Probate Referee: Definition and How It Works in California

By Eric Ridley, attorney, Ridley Law. Updated September 2026.

A probate referee is a state-appointed appraiser who values most non-cash assets in a California probate estate, such as real estate, stock, and business interests, for the court. The referee’s commission is set by statute, not negotiated.

How it works in California

The probate court appoints a referee from the people the State Controller has designated for the county (Prob. Code, § 8920). Once appointed, the referee doesn’t appraise everything in the estate. Under section 8901, the personal representative appraises certain liquid items directly: cash, wages or refund checks that arrived after death, money in financial institution accounts, cash deposits, money market funds, and lump-sum insurance or retirement proceeds. Everything else, real estate, securities, vehicles, business interests, and personal property, goes to the referee under section 8902.

The referee’s fee is fixed by statute rather than billed by the hour. Section 8961 sets the commission at one-tenth of one percent of the value of the property appraised. Section 8963 puts a floor and a ceiling on that: no less than $75 and no more than $10,000 per estate, unless the referee petitions the court and shows the reasonable value of the work exceeds that ceiling.

Why it matters

The referee’s appraisal sets the value the court, the taxing authorities, and often a later buyer will treat as the property’s value at death, which matters for tax basis and for dividing an estate fairly among beneficiaries. For example, the value a referee assigns to a house is the value the inventory reports, and heirs who later sell often rely on it to support their stepped-up basis.

Common mistakes

Assuming the personal representative can informally value real estate or securities instead of sending them to the referee. Treating the referee’s appraisal as negotiable. Forgetting that the referee’s commission is a cost of administration paid from the estate, not a discretionary expense.

Related terms

• Probate: probate is the court process the referee’s appraisal supports.
• Administrator: an administrator, like an executor, relies on the referee to value non-cash assets.
• Independent Administration of Estates Act: even a personal representative acting with independent authority still needs a referee’s appraisal for most assets.

Part of the California estate planning glossary.