In the first weeks after a death, nobody can sell the house yet, but there is a short list of useful things you can do. Secure and insure the property, pay funeral expenses, gather documents, notify the mortgage servicer, and find out whether the estate needs probate at all. What you cannot do is sign a listing, accept an offer or transfer title.
California is blunt about it. “A person has no power to administer the estate until the person is appointed personal representative,” and that appointment “becomes effective when the person appointed is issued letters,” under Probate Code 8400. A personal representative is whoever the court appoints to run the estate. The legal part waits. The practical part does not.
Key Facts
- No one may administer the estate until the court issues letters, though a named executor may pay funeral expenses and preserve estate property first (Probate Code 8400).
- The first hearing is set 15 to 30 days after filing, or 30 to 45 on request (Probate Code 8003).
- A $750,000 petition for the decedent’s California primary residence is available for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, after 40 days (Judicial Council amounts).
- Small-estate limits use gross value: you are “not allowed to subtract the debts of the person who died” (California Courts Self-Help).
- A California fire policy suspends coverage for loss while a building is vacant beyond 60 consecutive days (Insurance Code 2071).
What can you do with the house right now?
Protect it. Rekey the locks, stop or forward the mail, put lights on timers, keep power and water on, and keep the yard maintained. A named executor may preserve estate property before appointment.
Call the insurance carrier, say the house is unoccupied, and ask in writing for a vacancy endorsement. Then call the mortgage servicer, which must communicate promptly with potential successors in interest and may not demand probate documents that state law does not require (12 CFR 1024.38). A lender also may not call the loan due on “a transfer to a relative resulting from the death of a borrower” (12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)). See who pays the mortgage during probate.
What can you not do yet?
You cannot sell. A listing agreement, contract, deed or distribution signed before anyone has authority is not worth the paper. Until letters issue there is no personal representative, and a successor trustee has power only if the house was titled in the trust’s name.
You also should not clear out the house, because items leaving before an inventory exists make the accounting wrong. Photograph every room first, then move only documents and valuables. Do not remove an occupant or rent the property out without a probate attorney’s advice.
Which documents should you gather first?
One folder shortens every conversation that follows.
- Certified death certificates, several copies.
- The will and codicils, plus any trust document and amendments.
- The grant deed, and any deed of trust or transfer-on-death deed.
- Mortgage and HELOC statements, the property tax bill, reverse mortgage paperwork.
- The homeowner’s insurance policy and the carrier’s contact.
- Bank, brokerage and retirement statements, and two years of tax returns.
- A list of heirs and devisees with addresses, because the court notices each.
- Bills, liens or Medi-Cal correspondence for the person who died.
When might you not need probate at all?
It depends on how the house was titled and what it is worth.
- A living trust. The successor trustee sells without court confirmation (Probate Code 16226). See trust sales.
- A surviving spouse. A spousal property petition asks the court to find administration unnecessary (Probate Code 13650).
- Joint tenancy. Title clears with an affidavit and a certified death record (Probate Code 210).
- A transfer-on-death deed, if signed, witnessed by two people at once, notarized and recorded within 60 days (Probate Code 5626).
- The $750,000 primary residence petition, for deaths on or after April 1, 2025. See the $750,000 petition.
- Real property of small value. A $69,625 affidavit, six months after the death (Probate Code 13200).
These limits are gross, so a $700,000 house with a $500,000 mortgage counts as $700,000.
Summary
- No one may administer the estate until letters issue, but a named executor may preserve estate property.
- Probate “typically takes 9 to 18 months” (California Courts guide), but the house usually sells well before the estate closes.
- Secure the house, keep utilities on, and get a vacancy endorsement.
- Coverage can lapse while a building is vacant beyond 60 consecutive days.
- Gather death certificates, the will, the trust, the deed, loan and tax records, and a list of heirs.
- Trusts, spousal petitions, joint tenancy, transfer-on-death deeds and small-estate paths can avoid probate, and their limits are gross, so a mortgage does not reduce them.
Next Steps
Talk with Bart: Book a free 15-minute call. I’ll listen to where you are in the process, look at the property, and tell you your options, including the ones that don’t involve hiring me.
Read the probate sale process: See what the sale looks like once letters issue.
Related Pages and Reading
- Do you need probate to sell an inherited house?
- What is the $750,000 primary residence petition?
- What happens to the house if there’s no will?
- Service areas
About the Author
Bart Hubbard is a Realtor with HomeSmart ICARE Realty (DRE #01815497) and a C.A.R. Certified Probate and Trust Specialist who helps families across the greater Sacramento area sell inherited, probate and trust homes. He works alongside probate attorneys, fiduciaries and local vendors to handle pricing, cleanouts, repairs and court-confirmation sales, so executors can focus on their families. More about Bart is on his bio page.
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Probate and tax rules depend on your facts. Talk with a California probate attorney or CPA before acting. Figures current as of October 2026.