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California timeline

California probate timeline: the 40-day wait and creditor deadlines

The simplified route starts 40 days after death.

That clock is one condition among several, and it is not the whole estate timeline. The deadlines that carry the most risk are creditor deadlines, and in California they are set out below against the event each one runs from.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.

The one date this page can source

The affidavit for collection of personal property (prob. code § 13100) and, for real property, the § 13200 small-value affidavit and § 13150 petition to determine succession route requires 40 days to elapse from the date of death. This is a precondition: the affidavit or petition cannot be presented before it runs, regardless of how straightforward the estate is.

Excluding the property described in Section 13050 and any property included in a petition filed under Section 13151, if the gross value of the decedent's real and personal property in this state does not exceed one hundred sixty-six thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($166,250),Cal. Prob. Code § 13100 — California Legislature; Effective January 1, 2025..

Creditor deadlines

California does not run one creditor clock. Separate periods start from separate events, and the date that actually bars a claim is the one the applicable period produces. They are listed here against the event that starts each, because a period attached to the wrong starting event is how a deadline gets missed by weeks.

From actual notice to a known creditor
60 days after notice of administration mailed or personally delivered to the creditor (§ 9100(a)(2))
From appointment of the representative
4 months after letters first issued to a general personal representative (§ 9100(a)(1))
Outer limit, running from death
One year from death under Code Civ. Proc. § 366.2

How these combine. Multiple independent deadlines run from different triggers: § 9100 requires filing before the LATER of four months after letters first issue OR sixty days after notice of administration is mailed/delivered, and Code Civ. Proc. § 366.2 imposes a separate one-year outer limit measured from death. These are expressed in months, so a single day count would mislead.

A creditor shall file a claim before expiration of the later of the following times: (1) Four months after the date letters are first issued to a general personal representative. (2) Sixty days after the date notice of administration is mailed or personally delivered to the creditor.Cal. Prob. Code § 9100 — California Legislature; Effective January 1, 2008..

Publishing notice starts a period after which most claims are barred. Missing a required notice can extend the estate’s exposure and, in some circumstances, the personal exposure of the person administering it. Confirm the dates that apply to this estate with the Superior Court before relying on them, because a specific case can carry deadlines these general provisions do not reach.

California timeline decision map

What must be established before the California clock matters

The California waiting period is only one condition. Use this map to separate the route clock from creditor deadlines, asset scope, court costs, and the documents needed to move from screening to filing.

QuestionRecorded California answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Affidavit for collection of personal property (Prob. Code § 13100) and, for real property, the § 13200 small-value affidavit and § 13150 petition to determine successionConfirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value for this route.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?$208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut.
What is the time or deadline record?40 days after death; Multiple independent deadlines run from different triggers: § 9100 requires filing before the LATER of four months after letters first issue OR sixty days after notice of administration is mailed/delivered, and Code Civ. Proc. § 366.2 imposes a separate one-year outer limit measured from death. These are expressed in months, so a single day count would mislead.Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?$355 is the recorded statewide amount.Ask the Superior Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?Prob. Code § 10800 sets statutory (ordinary) compensation as 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9,000,000, and 0.5% of the next $15,000,000. Above $25,000,000 the amount is 'a reasonable amount to be determined by the court' — so the top band is NOT a fixed percentage. The base is 'the value of the estate accounted for' (appraisal value plus gains on sales plus receipts, less losses, without regard to encumbrances). The relevant base is the estate accounting.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

Clock ledger

Do not compress the California deadlines into one date

The California record names separate triggers. The description beside each trigger is the source-bound statement to carry into the estate calendar; the interaction rule explains which period controls when more than one applies.

Clock starts withRecorded periodSource
Actual notice to a known creditor60 days after notice of administration mailed or personally delivered to the creditor (§ 9100(a)(2))Cal. Prob. Code § 9100
Appointment of the representative4 months after letters first issued to a general personal representative (§ 9100(a)(1))Cal. Prob. Code § 9100
Outer limit from deathOne year from death under Code Civ. Proc. § 366.2Cal. Prob. Code § 9100

How the periods combine: Multiple independent deadlines run from different triggers: § 9100 requires filing before the LATER of four months after letters first issue OR sixty days after notice of administration is mailed/delivered, and Code Civ. Proc. § 366.2 imposes a separate one-year outer limit measured from death. These are expressed in months, so a single day count would mislead.

Case-file context

Keep the California answer with its neighboring conditions

A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed California descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.

Route context

California probate is handled by the Superior Court in the county where the decedent lived. Small estates can often skip formal probate using the Probate Code § 13100 affidavit; the dollar thresholds are adjusted every three years under § 890 and published by date of death on Judicial Council form DE-300 ($208,850 for the § 13100 affidavit for deaths on or after April 1, 2025).

Personal property may be collected by affidavit if 40 days have elapsed since death and the gross value of the decedent's real and personal property in California does not exceed the amount published on Judicial Council mandatory-use form DE-300 for the decedent's date of death (Prob. Code § 890 directs these amounts to be adjusted every three years). For deaths on or after April 1, 2025 that ceiling is $208,850 (deaths April 1, 2022-March 31, 2025 use $184,500; the codified § 13100 figure of $166,250 is a pre-2022 baseline that § 890 adjustments have superseded). Excludes § 13050 property and property covered by a § 13151 petition. Real property of small value uses the § 13200 affidavit ($69,625 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025); a primary residence up to $750,000 uses the § 13151 succession petition.

Cost context

Government Code § 70650 sets a uniform statewide filing fee of $355 for the first petition for letters of administration or letters testamentary. Additional local surcharges may apply in some counties, but the base opening fee is a fixed statewide figure.

$355 is the recorded statewide amount.

Compensation context

Prob. Code § 10800 sets statutory (ordinary) compensation as 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9,000,000, and 0.5% of the next $15,000,000. Above $25,000,000 the amount is 'a reasonable amount to be determined by the court' — so the top band is NOT a fixed percentage. The base is 'the value of the estate accounted for' (appraisal value plus gains on sales plus receipts, less losses, without regard to encumbrances).

Prob. Code § 10800 sets statutory (ordinary) compensation as 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9,000,000, and 0.5% of the next $15,000,000. Above $25,000,000 the amount is 'a reasonable amount to be determined by the court' — so the top band is NOT a fixed percentage. The base is 'the value of the estate accounted for' (appraisal value plus gains on sales plus receipts, less losses, without regard to encumbrances). The relevant base is the estate accounting.

Court-material note: California uses statewide Judicial Council (DE-series) probate forms; each county Superior Court also publishes local rules and any local fee surcharges.

Arithmetic illustration

See the California amount screen without mistaking it for a result

The recorded California ceiling is $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, and it is tested against probate property within the rule's stated scope, on a basis this site records as gross value for this route. Counted that way, $156,600 sits below the California figure and $261,100 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what California counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.

Illustrative counted amountComparison to the California ceilingWhat it does not decide
$156,600Below $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$261,100Above $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Calendar the verified gate, preserve the unresolved questions, and confirm the county filing path before distributing property.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official material

California uses statewide Judicial Council (DE-series) probate forms; each county Superior Court also publishes local rules and any local fee surcharges.

Source trail

Records used by this California map

The general sequence

The order in which an estate is actually worked — secure property, confirm title and beneficiary designations, identify the court route, notify and account, then close — is the same everywhere and carries no citation, so it is set out once rather than repeated on each state’s page. Read it inthe executor’s first week, and seehow long probate takes for how the phases stretch in practice.

What is jurisdiction-specific is above: the California periods, the event each one runs from, and the source each was read in.

Use this as a starting point.

This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.

Continue in California