Trust & estate sales
Trust and estate sale checklist
For a house in Orange County, California. General information, current as of October 2, 2026.
First week
- Lock the house; account for every key
- Photograph every room before anything moves
- Move valuables and papers to a secure place; list them
- Call the insurer: report the death, ask about vacancy
- Order certified death certificates
- Find the trust, the will and any amendments
Weeks two to four
- Confirm who has authority (trustee, or court appointment)
- Engage the estate attorney and the CPA
- Keep utilities on; pay from one account
- Redirect the mail (in person, with proof of authority)
- Keep mortgage, property tax and HOA dues current
- Calendar every deadline below
- Sign nothing to list or sell until authority is confirmed
Before listing
- Document the date-of-death value (CPA decides the method)
- File BOE-502-D with the Assessor
- Decide keep, buy out or sell, in writing
- Decide as-is or prepare; get written quotes
- Record contents; distribute specific gifts; clear the house
- Agree with the attorney which disclosures apply
Under contract and at closing
- Probate: Notice of Proposed Action or confirmation hearing
- Provide certification of trust and affidavit of death (trust)
- Provide letters (probate)
- Ask escrow about California withholding exemptions
- Ask the CPA about FIRPTA if any seller lives abroad
After the sale
- Keep the settlement statement and every receipt
- Report the sale in the trustee’s account or the estate’s filings
- Give the CPA the basis records for the tax returns
Deadlines
| What | When | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Deliver the original will to the court clerk | Within 30 days of learning of the death | Prob. Code §8200 |
| Trustee’s notification to beneficiaries and heirs | Within 60 days | Prob. Code §16061.7 |
| Window to contest a trust | 120 days from service, or 60 days after terms delivered within those 120 days, if later | Prob. Code §16061.8 |
| Change in ownership statement, trust | Within 150 days of the death | Rev. & Tax. Code §480(b) |
| Change in ownership statement, probate | By the time the inventory is filed | Rev. & Tax. Code §480(b) |
| Notice of the probate petition | At least 15 days before the hearing | Prob. Code §§8110, 8121 |
| Probate inventory and appraisal | Within four months after letters | Prob. Code §8800 |
| Creditor claims | Later of four months after letters or 60 days after mailed notice | Prob. Code §9100 |
| Notice of Proposed Action | At least 15 days before the sale | Prob. Code §10586 |
| Prop 19: child moves in and files the homeowners’ exemption claim | Within one year of the death | BOE Publication 801 |
| Prop 19: file BOE-19-P | Within three years, before any transfer to a third party | BOE Publication 801 |
| Final distribution petition or status report | Within one year after letters (18 months if a federal estate tax return is required) | Prob. Code §12200 |
Documents
- Certified death certificates
- Trust instrument and amendments
- Certification of trust
- Recorded affidavit of death
- Original will
- Letters (form DE-150)
- Prior deed
- Latest property tax bill
- BOE-502-D (and BOE-19-P if a child keeps the house)
- HOA documents
- Mortgage statements
- Insurance policy
- Permits, warranties, service records
Who to call
- Estate or trust attorney: authority, notices, disputes
- CPA: basis, withholding, returns
- Homeowners insurer: coverage and vacancy
- Orange County Assessor (ocassessor.gov): BOE-502-D, Prop 19
- Orange County Health Care Agency, Office of Vital Records: death certificates in the first 30 days
- Orange County Clerk-Recorder (ocrecorder.com): later death certificates, deeds
- Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector (octreasurer.gov): tax bills