The executor's checklist

In order, from the first two weeks through closing the estate. Print it. Not every item applies to every estate; your attorney will tell you which to skip.

Prepared by Vennessa Mele, DRE #02115354 · September 2026 · Not legal advice

First two weeks

• Locate the original will and any trust documents. Check the home, safe deposit box, and the attorney who drafted them.
• Order 10 to 15 certified death certificates from the Orange County Clerk-Recorder or the funeral home.
• Secure the house: confirm locks, collect spare keys, stop mail delivery or forward it, and let a neighbor know the house is empty.
• Call the homeowners insurance company. Report the death and the vacancy; ask about a vacancy endorsement.
• Keep utilities on. Do not let power, water, or gas be shut off.
• Photograph every room and the exterior.
• Gather financial paperwork: deed, mortgage statements, tax returns, bank and brokerage statements, vehicle titles, insurance policies.

Weeks two to eight

• Meet with a probate attorney. Bring the will, the death certificate, a list of assets, and a list of heirs with addresses.
• Decide who will petition to be personal representative and whether to request full authority under the IAEA.
• File the Petition for Probate and publish notice as the attorney directs.
• Notify the mortgage servicer in writing. Ask for a payoff statement and confirm how to keep payments current.
• Contact Social Security, pensions, and life insurance carriers.
• Ask every heir, in writing, what personal items they want from the house.
• Get a preliminary opinion of the house's value as of the date of death.

After Letters are issued

• Get certified copies of your Letters. You will need several.
• Open an estate bank account with the estate's tax ID number; move all estate money through it.
• File the Change in Ownership Statement, Death of Real Property Owner (BOE-502-D) with the Assessor within 150 days of death.
• Mail notice to known creditors. The four-month claim period runs from the date of Letters.
• Meet the probate referee for the Inventory and Appraisal.
• Decide, with the heirs, whether the house will be kept, rented, or sold.
• If selling: sign the listing agreement, schedule the clean-out, and plan the Notice of Proposed Action or the confirmation petition.

Selling the house

• Clean-out complete; house broom-clean and safe to show.
• Listing live; disclosures signed (exempt from TDS, but disclose what you know).
• Accept an offer. Full authority: mail Notice of Proposed Action, wait 15 days. Limited authority: attorney files petition; hearing set.
• Escrow opens. Provide certified Letters and, if applicable, the order confirming sale.
• Close. Proceeds wire to the estate account. Keep the closing statement for the accounting.

Closing the estate

• File the decedent's final income tax return and the estate's fiduciary return.
• Pay approved creditor claims, attorney and referee fees, and administration expenses from the estate account.
• Prepare the final accounting and petition for distribution.
• After the court's order, distribute to heirs, get receipts, and close the estate account.

ocprobate.solutions · Vennessa Mele · (951) 313-3816 · vennessamele@gmail.com