List each asset, title, beneficiary or trust status, date-of-death value where relevant, residence county, and any California real property.
State guide
California estate settlement and probate starting point
Do not start with a form number. Start by separating ownership, beneficiary designations, trusts, real property and the date of death. Those facts determine whether formal probate, a simplified transfer procedure or another route may be relevant.
Boundary: this page organizes official California Courts guidance. It does not decide that probate is required, select a petition, value the estate or replace local legal advice.
The short answer
California estate settlement begins by classifying ownership and transfer routes, then testing current California Courts procedures rather than selecting a form from estate value alone.
Use current California Courts guidance to verify formal probate, simplified personal-property or real-property procedures, spousal routes, forms, and county filing.
Stop when title, heirship, community property, deadlines, disputes, insolvency, tax, or out-of-state property requires fact-specific analysis.
Your working resultA California route worksheet and the responsible county court or official transfer source.
Keep in mind
Continue to the verified county navigatorThe existence of a California form does not prove that the estate or asset qualifies to use it.
01Resolve the state rule
02Test the probate or shortcut route
03Find the responsible county
On this page
Choose the process before the paperwork
A will names intentions, but asset ownership and the available transfer process still matter. California Courts directs readers to identify what property exists and then test the appropriate court or non-court route.
Map each asset
Separate individually owned, jointly owned, beneficiary-designated and trust property. Do not add every account to a probate value automatically.
Test a simplified route
Use the date-of-death and asset-specific California Courts guidance. Thresholds and exclusions differ, and a personal-property affidavit does not transfer real property.
Open formal probate only when appropriate
The formal process uses forms including DE-111 and a court hearing at which a judge appoints the personal representative.
What changes the California route
Each point explains when it matters and what it still cannot decide for a particular estate.
The property, ownership and beneficiary facts determine whether a court or non-court transfer process may apply; a will alone does not decide the route.
- Applies when
- someone needs to transfer or inherit property after a person passed away
- Does not establish
- that formal probate is required or that a particular simplified process applies
Formal probate begins with court forms including Petition for Probate (DE-111); the court hearing is where a judge appoints a personal representative.
- Applies when
- the estate uses formal probate
- Does not establish
- that the reader should file DE-111 or is eligible for appointment
California Courts directs a formal case to the county where the person lived; if the person lived outside California but owned California property, it directs the case to the county where that property is located.
- Applies when
- choosing the county for a California formal probate case
- Does not establish
- the correct county for every ancillary, trust, conservatorship or contested matter
California provides more than one simplified transfer procedure. Limits depend on the date of death, asset type and exclusions, and current amounts are published through California Courts and form DE-300.
- Applies when
- evaluating whether formal probate may not be needed
- Does not establish
- eligibility under any threshold without valuing the included assets and checking the current date-specific limit
The personal-property small-estate affidavit has qualification rules including a waiting period, estate-value calculation and exclusion of real property from that affidavit procedure.
- Applies when
- considering an affidavit to collect qualifying personal property
- Does not establish
- that real property can transfer through the same affidavit or that the estate qualifies
California Courts maintains a current probate form search and identifies forms adopted for mandatory use.
- Applies when
- finding a current statewide probate form
- Does not establish
- that one statewide form is the complete local filing packet
Responsible authority
Continue on California Courts
Use the live court pages for current instructions, forms, limits and local routing. Check again on the day you act.
- Start with the California probate guide ↗
- Compare formal probate ↗
- Check simplified transfer procedures and current limits ↗
- Find the responsible California court ↗
- Search current probate forms ↗
Do not use this list as a filing packet. Local rules and the estate's facts may add or change requirements.
Continue your preparation
Open the checkable executor preparation sequence or return to the private starting-point tool.
Official references
Responsible court, agency and official-service links are presented beside the action or claim they support. Use the checked date shown on the page and verify the live authority again before acting.
The decision at the end of this page
Finish with the responsible state decision
Use the official source to confirm the current route, then identify the county system that would handle it.
Common questions
Quick answers
What should I know about superior Court of California in the responsible county?
Use the court's current guidance to test the route before choosing a form.
How do I choose the process before the paperwork?
A will names intentions, but asset ownership and the available transfer process still matter. California Courts directs readers to identify what property exists and then test the appropriate court or non-court route.
What changes the California route?
Each point explains when it matters and what it still cannot decide for a particular estate.