# Mom Died and the House Is Still in Her Name

> Your mom has died, and the house is still in her name. California gives your family more than one way to fix that, and probate isn't always one of them.

Source: https://ridleylawoffices.com/books/house-still-in-moms-name/

![Cover of Mom Died and the House Is Still in Her Name: A California Family's Guide to Title, Trusts and Probate, by Eric Ridley](/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/house-still-in-moms-name-eric-ridley-cover-640.webp)

A California Family’s Guide to Title, Trusts and Probate

By Eric Ridley, attorney, Ridley Law

Coming soon to Amazon

[See all books by Eric Ridley](https://ridleylawoffices.com/books/)

**Your mom has died, and the house is still in her name. California gives your family more than one way to fix that, and probate isn’t always one of them.**

Mom Died and the House Is Still in Her Name is a plain-English guide for the son or daughter who just found out, and for the surviving parent. It’s written by a California attorney whose practice emphasizes estate planning, trust administration and probate, and it follows the order a family meets the problem: the first month, the deed, the papers she signed, and then the route that fits.

## What’s inside

- **The first 30 days.** What to protect, what to keep paying, what not to sign, and the early deadlines families miss.
- **The deed.** How to get the last recorded deed and read the one line that tells you which road you’re on.
- **The trust and the will.** Why a signed trust that lists the house, or assigns all her property to the trust, can let a court order the house into it on a single petition, and why a pour-over will by itself usually can’t.
- **The routes around probate.** Joint tenancy, community property with right of survivorship, transfer on death deeds, the surviving spouse’s options, and California’s short petition for a primary residence.
- **When probate is the only road.** Who serves, what the court requires, and what a probate looks like month by month.
- **The house itself.** The mortgage, a reverse mortgage, insurance on a vacant house, a sibling living there, renting and selling.
- **Taxes.** When the property tax changes, the forms the assessor expects, and how the step-up in basis can shrink the income tax on a sale.
- **Costs and timelines.** What each route costs and how long it takes, side by side, with the statutory probate fees worked out.
- **Family.** When brothers and sisters don’t agree, and how to keep this from happening to your own kids.

Every dollar example is labeled as an illustration and shows its arithmetic. Every rule is tied to its source in the California codes, the case law or the federal statutes. The back of the book has printable checklists, worksheets, a glossary and a page of this year’s dollar limits and deadlines.

*This book is general information about California law. It isn’t legal, tax or financial advice. The families in it are composites.*

## Read the free guide first

- [What to do with an inherited house in California](https://ridleylawoffices.com/inherited-house-california/)
- [The simplified probate for a primary residence](https://ridleylawoffices.com/simplified-probate-california-primary-residence/)
- [How a Heggstad petition works](https://ridleylawoffices.com/heggstad-petition-california/)

## More books: when someone dies

- [![Cover of The First 30 Days After a Death, by Eric Ridley](/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/the-first-30-days-after-a-death-eric-ridley-cover-400.webp)The First 30 Days After a DeathComing soon](https://ridleylawoffices.com/books/first-30-days-after-a-death/)
- [![Cover of You're the Trustee Now: Your First 90 Days, by Eric Ridley](/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/youre-the-trustee-now-eric-ridley-cover-400.webp)You’re the Trustee Now: Your First 90 DaysComing soon](https://ridleylawoffices.com/books/youre-the-trustee-now/)
- [![Cover of Selling a House Through Probate, by Eric Ridley](/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/selling-a-house-through-probate-eric-ridley-cover-400.webp)Selling a House Through ProbateComing soon](https://ridleylawoffices.com/books/selling-a-house-through-probate/)