a distribution receipt.

Sources

• California Courts Self-Help: Simple transfer without probate
• California Courts Self-Help: Formal probate
• Judicial Council: Probate Code §890 adjusted amounts
• DE-147 Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative
• California Probate Code (official text)
• California State Controller: California Estate Tax
• IRS Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators