California probate leads: where an inherited house shows up first
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A California house can pass to the next owner after a death without a probate case. When a living trust or joint ownership carries it, the record it leaves at the county is often an affidavit of death, filed with the recorder. Lispend reads those recordings, and the letters probate courts issue when an estate does go to court, and matches each one to the property and its owner of record.
What is an affidavit of death in California?
When a death affects title to real property, any person may record an affidavit of death in the county where the property is (Probate Code §210). It describes the property and attaches a certified copy of the death record. The recorder indexes it with the person who died as the grantor (§211), so it sits under the decedent’s name in the same index as a deed, and it is prima facie evidence of the death as to that property (§212). Search the recorder’s grantor index by the decedent’s name and the affidavit comes up, with its recording date.
What happens when an estate goes through probate court?
The court appoints a personal representative, who has no power to act until letters are issued (§8400). Notice of the hearing is published three times in a newspaper, the first at least 15 days before it (§8121). Creditors have until the later of four months after letters issue or 60 days after notice is mailed to them (§9100).
How does a probate estate sell a house in California?
A probate estate sells a house one of two ways. A personal representative with full authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act can sell without court confirmation, after giving the heirs a notice of proposed action at least 15 days before the sale (§§10503, 10586). With limited authority, or after an objection, the sale is reported to the court and confirmed before title passes (§10308). A private sale must bring at least 90% of the appraised value (§10309), and at the hearing anyone can overbid by at least 10% of the first $10,000 plus 5% of the rest (§10311). With full authority you negotiate with the representative like any seller. Under court confirmation, your accepted offer can be overbid in open court.
Who do you contact on a California probate lead?
Whoever now controls the property. After an affidavit of death, that is the surviving co-owner or the trustee of the decedent’s trust; in a court case, the personal representative named in the letters. Lispend matches each recording to the parcel, the owner of record on the county assessor roll and the mailing address.
Sources
California Probate Code sections 210 to 212 for affidavits of death, section 8400 for letters, section 8121 for publication, section 9100 for creditor claims, sections 10503 and 10586 for sales under independent administration, and sections 10308, 10309 and 10311 for court-confirmed sales. Last verified 2026-11-04.
This is general information about how California probate works, not legal advice. Statutes change, so check the current text before you rely on a date or a percentage.
California probate property, county by county
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