Being named executor in California is a 12–18 month job nobody trained you for. This is the whole sequence — what California requires of you, what is merely sensible, and which statute each requirement comes from.
Custodian of a will must deliver it to the superior court clerk within 30 days of learning of the death, and mail a copy to the named executor.read at source
30 days
Cal. Prob. Code §8200(a) · last checked 2026-09-05
Creditor claims are due the later of 4 months after letters are first issued, or 60 days after notice of administration is delivered to the creditor.read at source
4 months / 60 days
Cal. Prob. Code §9100(a) · last checked 2026-09-05
Inventory and Appraisal (DE-160) is due within 4 months after letters are first issued.read at source
4 months
Cal. Prob. Code §8800(b) · last checked 2026-09-05
Small-estate affidavit limit for deaths on or after April 1, 2025.read at source
$208,850
Cal. Prob. Code §13100; Judicial Council form DE-300 · last checked 2026-09-05
Personal representative's statutory commission: 4% first $100k, 3% next $100k, 2% next $800k, 1% next $9M, 0.5% next $15M, court-determined above $25M. Computed on the value of the estate accounted for, WITHOUT subtracting encumbrances or debts.read at source
4/3/2/1/0.5%, gross base
Cal. Prob. Code §10800; attorney's identical schedule at §10810 · last checked 2026-09-05
California specifics: small-estate affidavit available for smaller estates (threshold adjusts periodically — confirm the current figure); creditor claim period generally runs 4 months after Letters are issued; the Inventory & Appraisal (form DE-160) with a probate referee is generally due within 4 months of Letters. General information, not legal advice — confirm with the court.
Steps are grouped the way the work actually arrives. Required marks a duty backed by a citation; Recommended marks something that protects you or the estate but is not itself a legal obligation.
Nearly every institution requires an original certified copy.
How: Order through the funeral home or the county recorder / vital records office.
California requires whoever holds the will to deliver it to the superior court clerk within 30 days of learning of the death, and to mail a copy to the executor named in it (Prob. Code §8200).
How: Check the safe, files, and safe-deposit box; ask their attorney. Deliver the original to the county superior court clerk.
Cal. Prob. Code §8200(a) · last checked 2026-09-05read at source
You are responsible for protecting estate property from loss starting now.
How: Lock up, collect keys, consider re-keying, keep utilities on for now.
The mail reveals accounts and bills you don't know about.
How: You cannot do this online. To redirect the deceased's mail to yourself you must go to a Post Office IN PERSON and show documented proof that you are the appointed executor or administrator — USPS says plainly that a death certificate alone is NOT enough, so take your Letters. If you already shared the address, you may simply open and manage the mail, no filing needed. Register the name at DMAchoice.org too: advertising mail should drop within about three months. Photograph everything into Settle.
USPS, Mail addressed to the deceased · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
Stops benefit payments that would have to be repaid. Survivor benefits are separate — nobody starts them for you.
How: The funeral home usually reports the death — confirm by calling SSA on 1-800-772-1213. Ask about the benefit paid for the month of death, which often has to be returned. A surviving spouse, or an eligible child if there is no spouse, may claim the $255 lump-sum death payment, and survivors benefits are a separate claim — nobody starts either for you. There is a hard deadline: the lump sum must be applied for within TWO YEARS of the death. Apply online with an SSA account, or by phone.
SSA, Lump-sum death payment · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
Qualifying estates can skip full probate entirely — months faster and far cheaper.
How: California sets a different limit per property type — most executors only hear the first. Deaths on/after 1 Apr 2025: personal property $208,850 by affidavit after 40 days (§13100); a primary residence $750,000 by petition (§13151); other real property $69,625 (§13200); a spouse-and-minor-children set-aside $107,900 on NET value (§6602); compensation owed $20,875 (§13050). If the home pushed you over $208,850, check §13151 before assuming full probate. Figures: Judicial Council form DE-300, next adjusted April 2028.
Cal. Prob. Code §13100; Judicial Council form DE-300 · last checked 2026-09-05read at source
Statements, deeds, titles, tax returns recur constantly through settlement.
How: Photograph everything into Settle as you find it.
Vacancy can limit or void coverage; an uninsured loss drains the estate.
How: Call the insurer and ask about a vacancy endorsement.
Until Letters issue, institutions won't deal with you.
How: File in the county where they lived; the court sets a hearing typically several weeks out. Many executors handle simple estates with the court's self-help resources.
Needed for the estate bank account and tax filings.
How: Free, direct from the IRS — never pay a site that charges for one. Apply online, but know three things first. You must finish in ONE session: it cannot be saved and it times out after 15 minutes of inactivity. You need the responsible party's own Social Security number or ITIN — yours, as the executor. And the tool is not always open: Mon-Fri 6am-1am, Sat 6am-9pm, Sun 6pm-midnight Eastern, one EIN per responsible party per day.
IRS, Get an employer identification number · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
Never mix estate money with your own.
How: Bring Letters, EIN, and a death certificate to the bank.
Freezes accounts against fraud; starts transfers.
How: Write to each institution with a certified death certificate and, once the court issues them, a copy of your Letters. Log who you contacted and when in Settle so you can show the follow-up trail.
Policies pay beneficiaries directly and often quickly.
How: Call each insurer with policy number + death certificate.
Stops fees and identity theft.
How: Notify issuers, then Equifax, Experian, TransUnion.
California's creditor claim period generally ends 4 months after Letters issue (or 60 days after notice to a known creditor, if later). Distributing before it closes risks personal liability.
How: Mail the Notice of Administration (DE-157) to known creditors. Track who has filed claims in Settle.
Cal. Prob. Code §9100(a) · last checked 2026-09-05read at source
Small drains add up over a long settlement.
How: Bank statements and forwarded mail reveal them.
California requires a formal inventory appraised by the court-assigned probate referee.
How: Settle's inventory report gives you the asset list; non-cash assets are valued by the probate referee assigned to your case.
Cal. Prob. Code §8800(b) · last checked 2026-09-05read at source
Date-of-death values set tax basis and drive distribution.
How: The referee appraises non-cash assets; keep reports in Settle.
Protects estate value; order of payment matters if funds are tight.
How: Estate account only. If the estate may be insolvent, pause and get advice.
Penalties accrue against the estate if missed.
How: Three federal filings can apply, and they are not the same thing. The final Form 1040 covers income up to the date of death and is filed on the ordinary deadline, as if they were alive — prior years may also be outstanding. If a refund is due, it will NOT arrive on its own: file Form 1310 to claim it. Separately, the estate itself files Form 1041 for any tax year it has gross income of $600 or more. IRS Publication 559 is written for executors. A CPA experienced with estates is usually worth it — hand them Settle's reports.
IRS, File the final income tax returns of a deceased person; Instructions for Form 1041 · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
Documented expenses come back to you from the estate.
How: Settle's ledger tracks 'paid personally' items; reimburse with a paper trail.
Early distribution creates personal liability.
How: Follow the will. Get a signed receipt from every beneficiary and keep them — the court wants them before it discharges you (Ex Parte Petition for Final Discharge and Order, form DE-295).
The court signs off on your stewardship and discharges you.
How: Generate Settle's Ledger and Inventory reports; file the petition; keep records for several years.
Settle builds this checklist into a plan you can actually work
The steps above, ordered for your situation in California, with the deadlines on a calendar, your documents attached to the step that needs them, and an expense ledger for everything the estate owes you back. The plan itself is free.
Every figure on this page links to the statute or court source it came from and shows the date we last read it. All 13 citations on this page have been read against the primary statute text.
The full registry, including everything we have not confirmed, is published at Where the state information comes from. If the court or your attorney gave you a different date, please tell us at support@vertexlabsolutions.com — it is the fastest way to get it fixed for the next executor.