If you're reading this, something hard probably just happened.

Someone died. There's a house. And somewhere in the middle of the funeral arrangements and the paperwork and the phone calls, somebody said the word "probate" — and now you're up at eleven at night trying to figure out what that means and how much it's going to cost you.

I've been helping families through this for close to thirty years. Here's something worth knowing: California changed the rules on April 1, 2025. For a lot of families, the house no longer has to go through full probate.

Let me walk you through it in plain English.

What changed

The law is Assembly Bill 2016. It amended the California Probate Code — sections 13150 through 13154, if you want to look it up.

Before this, if the estate was worth more than $184,500, you were headed for full probate. In California, where a tired three-bedroom ranch runs well past that, almost every family with a house got swept in. Full probate takes months, sometimes years. It costs thousands. It's public record.

Now, if the house was the person's primary residence and it's worth $750,000 or less, the family can use a simplified court petition instead. It's called a Petition to Determine Succession to Primary Residence. It's still court — you'll still have a hearing — but it's a fraction of the time and a fraction of the money.

That's a meaningful change. It's not a loophole and it's not a trick. It's the state finally admitting that $184,500 didn't mean anything anymore in a state where the median home costs multiples of that.

Six questions that tell you whether you qualify

Go down this list. If you get a no on any of them, this route probably isn't open to you.

1. Did they die on or after April 1, 2025?

This is the one that catches people. If the person died between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2025, the old $184,500 limit still applies to their estate. The new number doesn't reach backward. I wish it did.

2. Was it their primary residence?

This only covers the home they lived in. A rental, a piece of land, a cabin at the lake — none of it qualifies, no matter what it's worth. Those go through full probate unless there's a trust or a transfer-on-death deed.

One piece of good news here: "primary residence" is not limited to where they were living the day they died. If your mother moved into assisted living for her last two years and the house sat empty, that house can still count.

3. Is the gross value $750,000 or less?

Gross, not net. This trips up almost everyone. If the house is worth $800,000 and there's a $300,000 mortgage on it, you do not have a $500,000 house for this purpose. You have an $800,000 house, and you don't qualify. The mortgage doesn't lower the number.

The value has to come from a probate referee — a court-approved appraiser — not from a Realtor, not from Zillow, and not from your cousin who flips houses. It has to be a referee approved by that specific county's court. Use anyone else and you'll pay for it twice.

4. Have at least 40 days passed since the death?

You can't file before then. It's a waiting period built into the law.

5. Is everyone who inherits on board?

Any one heir can file for their own share. But to actually clear title — to sell the house, or refinance it, or do anything with it — every successor has to be part of it. If one sibling won't sign, you have a problem that this petition can't solve for you.

Once you file, notice has to go to every heir and devisee named in the petition within five business days. And anyone can oppose it — including by arguing the house is worth more than $750,000.

6. Is there already a probate case open?

If one's been opened, the personal representative has to consent in writing before you can use this route.

The part nobody tells you until it's too late

I'd rather you hear this from me now than find out later.

If you use this petition, you become personally liable for the person's unsecured debts — credit cards, medical bills, that kind of thing — up to the value of your share of the home's equity. Mortgages, liens, and car loans aren't part of that.

In a full probate, creditors get a shorter window to come forward, and the debts get settled before anything is distributed. That protection is real, and using the shortcut means giving it up.

So if your father had $60,000 in credit card debt and a $400,000 house, the fast route may not be the right route. That's a conversation to have with an attorney with actual numbers in front of you — not a decision to make because a website told you it was easier.

This only covers the house

The $750,000 applies to the residence and nothing else. Bank accounts, investments, the car, personal belongings — those go through a separate process called a small estate affidavit, which has its own limit of $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025.

The two work together. Petition for the house, affidavit for everything else. Assets that already have a named beneficiary — IRAs, 401(k)s, life insurance — don't count toward that limit at all.

What I'd actually tell you if you called me

Talk to a probate attorney before you decide anything. An hour with someone who knows this cold is cheaper than the wrong path. If you don't have one, call me and I'll give you a few names of people I've watched take real care of families. I don't get anything for that referral, and I don't want anything for it.

And if you just need someone to explain what's happening — call me for that too. Most of what I do in this part of my work is answer questions for people who aren't selling and may never sell. Some of them do, eventually. Most don't. That's genuinely fine.

Losing a parent is hard enough. You shouldn't have to become an expert in the Probate Code on top of it.

Where this information comes from

Assembly Bill 2016 (Stats. 2024, ch. 331), amending California Probate Code §§ 13150, 13151, 13152, 13154.

Judicial Council of California, "Maximum Amounts for Determining Eligibility for Summary Succession Procedures," courts.ca.gov. These dollar amounts next adjust on April 1, 2028.

Judicial Council of California, Invitation to Comment W25-10 (revisions to forms DE-310 and DE-315), courts.ca.gov.

Sacramento County Public Law Library, "Petition to Determine Succession to Primary Residence (Under $750,000)," saclaw.org.

I'm a REALTOR®, not an attorney. This is general information, not legal advice, and reading it doesn't make you my client. Every family's situation is different, court practices vary by county, and laws change. Please talk to a licensed California probate attorney before you make any decisions about an estate.

Helen Burke, REALTOR®, CDPE

Intero Real Estate  |  DRE #01175866

Probate, estate, and distressed property. Licensed since 1996. Serving Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, and Alameda Counties.