My Parent Just Died.
What Do I Do
With the House?
Find out how the property is titled, that single fact determines everything. If it's in a living trust, a successor trustee can act immediately without court involvement. If it's in your parent's individual name, probate is likely required before the home can be sold or transferred. Pull the deed from the county assessor website before making any other decisions.
The First 72 Hours, What Actually Matters
When a parent dies and leaves a home, the first instinct is often to figure out the big picture, sell it, keep it, divide it among siblings. But the most important decisions in the first few days are practical, not strategic.
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1
Secure the property immediately
Change the locks if keys are widely distributed. Make sure homeowner's insurance is active, call the insurer and notify them of the death. Some policies reduce coverage when a property becomes vacant. Maintain utilities and address any urgent maintenance issues.
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2
Find the deed and any trust documents
The deed tells you everything about what happens next. Check the county assessor's website, most California counties let you look this up free by address. You're looking for who is named as owner: the trust, an individual, or joint tenants.
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3
Order death certificates, more than you think you need
Order at least 10-12 certified copies from the funeral home or county vital records. Banks, title companies, government agencies, and the court each require an original certified copy. Running out causes delays at the worst moments.
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4
Do not make major decisions yet
Do not agree to sell to anyone, accept any cash offer, sign anything, or distribute any property until you understand how the estate is structured. Investors frequently target recently bereaved families with below-market cash offers, sometimes within days of a death notice. These offers are almost always significantly below fair market value.
The Single Most Important Question:
How is the Property Titled?
Everything that follows depends on this. Pull the deed. Here is what each titling situation means:
The successor trustee named in the trust document takes over immediately, no court required. The trustee can manage and sell the property under the trust's authority. This is the fastest, least expensive path. Timeline to sale: 45-90 days from listing.
Probate is likely required before the property can be sold or transferred. This is a court-supervised process. An executor is appointed, creditors are notified, and the court eventually authorizes the sale. Timeline: 9-18 months in most California counties.
The surviving joint tenant automatically inherits the deceased's share without probate. Record an Affidavit of Death of Joint Tenant with the county recorder, along with a certified death certificate. No court involvement required.
Common and costly mistake. If the property deed was never changed to name the trust, the trust may not own the property. A Heggstad petition may allow the property into the trust without full probate, but requires court involvement and an estate attorney.
Do You Need an Attorney?
It depends on the path you're on, but in most cases, consulting one early saves money and time.
If the property is in a trust: An estate attorney is strongly advisable even though court involvement isn't required. A Certification of Trust needs to be prepared. Beneficiary notifications have legal deadlines. Tax returns need to be filed. An attorney helps you avoid the mistakes that create personal liability for trustees.
If probate is required: A probate attorney is strongly recommended. California probate involves court filings, legal notices, hearings, and specific timelines. Executor errors can create personal liability. Attorney fees in a probate are paid from estate assets, not your personal funds.
If you're not sure what's required: A single consultation with a California estate attorney, typically one to two hours, is often enough to understand your situation and what steps are needed. Do this before making any major decisions about the property.
When the time comes to sell, Wolf Allies connects families with real estate agents who specialize specifically in trust, probate, and inherited property sales. These are not general residential agents, they understand the documentation requirements, the fiduciary pricing obligations, and the specific dynamics of estate property transactions. Our introductions are free and never affect your commission.
The Stepped-Up Basis, Your Most Important Tax Fact
Before making any decision about what to do with the house, understand the stepped-up basis. When you inherit California real property, your cost basis is reset to the fair market value of the property on the date of your parent's death, regardless of what they paid for it.
This means if your parent bought a Pasadena home in 1978 for $95,000 and it is worth $1.7 million today, your cost basis is $1.7 million, not $95,000. If you sell it for $1.7 million, you owe capital gains tax on approximately zero gain.
Every month you hold the property after the date of death, new appreciation potentially accumulates above your stepped-up basis. This is why selling relatively soon after inheriting, while the property is close to the stepped-up basis value, is often the most tax-efficient strategy. Get a professional appraisal dated as close to the date of death as possible and keep it permanently.
Proposition 19 and Property Tax Reassessment
California's Proposition 19, effective February 2021, changed the rules for inheriting property. The parent-child property tax exclusion now only applies if you make the inherited home your primary residence within one year. If you don't intend to live there, the property will be reassessed to current market value, which can mean a dramatically higher annual property tax bill.
For properties in high-value California markets where the assessed value is far below current market value, this reassessment can add $10,000-$30,000 per year to carrying costs. This makes selling, and capturing the stepped-up basis benefit simultaneously, financially attractive in many cases.
What to Do If You Receive a Cash Offer Immediately
You will likely be approached by investors quickly, sometimes within days of a death notice appearing in public records. These are cash buyers who profit by purchasing below market value.
Before accepting any cash offer: get a comparative market analysis from a licensed real estate agent and a professional appraisal. The combined cost ($500-$1,000) is trivial compared to the potential difference between an investor's offer and actual market value, which is frequently 20-30% or more.
If you are a trustee or executor, you have a fiduciary obligation to beneficiaries to sell at or near fair market value. Accepting a significantly below-market offer without documented justification can constitute a breach of that duty.
Frequently Asked Questions
