Selling an Inherited House in California: Probate, the $750,000 Limit, and Your Options

Selling an inherited house in California almost always runs through probate first, and that catches most heirs off guard. California passed a probate shortcut in 2025, and the coverage of it made the change sound broad. The actual rule caps out at a primary residence valued at $750,000 or less (Probate Code Section 13154), and typical values in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego all sit above that line.

So the shortcut heirs read about usually does not reach the house they actually inherited. Full formal probate runs roughly 9 to 18 months statewide, and 12 to 18 months in backlogged urban courts such as Los Angeles County (Law Offices of Rozsa Gyene, December 2025). This guide covers what the 2025 law does, how an executor can still sell long before the case closes, and what the house costs you every month while you wait.

Do you have to go through probate to sell an inherited house in California?

Usually yes, unless the house was held in a living trust or passed automatically to a surviving joint owner. Probate is the court process that confirms who inherits and gives someone authority to sign a deed. Without that authority, no title company will insure a sale, so the house cannot change hands no matter how many heirs agree.

There are three paths, and the value of the house and the date of death decide which applies. Full formal probate is the default. The AB 2016 primary-residence petition is the narrow exception. The small estate affidavit is a third thing entirely, and it does not touch real estate.

Sources: Law Offices of Rozsa Gyene, December 2025; Probate Code Section 13154; Probate Code Sections 13100 to 13101. Probate is filed in the County Superior Court, probate division, where the person lived, and Los Angeles County matters are commonly heard at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.

The 2025 shortcut caps out at $750,000, and that is why it rarely helps

AB 2016 lets a primary residence valued at $750,000 or less transfer by a Petition to Determine Succession to Real Property instead of full probate, for deaths on or after April 1, 2025 (Probate Code Section 13154). A six-month wait from the date of death applies before the petition can be filed. If the house is valued above $750,000, the estate goes through full formal probate. That is the whole rule, and the value ceiling is where it stops helping most California heirs.

The reason is arithmetic. The typical California house value was $787,508 statewide in April 2026 (Zillow ZHVI, April 2026), already above the cap before you reach a coastal metro. In Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego, typical values run higher still. An heir who reads a headline about the new probate shortcut and assumes it covers the family house is usually wrong.

Two limits narrow it further. The petition reaches a primary residence only, so an inherited rental or vacation cabin never qualifies regardless of value. The six-month wait also means the shortcut is never instant, and a vacant house costs money to hold through those months either way.

The small estate affidavit does not transfer a house

The California small estate affidavit covers personal property, not real estate, and heirs mix this up constantly. Its threshold rose to $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, with a 40-day wait from the date of death (Probate Code Sections 13100 to 13101). It is a form you present to a bank, a credit union, or the DMV. It is not a deed and it cannot move a house.

The confusion is understandable, because both numbers changed under the same 2025 legislation. They remain separate procedures. The $208,850 affidavit clears accounts and vehicles after 40 days. The $750,000 petition transfers a primary residence after six months. Filing the wrong one starts no clock that helps you.

How long does probate take in California?

Full formal probate in California runs roughly 9 to 18 months statewide, and 12 to 18 months in backlogged urban courts such as Los Angeles County (Law Offices of Rozsa Gyene, December 2025). The case is filed in the County Superior Court, probate division, in the county where the person lived, and Los Angeles County matters are commonly heard at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. Court congestion is the single biggest reason two similar estates finish months apart.

The elapsed time is not one long wait. A petition is filed, notice goes out, letters are issued, the estate is inventoried and appraised, creditors get their window, and only then does the case move toward distribution. The house does not have to sit untouched through all of it.

Timelines also stretch for reasons unrelated to the court. A missing original will, an heir who cannot be located, or a title defect can each add months. If the estate also carries a mortgage in default, the probate and foreclosure clocks run together, and our guide to stopping a foreclosure in California covers how short that second window is.

How an executor can sell the house before probate closes

Under the Independent Administration of Estates Act, a personal representative can take many routine actions, including selling real property, without a separate court hearing, which shortens timelines in qualifying cases (Opelon LLP, April 2026). This is the mechanism that lets an inherited California house sell months before the estate is closed. For heirs who assumed they had to wait out the full 9 to 18 months, it is the most useful rule in the process.

What matters is the scope of authority the court granted. The letters issued at appointment state whether the representative has full or limited authority under the IAEA. Full authority generally supports a sale without a court confirmation hearing, though notice to the heirs is still commonly required. Limited authority means going back to the judge.

Read the letters before you sign anything. An agreement signed without authority can put the sale back at the start, so any competent cash buyer asks for them early, and Propcash does.

What happens if there was no will

Without a will, California distributes the estate by statutory formula under Probate Code Sections 6400 and following, a process called intestate succession. The formula looks at a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner first, then children, parents, siblings, and more distant relatives in a fixed order. Community property generally passes to the surviving spouse, while separate property is split among the spouse and other heirs by statutory shares. Nobody gets to choose a different outcome, including heirs who all agree on one.

Intestate estates still go through probate, and the person appointed is an administrator rather than an executor. Sale authority works the same way once appointment happens. These cases often involve more people with a legal interest, which means more signatures, more notice, and more disagreement about whether to sell.

What Proposition 19 does to the tax bill

Proposition 19 reassesses most inherited California houses to current market value, which can triple or quadruple the annual property tax bill. An heir who does not move in loses the parent's low Proposition 13 base immediately. That reassessment is the largest carrying-cost change most heirs face, and it starts before probate finishes.

There is one narrow exclusion. An heir who moves in within one year and files form BOE-19-P within three years keeps a reduced base, capped at the parent's base plus an indexed amount of $1,044,586 for transfers between February 16, 2025 and February 15, 2027 (California State Board of Equalization via Empower, 2025; PropertyTaxRates.org, April 2026). Inherited rental or vacation property gets no exclusion and is reassessed to full market value immediately.

For heirs who live out of state or already own a house, the exclusion is usually unreachable, because it requires actually moving in. That is why the tax question and the sell-or-keep question tend to be one question in California. We cover the deadlines and the math in our guide to Proposition 19 and inherited property tax.

What the house costs you while probate runs

An inherited California house costs real money every month probate is open, starting with property tax. Effective property tax runs about 1.10% to 1.55% or more of value including local bonds and Mello-Roos special assessments (CalcLogix, February 2026). Applied to a house near the statewide typical value of $787,508 (Zillow ZHVI, April 2026), a reassessed bill is a serious monthly number, not a rounding error.

Insurance is the second pressure. Availability and cost have deteriorated across California because of wildfire risk, and vacant houses are harder to cover than occupied ones. Some owners end up on the California FAIR Plan, which is narrower and more expensive than standard coverage. Our guide to selling a house on the California FAIR Plan covers what that does to a sale.

Then come the ordinary items nobody budgets for: utilities that stay on, yard maintenance a city will cite you for, a roof leaking into an empty house, and travel if you live elsewhere. Twelve to eighteen months of that is a meaningful share of what the house is worth.

California probate terms, defined

California probate runs on a handful of terms that decide what you can do with the house, and the court paperwork rarely explains them. These are the ones that appear in the documents heirs actually receive.

• Probate: The court process that confirms who inherits a deceased person's assets and gives a named person authority to manage and transfer them, including signing a deed.
• Personal representative: The person the court appoints to run the estate. Called an executor when a will names them, and an administrator when there is no will.
• Letters: The court document proving the appointment and stating the scope of authority. Title companies and buyers ask for these before a sale.
• Independent Administration of Estates Act (IAEA): A California law that lets a personal representative take many routine actions, including selling real property, without a separate court hearing.
• Petition to Determine Succession to Real Property: The simplified filing under Probate Code Section 13154 that can transfer a primary residence valued at $750,000 or less, after a six-month wait, for deaths on or after April 1, 2025.
• Small estate affidavit: A California form that lets heirs collect personal property up to $208,850 after a 40-day wait. It does not transfer real estate.
• Intestate succession: The statutory formula under Probate Code Sections 6400 and following that decides who inherits when there is no will. Community property generally passes to the surviving spouse.
• Proposition 19: A 2020 California law that reassesses most inherited houses to current market value unless the heir moves in within one year and files form BOE-19-P, which can sharply raise the property tax.
• Cash home buyer: A company or individual that buys a house directly with its own funds, in its current condition, without a mortgage contingency, and can typically close in days rather than the one to two months a financed sale takes.

Three options for heirs, compared

California heirs generally choose between listing the house with an agent, selling to a direct cash buyer, or keeping it and renting it out, and the right answer depends more on condition and workload than on price. A house lived in for forty years usually needs a cleanout before it can be photographed, and somebody has to do that work. Who does it is the real difference between these three paths.

The renting option carries a caution heirs often miss. Inherited rental property receives no Proposition 19 exclusion and is reassessed to full market value immediately (California State Board of Equalization via Empower, 2025). A rental plan built on the parent's old tax bill falls apart when the new assessment arrives.

Propcash is a direct cash homebuyer. We buy houses across California with our own funds, in whatever condition they are in, and there is nothing to fix, clean, or haul away first. Take what you want, leave the rest. There are no agent commissions, no closing costs charged to you, and no fees, and our offers are based on local market data with the reasoning shown. There is no rush to decide, because our offer stands while the estate sorts itself out.

We will also tell you when a cash sale is not the right move. If the house shows well, the heirs are local and in agreement, and nobody is under time pressure, listing with a local agent may net the estate more, and we will say so and point you to one. You can compare every route in our guide to the best way to sell a house for cash in California, or start with our California cash home buyer page.

Or call or text (615) 552-4296 to speak with the decision-maker, and take the offer to the estate's attorney first if you want to. City-level detail is on our Los Angeles cash buyer options and San Diego cash buyer options pages, and statewide pricing is in our California housing market 2026 guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to go through probate to sell an inherited house in California?

Usually yes, unless the house was held in a living trust or passed to a surviving joint owner. California's 2025 shortcut under AB 2016 only reaches a primary residence valued at $750,000 or less (Probate Code Section 13154). Typical values in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego all sit above that line, so most inherited houses there still require full formal probate, roughly 9 to 18 months statewide (Law Offices of Rozsa Gyene, December 2025).

How long does probate take in California in 2026?

Full formal probate in California runs roughly 9 to 18 months statewide, and 12 to 18 months in backlogged urban courts such as Los Angeles County (Law Offices of Rozsa Gyene, December 2025). The case is filed in the County Superior Court, probate division, and Los Angeles County matters are commonly heard at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. The simplified AB 2016 petition is faster but carries its own six-month wait from the date of death. Timelines vary by county and by whether anyone contests the estate.

What is the $750,000 probate limit in California?

For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, AB 2016 lets a primary residence valued at $750,000 or less transfer through a Petition to Determine Succession to Real Property rather than full probate (Probate Code Section 13154). A six-month wait from the date of death applies before filing. Above $750,000 the estate goes through full formal probate, and the limit reaches only a primary residence, so an inherited rental does not qualify.

Can I use a small estate affidavit to transfer an inherited house in California?

No. The California small estate affidavit covers personal property such as bank accounts and vehicles, and it does not transfer real estate. The threshold rose to $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, with a 40-day wait (Probate Code Sections 13100 to 13101). Heirs frequently confuse it with the separate $750,000 primary-residence petition, which is the form that actually moves a house.

Can the executor sell the house before probate is finished in California?

Often, yes. Under the Independent Administration of Estates Act, a personal representative can take many routine actions, including selling real property, without a separate court hearing, which shortens timelines in qualifying cases (Opelon LLP, April 2026). This is what lets an inherited house sell months before the estate itself closes. The scope depends on what the court granted in the letters of appointment, so ask the probate attorney what yours allow before signing.

Will my property taxes go up if I inherit a house in California?

Often, yes, and the increase can be severe. Under Proposition 19, an heir who does not move in loses the parent's low Proposition 13 base, and the house is reassessed to current market value immediately, which can triple or quadruple the annual tax bill. An heir who moves in within one year and files form BOE-19-P within three years keeps a reduced base, capped at the parent's base plus an indexed $1,044,586 for transfers between February 16, 2025 and February 15, 2027. Inherited rental or vacation property is reassessed to full market value immediately with no exclusion (California State Board of Equalization via Empower, 2025; PropertyTaxRates.org, April 2026).

What is the fastest way to sell an inherited house in California?

Once the personal representative has authority to sell, a direct cash purchase is generally the shortest path, because there is no lender, no appraisal, and no repair negotiation on the buyer's side. Cash transactions can close in as few as 7 days, while a listed California house took a median of 40 days to sell in April 2026 before closing time (Redfin, April 2026). Speed is not the only factor for most heirs, though. A cash buyer that purchases as-is also removes the cleanout, the repairs, and the showings, which is usually the heavier burden.