What Happens to the House if Mom Dies Without a Will in California?

What happens to the house in California if Mom dies without a will? The house still goes to her heirs. California law, not a will, decides who those heirs are and what share each one receives.

I'm Jeanette Nelson, a REALTOR® with Jeanette Nelson Real Estate, Keller Williams Realty, serving Orange County, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, and surrounding areas, helping families sell a home through a life transition with a written plan. I'm sorry if you're facing this. Losing a parent is hard enough without paperwork on top of it.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Please talk with a probate attorney about your family's situation.

California Courts' self-help center defines intestate succession as the laws that decide who inherits when a person had no will or trust. Those laws are in the Probate Code, starting with section 6400.

In general, a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner comes first, then children. How the property divides depends on things like:

• Whether the home was community property or separate property
• Whether there is a surviving spouse or partner
• How many children survived, and whether any child died before Mom leaving children of their own

Families are often surprised by how the shares work, so have an attorney walk you through them before anyone makes plans for the house.

Yes, and this is the first thing to check. Pull a copy of the deed. The house may pass outside of a will entirely if it was:

• In a living trust. The successor trustee usually handles it. See how do I sell a house in a trust in California.
• Held in joint tenancy. The surviving joint owner often takes it.
• Covered by a transfer-on-death deed. The named beneficiary may receive it.

The California Courts self-help page on simple transfers notes that trust property and jointly owned property are not counted when deciding whether a small estate process applies. If the house was in Mom's name alone, keep reading.

Sometimes. The California Courts self-help center says that for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, a petition under Probate Code sections 13150 to 13157 can transfer the person's main home in California if it is worth $750,000 or less. The court says Assembly Bill 2016 raised the limit and limited this procedure to the main home.

For smaller amounts, the same page lists other tools:

• A small estate affidavit for personal property, like bank accounts, when the estate is $208,850 or less for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, after 40 days have passed
• A real property procedure for very small values, $69,625 or less for deaths on or after April 1, 2025

Many Orange County homes are worth more than $750,000. In that case, a full probate is often the path.

When there is no will, the court appoints a personal representative, called an administrator, to handle the estate. The California Courts self-help center says the order of priority starts with any surviving spouse or domestic partner, then a child, a grandchild, a parent, and a sibling.

The self-help center also suggests that relatives talk with each other to decide who will make decisions for the estate. Agreeing early can save time and stress.

If the house is sold during probate, the court may need to confirm the sale. See what is court confirmation in a California probate sale and do I need probate to sell an inherited house in California.

A simple order helps:

1. Secure the home. Lock up, keep the utilities on, and keep insurance in place.
2. Find the paperwork. Deed, tax bills, mortgage statements and insurance policy.
3. Keep paying the bills you can. If there's a mortgage, see do I have to pay off the mortgage when I inherit a house.
4. Talk with a probate attorney about title, heirs and which process fits.
5. Ask about property taxes. Under Prop 19, the State Board of Equalization says a parent-to-child transfer keeps the tax base only if the home becomes a child's principal residence, with a value limit.
6. Get a value estimate. It helps the attorney decide which process applies.

If your family is sorting out Mom's house, you don't have to figure it out alone. I'd be glad to have a private planning conversation with your family about the home and its value, and work alongside your attorney. Call or text me at 714.366.8575 | DRE: 01397168, or contact me.