Selling a House When There's No Will — California's Intestate Process

Quick Answer

Yes, an intestate house in California can be sold — but usually not until the probate court appoints an administrator (the no-will version of an executor) with authority over the estate. California's intestate succession law decides who inherits: the spouse's share depends on whether the home was community or separate property, and children split the rest. Smaller estates and surviving spouses have faster shortcuts, but for most family homes, plan on probate before escrow.

What "intestate" actually means

Intestate is the legal word for dying without a valid will. Nothing about it makes the property harder to own or less valuable — it just removes the instructions. Instead of a will naming who gets the house, California's intestate succession rules (in the Probate Code) make that call, and a court process confirms it. If the home was held in a living trust, none of this applies — the trust controls, and the successor trustee can usually sell without court involvement. This article is about homes that were in the deceased person's name alone or with a spouse, with no trust and no will.

Who inherits under California law

The answer depends on two things: who survived the person, and whether the house was community property (generally, acquired during the marriage) or separate property (owned before the marriage, or inherited/gifted). Here's the short version:

• Spouse, community-property home: the surviving spouse typically inherits the deceased spouse's half outright — the spouse ends up owning the whole house.
• Spouse plus one child, separate property: the spouse gets one-half, the child gets one-half.
• Spouse plus two or more children, separate property: the spouse gets one-third, the children split two-thirds.
• No spouse: children inherit in equal shares. A deceased child's share passes to that child's children.
• No spouse, no children: parents inherit; if none, siblings; and so on down the family line.

These are the general rules — blended families, stepchildren, and homes bought partly before and partly during a marriage can complicate the math. That's a conversation for a probate attorney, and a good one earns their fee here.

• California Courts Self-Help — Wills, Estates, and Probate

When you need probate — and the shortcuts that skip it

For most intestate houses, the path runs through probate court: a family member petitions to be appointed administrator, the court issues Letters of Administration, and that person then has legal authority to manage and sell the property. Plan on several months minimum, often closer to a year in LA County. But check the shortcuts first — they save real time and money when the facts fit:

• Spousal Property Petition: when everything passes to a surviving spouse, a single court hearing can confirm ownership in a couple of months instead of a year of probate.
• Small-estate real property petition: California lets heirs use a simplified court procedure when the real estate's value falls under the state's small-estate threshold — rarely useful for an LA-area house, but worth knowing for out-of-area or fractional interests.
• Property held in joint tenancy: if the deed says joint tenants, the survivor takes the whole property by right of survivorship with an affidavit — no probate for that asset at all.
• Revocable transfer-on-death (TOD) deed: if one was recorded before death, the named beneficiary takes title outside probate.

Pull a copy of the deed before assuming anything. How title was held matters more than what anyone in the family remembers or intended.

How the sale actually happens

Once an administrator is appointed, the sale looks a lot like a normal listing with a few extra steps. Under the Independent Administration of Estates Act (IAEA), the court usually grants authority to sell without a courtroom auction — the administrator lists the home, accepts an offer, and mails heirs a Notice of Proposed Action; if nobody objects within 15 days, escrow proceeds. If the court granted only limited authority, or an heir objects, the sale goes to a court confirmation hearing where the accepted offer can be overbid. A few practical points from deals we've handled:

• The estate sells the house, not the heirs individually — proceeds go into the estate account, debts get paid, then heirs receive their shares.
• Disclosure duties are lighter (the administrator never lived there), but the buyer still gets inspections — an as-is sale is normal for these homes.
• The house doesn't have to be emptied or fixed up first. Buyers for dated, full-of-furniture probate homes exist at every price point.
• If one heir wants to keep the house, they can buy out the others — an appraisal sets the number, and a lender can finance the buyout against the inherited equity.

The tax break most families don't know they have

Inherited property gets a stepped-up basis: for capital gains purposes, the house's cost resets to its market value at the date of death. If Mom paid $65,000 for the Downey house in 1985 and it's worth $850,000 now, the heirs' basis is $850,000 — sell it soon after for around that number and there's little or no federal capital gains tax, even though the family's actual gain across the decades was enormous. The flip side is property tax: since Prop 19, a child who inherits and doesn't move in as their primary residence generally loses the parent's low property tax bill. Keeping the house as a rental now usually means a reassessment to market value. That one change pushes many families toward selling — run the numbers both ways before deciding.

We're not tax advisors, and estates vary — confirm the specifics with a CPA or tax preparer before you file. The stepped-up basis and Prop 19 rules above are the general framework, not advice for your return.

Can we sell the house before probate is finished?

Usually the sale happens during probate, not after — the administrator gets court authority, lists the home, and closes escrow while the estate is still open. What you can't do is sell before an administrator is appointed; until then, nobody has legal authority to sign a deed. Getting appointed is the first move.

One sibling is living in the house and won't leave. Now what?

This is common and solvable. The administrator controls the property and can require the occupant to pay rent, move out, or buy out the other heirs. If talking fails, the probate court can order the sale. Most families settle it with a buyout or an agreed sale once real numbers are on the table — start with a valuation everyone trusts.

The house still has a mortgage. Does the bank take it?

No. The loan doesn't vanish, but the lender can't just take the home because the borrower died — federal rules let heirs continue payments or sell. In a sale, the mortgage gets paid off through escrow like any other sale, and the equity above it belongs to the estate. If payments have lapsed and a foreclosure clock is running, tell the lender an estate sale is underway and get the property listed quickly.

How long does the whole process take?

With a Spousal Property Petition, a few months. Full probate with an uncontested sale under independent administration typically runs 8 to 12 months from filing to distributed proceeds in LA County — the sale itself is the fast part; the court calendar is the slow part.