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California source record

Every source behind the California guide

8 primary records, quoted verbatim and checked against 29 named presence or absence conditions that must pass against the live government text. Open the record, read the words the publishing body actually used, and confirm the current rule for yourself.

Last full re-fetch September 15, 2026

What each source establishes

The California guide rests on the source-backed rules this site can verify for the state: which simplified procedure exists and what it limits, what the court charges, how the person administering the estate may be paid, and the statutory creditor-deadline clocks the official text states.Every published rule below is quoted in the publisher’s own words rather than summarised.

Simplified-procedure rule

Cal. Prob. Code § 13100

California Legislature · Effective January 1, 2025. · Verified August 9, 2026

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),

What this means: The printed figure ($166,250) is the pre-2022 codified baseline. Section 13100 states it applies 'as adjusted periodically in accordance with Section 890', and the Judicial Council's mandatory-use form DE-300 (Rev. April 28, 2025) publishes the operative triennially adjusted amount: $208,850 for a decedent who died on or after April 1, 2025. The codified page trails the DE-300 adjustments; unlike this California baseline, Florida's 2026 codified small-estate section now incorporates its Chapter 2026-57 amendment.

What was published from this source

  • CA Cal. Prob. Code § 13100

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • CA small-estate $166,250 baseline
  • CA small-estate 40-day wait
  • CA small-estate as-adjusted per s890
  • CA s13100 section identity
  • section identity

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Simplified-procedure rule

Cal. Prob. Code § 13200

California Legislature · Effective January 1, 2020. · Verified August 9, 2026

the dollar amount for paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) is fifty-five thousand four hundred twenty-five dollars ($55,425).

What this means: $55,425 is the pre-April-1-2022 baseline; for deaths on or after April 1, 2022 the operative amount is the adjusted figure published by the Judicial Council under Section 890.

What was published from this source

  • CA Cal. Prob. Code § 13200

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • CA real-property affidavit $55,425 baseline
  • CA s13200 section identity
  • section identity

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Simplified-procedure rule

Cal. Prob. Code § 13151

California Legislature · Effective January 1, 2025. · Verified August 9, 2026

the gross value of that real property does not exceed seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000),

What this means: $750,000 applies to a decedent's primary residence and is a baseline 'as adjusted periodically in accordance with Section 890'.

What was published from this source

  • CA Cal. Prob. Code § 13151

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • CA primary-residence succession $750,000
  • CA s13151 section identity
  • section identity

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Simplified-procedure rule

Cal. Prob. Code § 890

California Legislature · Effective January 1, 2020. · Verified August 9, 2026

On April 1, 2022, and at each three-year interval ending on April 1 thereafter, the dollar amounts specified in Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 6600) of Part 3 of Division 6 and in Division 8 (commencing with Section 13000) in effect immediately before that date shall be adjusted as provided in subdivision (b).

What this means: Substantiates that the small-estate dollar thresholds in Division 8 are adjusted every three years by the Judicial Council, which publishes the operative list; the codified figures are baselines.

What was published from this source

  • CA Cal. Prob. Code § 890

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • CA s890 triennial adjustment
  • CA s890 Judicial Council publishes list
  • section identity

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Simplified-procedure rule

Judicial Council of California form DE-300 (Rev. April 28, 2025), implementing Prob. Code § 890

Judicial Council of California · DE-300 [Rev. April 28, 2025] · Verified August 9, 2026

The gross value of the decedent's real and personal property in California- excluding any property described in Probate Code section 13050 and any property included in a petition filed under Probate Code section 13151-must not exceed: $ 184,500 $ 208,850

What this means: Judicial Council mandatory-use form implementing the Prob. Code § 890 triennial adjustment. It publishes the operative small-estate dollar limits by the decedent's date of death; for the §§ 13100-13101 personal-property affidavit the operative ceiling is $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025 (the codified § 13100 figure of $166,250 is a superseded pre-adjustment baseline). Next adjustment April 1, 2028.

What was published from this source

  • CA Judicial Council of California form DE-300 (Rev. April 28, 2025), implementing Prob. Code § 890

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • CA DE-300 section identity
  • CA DE-300 §§13100-13101 $208,850 operative
  • CA DE-300 date bands by year of death
  • CA DE-300 next adjustment April 1 2028
  • section identity

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Court cost rule

Cal. Gov. Code § 70650

California Legislature · Effective July 28, 2009. · Verified August 9, 2026

The uniform filing fee for the first petition for letters of administration or letters testamentary, or the first petition for special letters of administration with the powers of a general personal representative pursuant to Section 8545 of the Probate Code, is three hundred fifty-five dollars ($355).

What was published from this source

  • CA Cal. Gov. Code § 70650

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • CA filing fee $355
  • CA s70650 section identity
  • section identity

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Executor compensation rule

Cal. Prob. Code § 10800

California Legislature · Effective January 1, 2002. · Verified August 9, 2026

Four percent on the first one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000). (2) Three percent on the next one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000). (3) Two percent on the next eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000). (4) One percent on the next nine million dollars ($9,000,000). (5) One-half of one percent on the next fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000).

What this means: Above $25,000,000, section 10800(a)(6) provides 'a reasonable amount to be determined by the court', so the schedule is not a fixed percentage at the top band. The base is 'the value of the estate accounted for' (10800(b)): appraisal value of inventory property, plus gains over appraisal on sales, plus receipts, less losses, without reference to encumbrances.

What was published from this source

  • CA Cal. Prob. Code § 10800

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • CA compensation tiers 4/3/2/1/0.5%
  • CA compensation base value of estate accounted for
  • CA s10800 section identity
  • section identity

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Creditor deadline rule

Cal. Prob. Code § 9100

California Legislature · Effective January 1, 2008. · Verified August 9, 2026

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.

What this means: Two triggers combined by 'the later of', plus the one-year outer limit in Code Civ. Proc. § 366.2; expressed in months, so no single day count is published. creditorClaims is therefore reported as unknown with the framework named.

What was published from this source

  • CA Cal. Prob. Code § 9100

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • CA creditor later-of 4 months / 60 days
  • CA s9100 section identity
  • section identity

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California source decision map

How the California records fit together

The source record is most useful when each citation has a job. This map links the California procedure, cost, compensation, and deadline records to the decision each one can and cannot answer.

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.

Decision boundary

What the California source set does not silently decide

The California records establish the rules listed above, but they do not turn a source citation into advice about title, family priority, tax filing, contested proceedings, or the exact clerk practice in every county. Those questions stay with the official court or a qualified adviser. The useful next step is to match the question to the citation rather than treating the longest quote as the answer to every estate problem.

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

Open the quoted record for the row you rely on and check the publisher's current text before filing.

  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

What California courts publish

The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.

Limits on court material

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

Checking these California records against the publishers

Every citation above links to the body that publishes it, and every quoted sentence is reproduced exactly, so a text search on the publisher’s own page should land on it. Where the publisher’s current wording differs from what is recorded here, the publisher governs and this page is wrong; naming the citation and the language you see maps the difference onto a specific condition rather than a general complaint. The full procedure, including how a source qualifies in the first place and what disqualifies one, is set out once on the methodology page instead of being restated on each of the254 state records.

These records cover the cost and route questions this site answers for California. They do not cover intestate succession shares, spousal and family allowances, creditor priority, tax filing obligations, real-property transfer mechanics, or contested proceedings. Where an answer would require one of those, the site says so rather than estimating.

Return to the California estate guide ·All 254 records ·Dataset overview and citation ·How sources are selected