Probate Decedent’s Estate – 5 of 6 (Real Estate)

This post is the fifth in a series regarding probate decedent’s estate court proceedings in California.

The prior writings discussed the ultimate goal of transferring the assets of someone who died (a decedent) to the people who are supposed to receive them. They also covered the first two steps of a probate decedent’s estate court proceeding, which are getting someone in charge of the assets and paying all valid debts.

This post will cover a special issue regarding probate decedent’s estate court proceedings when the decedent owned real estate. Then the last writing will discuss the transfer of the assets of the decedent (the estate) to the people who are supposed to receive them.

The person who is in charge of the estate must obtain specific court approval before taking certain actions such as selling a house. He may need to sell a house especially if a house is the main asset because, if the house is not sold, then the people to receive the house in the end would need to become co-owners of it with each other. By selling the house, each of them will receive cash in the end instead of receiving a part interest in the house. That way they do not need to become intertwined with each other regarding how to manage the house.

Generally, the person in charge must obtain specific approval from the court to sign a listing agreement with a realtor before he begins the process of selling the house. Further, he would need to go back to court at a later date to obtain court confirmation of any sale of the house.

There are certain strategies to take advantage of in this area. Often the court will not require that specific approval to sign a listing agreement to sell the house and the confirmation of the house sale. Those strategies affect the bond amount discussed in the third post.