The Inherited Home Checklist

If you are reading this, someone you love has died and left a house behind. You may be the executor, the trustee, or one of several heirs. You may live in another state. Most people in your position say some version of "I don't know where to start."

This checklist puts the house in order: what to do this month, how probate and trusts change the sale, the tax questions to bring to your CPA, and how to decide whether to keep, rent or sell. It is written for homes in Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado and Yolo counties.

It comes from Surroundings. Maggie B. Hopkins is a Certified Probate & Trust Specialist who works alongside the family's attorney. She handles the house and the sale. Your attorney handles the legal side. Nothing here is legal or tax advice, so take every legal question to your attorney and every tax question to your CPA.

How the home is titled decides who can sign and how the sale works. Your attorney will confirm which applies to you.

If the home is in a living trust. The successor trustee usually manages and sells the home under the trust's terms, without the probate court. The sale looks much like any other sale. The trustee signs as trustee. Your attorney will tell you what notices the beneficiaries must receive.

If the home goes through probate. The court appoints a personal representative, called an executor or administrator. Under California's Independent Administration of Estates Act, the court can grant one of two levels of authority:

• Full authority. The personal representative can sell the home without a court confirmation hearing, after giving heirs notice of the proposed sale. California Probate Code section 10503 says the court confirmation requirements do not apply to a sale made this way.
• Limited authority. Under Probate Code section 10501, a sale of real property needs court supervision. In practice, that means a court confirmation hearing.

How court confirmation works. The home is listed and an offer is accepted, subject to the court. Under Probate Code section 10309, the offer must generally be at least 90 percent of the home's appraisal, and the appraisal must be dated within one year before the hearing. At the hearing, other buyers can bid. Probate Code section 10311 sets the first overbid at the accepted price plus 10 percent of the first $10,000 and 5 percent of the rest. On a $500,000 accepted offer, the first overbid would need to be at least $525,500. The judge confirms the sale to the highest qualifying bidder.

Court confirmation adds time, and some buyers are wary of being outbid at the hearing. Full authority usually allows a sale that runs much like a normal one. Ask your attorney which you have before the home goes on the market. Our probate and trust sales page explains how we run each kind.

When a parent's home passes to a child, the property tax bill can change a lot. Proposition 19 sets the rules for transfers on or after February 16, 2021, according to the California State Board of Equalization (BOE).

• It must be a family home. The home has to have been the parent's principal residence and become the child's principal residence. The BOE says rental homes do not qualify.
• Someone has to move in. At least one eligible child must live in the home as their principal residence to keep the exclusion.
• There is a limit. The child keeps the parent's taxable base up to that base plus an adjustment amount. The BOE lists that amount as $1,044,586 for transfers from February 16, 2025 through February 15, 2027. Market price above that limit is added to the tax base.
• There are deadlines. The BOE says the homeowners' exemption should be filed within one year of the death or transfer. The exclusion claim is due within three years, or before a sale to a third party, whichever comes first.

If no child moves in, the home is generally reassessed. That changes the math on keeping it as a rental. Our Proposition 19 guide explains more, and the BOE's Proposition 19 page at boe.ca.gov has the forms. Confirm your situation with your attorney or tax advisor.

There is no single right answer. These questions usually make the right answer for your situation clearer.

• Does any heir want to live in the home? If so, can they buy out the others or take on the costs?
• What does the home owe? Include any mortgage, reverse mortgage, liens, back taxes and HOA dues.
• What would the property tax be if the home is reassessed?
• What repairs would it need to rent, or to sell for a full price?
• Who would manage a rental, handle tenants and pay for repairs? Do all heirs agree to that?
• Does the estate need cash to pay debts, taxes or expenses?
• How long can the estate keep paying insurance, utilities and upkeep while the home is empty?
• What does your attorney say about timing and authority?

If the home has a reverse mortgage, call the loan servicer early. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says heirs generally have 30 days after a due-and-payable notice to buy, sell or turn over the home, and that the time may be extended up to six months.

The next step is a conversation about the house, with no obligation. We can tell you what the home is likely worth as it stands, what it might bring after light work, and what each path would net the estate. We work alongside your attorney and keep every heir informed if you want us to.

Tell us about the home or call (916) 549-3131.

This checklist is general information. It is not legal or tax advice. Ask your attorney about legal questions and your CPA about tax questions.