Probate in California: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs

Settling an estate in California

What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.

Filing the original will

In California, whoever has the original will must deliver it to the clerk of the superior court within 30 days of learning of the death, in person or by registered or certified mail. They must also send a copy to the executor named in the will (or, if the executor can't be found, to a named beneficiary).

Cal. Prob. Code § 8200Read the statute · leginfo.legislature.ca.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Which court handles probate

In California, probate is handled by the superior court in the county where the person lived at the time of death, no matter where they died.

Cal. Prob. Code §§ 7050, 7051Read the statute · leginfo.legislature.ca.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Creditors' deadline to make claims

In California, the personal representative must mail notice to known creditors, and notice of the probate petition is published in a newspaper. Creditors then have until the later of 4 months after the court first issues letters, or 60 days after notice was mailed or delivered to them, to file a claim. Claims are generally barred one year after the death.

Cal. Prob. Code §§ 9050, 9100, 8120; Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 366.2Read the statute · leginfo.legislature.ca.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Estate inventory

In California, the personal representative must file an inventory and appraisal of the estate's property with the court clerk within 4 months after letters are first issued. The court can allow more time if there is a good reason.

Cal. Prob. Code § 8800Read the statute · leginfo.legislature.ca.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

The order estate debts are paid

In California, if the estate can't pay every debt, debts are paid by class in a set order: costs of running the estate first, then secured debts from the property securing them, then funeral costs, last illness costs, family allowance, wage claims, and finally all other debts. A class is paid in full before the next one gets anything; if money runs out within a class, those creditors share proportionally.

Cal. Prob. Code § 11420Read the statute · leginfo.legislature.ca.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

State estate and inheritance tax

California has no inheritance tax and no gift tax, and in practice no estate tax. The state estate tax only equals a federal credit for state death taxes, and that federal credit no longer exists, so nothing is owed to California for deaths in recent years.

Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §§ 13301, 13302Read the statute · leginfo.legislature.ca.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Closing an estate

In California, once debts are paid and the estate is ready to close, the personal representative petitions the court for an order for final distribution. After handing out the property as ordered and filing receipts from the people who received it, the representative asks the court for an order of discharge. The final distribution petition (or a status report) is due within one year after letters are issued, or 18 months if a federal estate tax return is required.

Cal. Prob. Code §§ 11640, 12200, 11753, 12250Read the statute · leginfo.legislature.ca.govchecked Oct 5, 2026