How Do I Become the Executor or Administrator of an Estate in Orange County?

Both are called the personal representative, the person the court appoints to manage the estate.

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. When a family is settling an estate, I help them understand where the house fits into the process and when it can be sold.

The Orange County Superior Court's self-help probate packet explains the terms this way:

• Executor: a person named in a will and appointed by the court to carry out the decedent's wishes.
• Administrator: the person the court appoints when there is no will.

If there's no will, California Probate Code Section 8461 sets an order of priority for who may serve. A surviving spouse or registered domestic partner comes first, then children, then other relatives in a set order.

Not always. California has simpler procedures for smaller estates. The Judicial Council's adjusted amounts show that for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, the small estate affidavit limit is $208,850. A separate court petition can transfer a primary residence worth up to $750,000.

Whether these apply depends on the assets, how they were titled and whether there's a trust. If the house was in a living trust, a successor trustee usually manages it without probate. See what a successor trustee has to do. Talk with a probate attorney before choosing a path.

The court's self-help packet lays out the process:

1. File the Petition for Probate (form DE-111). You'll receive a case number and a hearing date. The form asks for the decedent's county of residence and an estimate of the estate's value.
2. Give notice. Serve the Notice of Petition to Administer Estate (DE-121) on heirs and beneficiaries, and publish it in a court-approved newspaper where the decedent lived or owned property.
3. Address the bond. The court may require a bond unless the will waives it or the people eligible to inherit waive it in writing.
4. Review the probate notes. The court posts them about two to three weeks before the hearing.
5. Attend the hearing. The packet says Orange County decedent's estate hearings are typically scheduled five to six weeks out and are held remotely.
6. Receive Letters. After you're appointed, you submit the Order (DE-140) and Letters (DE-150) for court approval.

The packet lists the new probate court location as the Costa Mesa Justice Complex, 3390 Harbor Boulevard, Costa Mesa. The court's Self-Help Services also offers an optional review of completed forms before filing. Staff can't give legal advice.

Your work begins. The packet lists filing the Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative form (DE-147), filing an Inventory and Appraisal (DE-160), paying creditors, notifying government agencies, and eventually filing a final accounting and distributing the estate.

For the house, that often means securing it, keeping it insured and paying the bills. My article on who pays the mortgage, taxes and bills in probate explains more. The inventory includes a value from a probate referee, covered in what a probate referee does.

Usually only after you have Letters, since that's your legal authority. Depending on your powers under the Independent Administration of Estates Act, the sale may or may not need court confirmation. See court confirmation in a California probate sale and how long probate takes.

This is general information, not legal advice. A probate attorney can explain your duties and the right process for your family's estate.

If your family is settling an estate in Orange County, I'd love to have a private planning conversation about the house and the timing. Call or text me at 714.366.8575 | DRE: 01397168, or contact me. You can also read more about probate sales. Jeanette Nelson is a REALTOR® with Jeanette Nelson Real Estate, Keller Williams Realty, serving Orange County, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, and surrounding areas.