When a California probate estate sells real property, the Superior Court generally must confirm the sale before title passes. The exception is a personal representative who holds full authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act and gives a notice of proposed action that draws no objection. The court's order granting letters shows which path applies.
California property guideUpdated October 17, 2026General information, not legal or tax advice
You may be the one holding the letters, or the sibling waiting on that person, trying to sell a parent's house while still sorting through what the loss means and often managing everything from another city. Most people facing this process have never heard the phrase "court confirmation" until an attorney or a buyer mentions it. The questions come quickly. Does a judge have to approve the sale? Can someone outbid the buyer you found? How long will it take? This guide walks through a court-confirmed probate sale in the order it usually happens. It then explains the path that skips the hearing and the points where the sale can get complicated.
Before You Start: What Determines Whether Court Confirmation Is Required
The first question is who has the power to sell. Under Probate Code section 8400, a person has no power to administer the estate until the court appoints them personal representative and issues letters. That rule applies even to a person named executor in the will, although a named executor may pay funeral expenses and take necessary steps to maintain and preserve the estate before then. "Personal representative" is the umbrella term. An executor is the person a will names to be in charge. An administrator is the personal representative the court appoints when there is no will or no executor serves. Agreement among the family does not create authority to sell.
Whether the sale needs confirmation depends on two things. The first is the authority the court granted under the Independent Administration of Estates Act, Probate Code section 10400 and the sections that follow it. The second is whether anyone objects to a notice of proposed action. That Act grants either full authority or limited authority, and the difference matters for real property.
Before going further, a personal representative typically gathers:
The will, if there is one. It may authorize or direct a sale.
The petition for probate and the court's order. These show the level of authority the court granted.
The letters. These are letters testamentary for an executor or letters of administration for an administrator, and they prove the person's appointment is effective.
The inventory and appraisal. This holds the probate referee's value for the property.
The California Courts' guide to property after someone dies explains how a court appoints a personal representative and when formal probate is needed. A trustee selling a house held in a trust follows a different path that does not run through this probate process.
Step 1: Obtain the Probate Referee's Appraisal
For a court-confirmed sale, the price question starts with the probate referee. A probate referee is an appraiser appointed by the State Controller to value estate assets, including real estate. The State Controller's Probate Referees page says the Controller appoints at least one referee per county. It also says a referee's service is required for court resolution of an estate.
The referee's figure, not an agent's comparative market analysis or a private appraisal, is the value the court measures a private sale against. Under Probate Code section 10309, a private sale generally cannot be confirmed unless three conditions are met:
The property was appraised within one year before the confirmation hearing.
The appraisal's valuation date also falls within one year before the hearing.
The offer is at least 90 percent of that appraised value.
A new appraisal may be obtained before the sale or its confirmation in several cases. These include when the property was never appraised, when the last appraisal or its valuation date is more than a year old, and when the court is satisfied the latest appraisal is too high or too low. A stale appraisal is one of the quieter reasons a hearing gets delayed, so families selling months into probate often check its date early.
Step 2: List the Property and Accept an Offer Subject to Court Confirmation
In a court-confirmed sale, the personal representative markets the property and accepts an offer, and that offer then goes to the court. The accepted offer is not final until the court confirms it. A buyer in this kind of sale knows going in that the offer can be overbid at the hearing.
The property can be sold in its present condition. On disclosures, Civil Code section 1102.2 lists sales that the disclosure article it belongs to does not cover. The list includes sales ordered by a probate court in administering an estate and sales by a fiduciary in administering a decedent's estate or a trust. The fiduciary exemption does not apply where the trustee is an individual trustee of a revocable trust who is a former owner of the property or occupied it within the preceding year. Other disclosure duties can still apply, and the estate's attorney can say which ones do. The guide to how to sell an inherited house that needs repairs covers the condition questions in more depth.
Three ways to sell remain available inside a probate case, and each is still subject to confirmation where confirmation applies:
A listing with a licensed real estate agent. This brings open-market exposure, with preparation, showings and a commission.
A sale by the personal representative without an agent. This saves the commission, but the estate does the marketing work itself.
A direct sale to a buyer who pays cash and takes the house as it is. A direct offer is often lower than what the open market might bring, because that buyer absorbs the repairs, the risk and the cost of reselling. In exchange, the estate gets less preparation, fewer showings and no reliance on a buyer's loan approval.
Comparing written offers by estimated net proceeds is how a family tells which way fits. Net proceeds means the price less commissions, repairs, carrying costs, loan payoffs and closing costs. The comparison of a cash offer and a listing sets those tradeoffs side by side.
Step 3: File the Petition for Court Confirmation and Publish Notice
Once an offer is accepted, the estate's attorney typically prepares the report of sale and petition for confirmation, on Judicial Council form DE-260, and files it with the Superior Court in the county where the estate is administered. Under Probate Code section 10308, all sales of estate real property generally must be reported to and confirmed by the court before title passes. That applies whether the sale is private or by public auction, and even if the will directs or authorizes the sale. If the personal representative does not file the report and petition within 30 days after the sale, the purchaser may file them.
Two kinds of notice follow:
Notice of sale. Under Probate Code section 10300, notice of sale generally must be published in a newspaper in the county where the property, or part of it, is located. If no such newspaper exists, it is published where the court directs. For a private sale, publication must be complete before the day the notice names as the day on or after which the sale will be made.
Notice of the hearing. Section 10308 requires notice of the hearing to go to the persons the Probate Code designates and to the purchasers named in the petition, and the notice must also be posted.
Because the notice of sale is published, other buyers can learn the property is for sale. Hearing dates depend on the court's calendar.
Step 4: Attend the Confirmation Hearing — How Overbidding Works
This is the step that surprises families most. At the hearing, a written offer from someone other than the original buyer can take the sale away from that buyer. Probate Code section 10311 generally requires the court to accept such an offer and confirm the sale to that person if three conditions are met:
The offer is at least 10 percent more on the first $10,000 of the original bid, plus 5 percent more on the amount of the original bid above $10,000.
It is made by a responsible person.
It complies with all provisions of law.
If several offers qualify, the court accepts the highest one. The court may also decline a qualifying offer and order a new sale. Commissions owed to an agent or broker are left out when the court measures the bids.
A probate auction is a court proceeding governed by these statutory rules, not an open-market auction. Financed offers are permitted. When the original sale and a higher offer differ between cash and credit terms, though, the court may not consider the higher offer unless the personal representative tells the court, in person or through counsel, that the higher offer is acceptable.
The court also examines the sale itself. Under Probate Code section 10310, it looks at the necessity for the sale or the advantage to the estate and the benefit to interested persons, a showing the court does not need if the will authorizes or directs the sale. It also looks at the personal representative's efforts to obtain the highest and best price reasonably attainable. Any interested person may file written objections. Probate Code section 10313 lists the findings the court needs before it confirms, including that the sale was legally made and fairly conducted and that the price is not disproportionate to the property's value. If those findings are not met, the court vacates the sale and orders a new one. Under Probate Code section 10161, the court sets the agent's or broker's commission, and the amount cannot exceed what the contract provides.
Step 5: Close the Sale After Court Confirmation
The court's order confirming the sale directs the conveyance. The personal representative signs the deed under that order and the letters. The heirs do not sign it individually. Escrow then works much as it does in any sale: the title company insures title, liens and loans are paid off, and the net proceeds go to the estate, not straight to the heirs. Those proceeds remain subject to the estate's debts and expenses until distribution under the court's supervision.
Two tax questions often come up at this stage.
Income tax basis. Under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a), the basis of inherited property is generally its fair market value at the date of death. The section provides alternatives: the value on an alternate valuation date when one is elected, a special-use value when that election is made, and the decedent's basis to the extent a particular estate-tax exclusion applies. A CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney can say how that applies to a sale.
Property tax reassessment. For transfers on or after February 16, 2021, Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2 excludes from reassessment certain parent-child and grandparent-grandchild transfers of a principal residence. The home must become the transferee's principal residence within one year, and a claim must be filed. That claim generally is due within three years after the transfer, or before the property transfers to a third party, or before an eligible transferee stops occupying it, whichever is earlier. Alternatively, a claim filed within six months after the mailing date of a supplemental or escape assessment notice issued because of the transfer is treated as timely. The county assessor's office reviews these questions.
When Court Confirmation Does Not Apply: IAEA Full Authority and the Notice of Proposed Action
Some estates never go to a confirmation hearing. A personal representative granted full authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act can sell real property using a notice of proposed action. That is a written notice to the heirs and beneficiaries describing the proposed sale and its terms, with a period in which they may object. If no one objects within that period, the sale goes forward without a hearing. If someone objects, the personal representative either drops the proposed sale or asks the court to approve it, and the sale then proceeds under court supervision.
Under Probate Code section 10503, the court-confirmation requirements, such as published notice of sale, court approval of agents' and brokers' commissions, sale at not less than 90 percent of appraised value and the court's examination of the sale, do not apply to a sale made with that authority. The personal representative may sell at public auction or private sale, with or without notice, for cash or on credit, at the price and terms the personal representative determines.
Limited authority does not open this path for a sale of real property. The court's order granting letters shows which level was granted, and the estate's attorney can confirm it. The guide to selling inherited property during probate follows both paths from letters to closing.
Typical Timeline
A court-confirmed sale runs in a fixed order: letters issue, the appraisal is completed, the property is marketed, an offer is accepted, the petition is filed and notice is published and given, the hearing is held, and then escrow closes. The Probate Code fixes some of the timing rules covered above, including the one-year appraisal window, the completion of publication before the sale date in the notice, and the purchaser's right to file if no petition is filed within 30 days after the sale. Everything else depends on the county court's calendar, how quickly the property sells, and whether an overbid or an objection sends the sale back for more work. A sale under full authority with no objection skips the hearing entirely. Even then, the timing still depends on the notice period and on escrow.
When the Process Gets Complicated
Siblings who disagree about selling, or about the price, can make each step feel heavier, especially when they live far apart.
Heirs who disagree
An heir or beneficiary may object to a notice of proposed action or file written objections at the confirmation hearing. When conflict among heirs, an executor or a trustee becomes a dispute, or misconduct is suspected, it is a contested matter handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.
Disputed authority or a will contest
If someone questions the personal representative's appointment, or the will itself is being contested, the sale's footing depends on what the court decides. The estate's attorney handles any step where authority or procedure is unclear.
Title defects and liens
A lien or a title defect found in escrow is cleared or paid from the sale proceeds before the estate receives them. This is true no matter who the buyer is.
Co-owners who cannot agree
Where several people own shares of a property and cannot agree, California's partition statutes provide a court process for dividing or selling it.
The contents of the house
Clearing, valuing or selling furniture and belongings is personal property work that estate-sale companies handle. It is separate from the real property sale.
When you’re ready
You Don’t Have to Work This Out Alone
If you’re dealing with court confirmation of a probate sale, we’re here to talk it through.
Every inherited property is different. Call or send us a message, and we’ll listen. A direct offer is often lower than what the open market might bring, and asking for one does not commit you to selling.
How does probate court work in California for a real estate sale?
When confirmation applies, the personal representative accepts an offer and files a report and petition with the Superior Court in the county where the estate is administered. Notice is published and given. At the hearing, the court considers any overbids and objections, then may issue an order confirming the sale and directing the conveyance.
Are probate sales cash only?
No. Financed offers are permitted. When the accepted sale and a higher offer differ between cash and credit, the court considers the higher offer only if the personal representative tells the court it is acceptable. The court also requires that an overbidder be a responsible person.
What is a probate auction and how is it different from a regular auction?
A probate auction is the overbidding that takes place at a confirmation hearing. It is a court proceeding governed by the Probate Code. The court, not an auctioneer, controls it, and an overbid must meet the statutory minimum described in Step 4.
What is the Independent Administration of Estates Act and how does it affect a probate sale?
It is the part of the Probate Code that lets a personal representative act with less court supervision. With full authority, real property can be sold through a notice of proposed action without a confirmation hearing, as long as no heir or beneficiary objects within the notice period.
What happens if someone overbids at a probate confirmation hearing?
If the overbid meets the minimum in Probate Code section 10311, comes from a responsible person and complies with the law, the court generally confirms the sale to the highest qualifying offer. The court may instead decline the offer and order a new sale.
Can a probate property be sold as-is in California?
Yes, it can be sold in its present condition. Civil Code section 1102.2 exempts probate-court-ordered sales and sales by fiduciaries administering an estate from one disclosure article, with an exception for certain revocable-trust trustees. Other disclosure duties may still apply, and the estate's attorney can say which ones do.
What is the probate referee's appraisal and why does it matter?
The probate referee is a State Controller-appointed appraiser who values estate assets. In a court-confirmed private sale, the offer generally must be at least 90 percent of the referee's appraised value, and that appraisal must be no more than one year old at the hearing.
