Blog

When someone who owned rental property dies, the tenants don’t go anywhere. They still live there, still expect repairs, and still owe rent, but often have no idea who to pay. As the executor or administrator, you’ve inherited a landlord’s responsibilities for a property you may never have managed, often with incomplete records and tenants

You’ve been appointed executor. The house needs to be sold to pay debts, divide the estate fairly, or stop the carrying costs. Then one heir says no. Maybe your brother still lives there. Maybe your sister thinks the price is too low. Maybe an heir you haven’t spoken to in years just wants to make

After a parent dies, families often assume someone already has the right to sell the house. That might be the oldest child, the sibling named in the will, or the person who handled Mom’s finances under a power of attorney. A buyer, an escrow officer, or a title company usually sees it differently. They’ll ask

Many probate houses were owned by the same person for 30, 40, or 50 years. By the time the estate is ready to sell, the roof may be near the end of its life, the plumbing may be original, and every closet may still be full. The executor often lives in another city, has never

A parent leaves the house to three children, and within a month the family is split three ways. One sibling wants to sell. Another has lived in the house for years and wants to stay. The third lives in Arizona and hasn’t answered a text since the funeral. Multiple heirs can sell an inherited property

When someone dies without a will, California law still has a clear answer for who inherits. It’s called intestate succession, and it’s set out in the California Probate Code. It isn’t a legal gap or a crisis. It’s a default plan that applies automatically when someone hasn’t written their own. That said, the default plan

No. Not every estate in California requires a full, court-supervised probate. Whether probate is required, and how much of it, depends on how the deceased person’s assets were owned, their value, and who’s inheriting them. Some estates avoid probate entirely. Others qualify for a shorter court process. Others still need standard probate from start to

Once you’ve been appointed executor or administrator, or you’re an heir who’s been told the house can now be sold, the next question is usually practical: what actually needs to happen to get it sold? This guide walks through the steps in order, from confirming your authority to closing escrow. If you’re still working out

When someone dies owning a house, condo, or other real estate in California, that property usually cannot be sold or transferred until the estate goes through some form of legal process. For many families, that means probate. For others, depending on the value of the property and how it was owned, a shorter court procedure

For a straightforward, uncontested estate, probate in Los Angeles County commonly takes somewhere in the range of 9 to 14 months from filing to final distribution. When real estate is part of the estate, that timeline often stretches longer, sometimes into the 14- to 22-month range, since selling a property, whether it needs court confirmation