A primary residence under $750,000

A Petition to Determine Succession to Real Property (Form DE-310, Probate Code §13150) is the streamlined court process to transfer a deceased person's home to the people entitled to inherit it — without a full probate administration. For deaths in 2025 or later, California AB 2016 raised the threshold so a primary residence worth up to $750,000 can pass this way.

"Streamlined" is real — but it's still a court case, and it carries a step the affidavit procedures don't: a court-appointed probate referee has to appraise the home before the judge will sign anything. Here's everything actually involved.

Everything a succession petition actually involves

• A 40-day wait. The petition can't be filed until 40 days after the death.
• DE-310 — Petition to Determine Succession to Real Property. Describes the home and identifies everyone entitled to inherit — who generally must join the petition or be served.
• DE-160 / DE-161 — Inventory and Appraisal by a probate referee. A court-appointed referee must appraise the property to prove it's within the limit. You have to find the assigned referee, get the appraisal, and file it.
• DE-120 — Notice of Hearing. Served on everyone entitled to notice at least 15 days before the hearing, by someone not party to the case, with a proof of service filed.
• Probate examiner notes. The court reviews the petition and the appraisal and posts defects you must cure with an amendment before the hearing.
• DE-315 — Order Determining Succession to Real Property. The order the judge signs, drafted in advance and lodged with the clerk before the hearing.
• Recording + PCOR. A certified copy of the signed order and a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report are recorded with the county recorder — the step that actually transfers title.
• Prop 19 property-tax analysis. Depending on who inherits, the home may keep its low assessed value or be reassessed — a surprise worth catching before it shows up as a tax bill.

Where do-it-yourself filers get stuck

Succession looks simple on the court's self-help page and is anything but in practice. The probate-referee appraisal alone is a coordination project — locating the assigned referee, getting the home valued, and filing the Inventory and Appraisal on the court's timeline. On top of that you're managing a 40-day wait, getting every heir to join or be properly served, curing the examiner's notes, lodging the order, recording with the right county, and then untangling whether Proposition 19 reassesses the home.

Any one of those slipping doesn't fail the petition — it continues it, usually by a month. Most people doing this themselves don't even know the referee step exists until the examiner's note tells them the case can't proceed without it.

How ProbateClear and your LDA handle it

We prepare the DE-310 petition, order and coordinate the probate-referee appraisal, and draft the DE-315 order up front. A licensed Legal Document Assistant files it, serves the Notice of Hearing on the right people on time, files the proof of service, cures the examiner's notes, lodges the order, and after the judge signs it, records the certified order and PCOR — and we flag the Prop 19 property-tax outcome so you're not surprised.

One flat fee, one tracked process — instead of discovering the referee, the 15-day service rule, and the reassessment question one missed deadline at a time.

How it works

1. Wait 40 days, then we prepare the petition (DE-310)The petition can be filed 40 days after the death. We prepare DE-310, describe the property, and identify everyone entitled to inherit — all of whom generally have to join or be noticed.
2. We order the probate-referee appraisal (DE-160/DE-161)A court-appointed probate referee must appraise the home on an Inventory and Appraisal to prove it's within the limit (a primary residence up to $750,000 for deaths in 2025+). Coordinating the referee is a step full probate also requires — and a common place DIY filers stall.
3. Your LDA files it; the court sets a hearingFiled in the county where the decedent lived. The court assigns a probate examiner and sets a hearing, usually 4 to 6 weeks out.
4. We serve the Notice of Hearing (DE-120)Everyone entitled to notice is served at least 15 days before the hearing by someone not party to the case, and we file the proof of service.
5. We clear the probate examiner's notesThe court reviews the petition and the appraisal and posts correction notes; we cure them with an amendment before the hearing so the case isn't continued.
6. We lodge the order (DE-315) and attend the hearingThe Order Determining Succession to Real Property is drafted and lodged with the clerk before the hearing. Usually a single hearing; the judge signs the order.
7. We record the order + PCOR and address property taxA certified copy of the order and a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report are recorded with the county recorder. We flag whether the transfer is reassessed — under Prop 19 a home passing to children is only partially excluded — so there are no property-tax surprises.