The Probate Library — California Probate & Estate Guides | Shanty Probate Realty

Shanty Soerjono

The Probate Library

Long-form, plain-English guides to California probate and the family home — written for the people actually living through it. New guides publish regularly.

June 11, 2026 · 16 min read

Who Inherits When There's No Will? California Intestate Succession, Mapped

When someone dies in California without a will, the state already has one written for them — it lives in the Probate Code, and it does not care about promises, fairness, or who took care of whom. Here is exactly how intestate succession divides an estate, why the community-property rule surprises nearly every surviving spouse, and how the answer reaches all the way down to who can sign to sell the house.

June 11, 2026 · 16 min read

The Complete Timeline of a California Probate, From Filing to Final Distribution

Most California probates take nine to eighteen months, and almost all of that time is spent waiting on a handful of predictable milestones. Here is the whole road, stage by stage, so you always know where you are and what comes next.

June 11, 2026 · 15 min read

Letters Testamentary vs. Letters of Administration: What the Difference Means for You

Before a bank will open the accounts, before escrow will close, before anyone will treat you as the person in charge of the estate, they will ask for one document: your Letters. Here is what Letters Testamentary and Letters of Administration actually are, who qualifies for each, and how this single page quietly runs the entire probate.

June 10, 2026 · 15 min read

When the Will Can't Be Found: Lost Wills, Copies, and Intestate Fallbacks

Everyone agreed there was a will — but now no one can find the original. In California that missing original triggers a legal presumption that quietly works against the family: the law assumes the person tore it up on purpose. Here is what that presumption means, how a copy can still be probated, and what happens to the house when the search comes up empty.

June 10, 2026 · 15 min read

What Executors Must Do in the First 30 Days: A Calm, Complete Checklist

The first month after a death is when small oversights become expensive problems — lapsed insurance, missed mail, an unsecured house. This is the complete first-30-days playbook for California executors, ordered by what actually cannot wait.

June 9, 2026 · 14 min read

The Executor's Guide to Estate Bank Accounts: Setting Up, Funding, and Tracking

Every dollar that flows through a probate should pass through one account that exists only for the estate — opened under its own tax ID, never mixed with your own money, and tracked so completely that the final accounting writes itself. Here is how to set up the estate account correctly, fund it without commingling, and keep the records that protect you personally.

June 9, 2026 · 14 min read

Full vs. Limited Authority Under the IAEA: The Distinction That Shapes Your Entire Probate

One checkbox on the probate petition determines whether you can sell the house with a 15-day notice or must take the sale into a courtroom for confirmation and possible overbidding. Here is how full and limited authority actually work, and how to plan a sale around whichever one you hold.

June 8, 2026 · 15 min read

Selling an Inherited Home As-Is vs. Fixing It First: Running the Real Numbers

The dated kitchen and the worn carpet make the decision feel obvious — fix it up, sell it for more. Then you run the actual numbers, and 'obvious' gets complicated fast. Here is the honest framework for deciding whether to sell an inherited home as-is or invest first, including the carrying costs, the family dynamics, and the tax angle most people miss.

June 8, 2026 · 14 min read

Do You Even Need Probate? California's Small-Estate Shortcuts, Explained

Not every California estate has to go through full probate. Between small-estate affidavits, spousal petitions, simplified real-property procedures, and assets that bypass probate entirely, many families have a faster road available — if they know to look for it.

June 7, 2026 · 15 min read

How to Sell a House During Probate in California — Without the Court Headaches

Yes, you can sell the house in the middle of probate — most estates should. Here is the complete playbook: when you can list, how to prepare a home nobody lives in, pricing against the referee's appraisal, probate-proof contracts, and the escrow coordination that keeps the court out of your way.

June 6, 2026 · 14 min read

The Overbid Hearing: What Really Happens When Your Probate Sale Goes to Court

In a court-confirmed probate sale, the buyer you chose can be outbid in open court — a live auction in front of the judge. Here is the entire confirmation hearing demystified: the bid math, who shows up, how the auction runs, and how estates turn the overbid process into found money.

June 5, 2026 · 15 min read

When Siblings Disagree: A Practical Guide to Resolving Conflict Over an Inherited Home

One sibling wants to sell, one wants to keep, one wants to move in, and nobody is sleeping well. Inherited-home conflict is the most human problem in probate — and the most solvable. Here is what the disagreements are really about, the options most families never hear, and how to keep a house from costing you a brother or sister.

June 4, 2026 · 14 min read

Capital Gains, Stepped-Up Basis, and the Inherited Home: What Heirs Need to Understand

The single most consequential — and most misunderstood — tax concept for anyone inheriting a California home is the stepped-up basis. Here is how it works in plain English, why timing the sale matters, where Proposition 19 changed the property tax math, and exactly which questions to bring to your CPA.

June 3, 2026 · 14 min read

Securing and Insuring a Vacant Inherited Property: The Complete Protection Checklist

A vacant house is the most fragile asset in any estate — exposed to break-ins, water damage, insurance lapses, squatters, and code violations, often for a year or more of probate. Here is the complete protection playbook: the week-one moves, the insurance realities, the monthly routine, and the California-specific risks.

June 2, 2026 · 14 min read

Probate vs. Trust Administration: Which Process Are You Actually In?

Half the families who call me about 'probate' are not actually in probate — they are administering a trust, a different process with different rules, timelines, and people in charge. Here is how to tell which road you are on, how each one works, and what changes (and does not) when the family home is sold.

June 1, 2026 · 18 min read

The Probate Referee's Appraisal: How It Works and What to Do When It's Wrong

Early in every California probate, a court-designated official called the probate referee puts a value on the house, and that single number shapes the sale price floor, the professional fees, the bond, and the family's expectations. Here is how the Inventory and Appraisal actually works, what the referee charges, and the full ladder of remedies when the appraised value and the real market disagree.

May 31, 2026 · 17 min read

How to Choose a Probate Attorney in California: Questions That Reveal Real Experience

In California, nearly every probate attorney charges the same statutory fee for ordinary work, which means price tells you almost nothing about who to hire. The real differences hide in extraordinary fees, county experience, and how well the attorney coordinates with your agent and CPA. Here is the interview guide I wish every family had in week two.

May 30, 2026 · 16 min read

Notice of Proposed Action: The 15-Day Letter That Clears Your Home Sale

Under full IAEA authority, one document stands between your accepted offer and a closed escrow: the Notice of Proposed Action. Here is exactly who must receive it, what it must say, how waivers and objections work, and how to run the 15-day window inside your escrow so it costs the sale zero days.

May 29, 2026 · 18 min read

Cleaning Out a Parent's Home: A Compassionate Step-by-Step System

Clearing out a parent's home is equal parts grief work and logistics, and doing it in the wrong order can cost the estate real money and the family real peace. Here is the system I walk families through: documents and heirlooms first, a fair distribution process, the honest economics of estate sales versus auctions versus donation, the correct vendor order, and a four-weekend schedule that respects both the calendar and your heart.

May 28, 2026 · 18 min read

What Happens to the Mortgage When the Homeowner Dies?

The mortgage does not vanish when the borrower passes away, but it does not automatically become your debt either. Federal successor-in-interest rules, the Garn-St Germain Act, and California's foreclosure timeline give families real rights and real deadlines. Here is how to keep the loan stable while the estate gets sorted out.

May 27, 2026 · 19 min read

Foreclosure During Probate: Reading the Clock and Saving the Equity

Probate does not pause a California foreclosure. The Notice of Default keeps aging while the court calendar crawls, and families who misread the two clocks can lose six figures of equity at a trustee sale. Here is the foreclosure timeline mapped against probate milestones, and the realistic windows to act.