The California Probate Code Sections That Actually Come Up

The California Probate Code runs to thousands of sections. In ordinary trust administration and probate work, the same two dozen do most of the work. This is a plain-language map of the ones that come up repeatedly, with what each one actually does.

Section numbers below are Probate Code unless noted. This is orientation, not a substitute for reading the operative section against your facts.

When someone dies without a plan

§ 6400 and following set intestate succession: who inherits when there is no will. The answer turns on marital status, whether property is community or separate, and which relatives survive. It is mechanical, and it is frequently not what the family expected.

§ 13100 and following are the small estate collection procedures, letting personal property be collected by affidavit without probate when the estate is under the threshold. The threshold is $208,850 for decedents dying on or after April 1, 2025 under AB 2016, with a higher separate figure for real property. Older figures still circulate widely and are tied to earlier date-of-death brackets.

What probate actually costs

§ 10800 sets statutory compensation for the personal representative and § 10810 sets the attorney’s statutory fee, on the same sliding scale: four percent of the first $100,000, three percent of the next $100,000, two percent of the next $800,000, and declining from there.

The point everyone misses is the base. The fee is calculated on the gross value of the estate accounted for, not net of the mortgage. A $900,000 house with a $600,000 loan against it is a $900,000 fee base. Every online estimate that nets out the debt is wrong, and it is wrong in the direction that makes probate look far cheaper than it is.

Property that should have been in the trust

§ 850 is the petition used when title and beneficial ownership have come apart, most often when a settlor signed a trust and never deeded the house into it. Subdivision (a)(3)(B) is the usual one: the trustee claims property whose title is held by another. This is the mechanism behind what practitioners call a Heggstad petition, after Estate of Heggstad (1993) 16 Cal.App.4th 943.

§ 851 requires at least 30 days’ notice of the hearing, and the court may not shorten it. § 856 authorizes the order directing the conveyance. § 857 makes that order prima facie evidence of the regularity of the proceedings.

§ 859 is the one that changes the temperature of a case. Where the court finds property was taken in bad faith, or through undue influence in bad faith, or by elder or dependent adult financial abuse as defined in Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.30, the wrongdoer is liable for twice the value of the property recovered, plus attorney’s fees and costs in the court’s discretion.

Trustees and beneficiaries

§ 16060 states the trustee’s duty to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed. § 16061.7 requires the notification sent when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable, which is the notice that starts the clock most beneficiaries never knew was running.

§ 17200 is the general vehicle for petitions concerning the internal affairs of a trust, from instructions to accountings to disputes. § 15642 governs removal of a trustee and lists the grounds.

Contests and undue influence

§ 21310 through § 21315 govern no-contest clauses. California does not enforce them against a contest brought with probable cause, which is the nuance that both extremes of online discussion get wrong in opposite directions.

§ 21380 creates a presumption of fraud or undue influence for instruments benefiting certain people, including the drafter and care custodians. § 86 ties the code’s definition of undue influence to Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.70.

How to use this

Find the section that matches your situation, then read it. Statutes are more readable than people expect, and a great deal of confusing advice dissolves on contact with the actual text. Where the section is procedural, the deadlines are real and generally not forgiving.

General information about California law, current as of July 2026. Not legal advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Probate Code section sets the small estate threshold?

Prob. Code §§ 13100 to 13101, currently $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025. It adjusts every three years for inflation under Prob. Code § 890, so the next change is April 1, 2028. The affidavit requires a 40-day wait after death and no court filing. If you’ve seen $239,700 quoted as a 2026 figure, it’s wrong and appears in no primary source.

What’s the difference between § 13200 and § 13150?

Both deal with real property and they aren’t interchangeable. Under § 13200 an affidavit covers real property of small value, currently $69,625, and it requires a six-month wait after death. Sections 13150 to 13157 allow a Superior Court petition to confirm a decedent’s California primary residence worth up to $750,000 after a 40-day wait. That $750,000 is fixed by statute through March 31, 2028 and does not float with inflation, unlike the § 13100 figure.

Which section governs a petition to bring property into a trust?

Prob. Code § 850, commonly called a Heggstad petition after the case that established the approach. It’s used when the settlor clearly intended an asset to be trust property but title was never transferred, typically shown by a Schedule A listing, a general assignment, or a deed executed and never recorded. It avoids a full probate but is still a court proceeding with a hearing.

Where are statutory attorney and executor fees set?

Prob. Code § 10800 for the personal representative and § 10810 for the attorney, at the same percentages. Both run on the gross value of the estate rather than the equity, which is why a heavily mortgaged house produces fees out of proportion to what the family actually inherits. Extraordinary services are compensated separately under § 10801 and § 10811.

What section requires the notice a trustee sends after a death?

Prob. Code § 16061.7. The trustee has 60 days from the settlor’s death, or from the date the trust becomes irrevocable, to serve notification on every beneficiary and every heir of the deceased settlor. The notice must carry the § 16061.7(h) warning, which starts a 120-day contest window. Until it’s served, that window never opens and the trust stays challengeable.

Where is the will-lodging requirement, and what does it cost?

Prob. Code § 8200 requires the custodian of a will to lodge the original with the Superior Court in the decedent’s county within 30 days of learning of the death, whether or not anyone intends to open a probate. The $50 fee is set by Gov. Code § 70626(d), not by § 8200, which only cross-references it.