Guide
What to Do When Someone Dies in California: The Paperwork, In Order
California's probate is famously slow and fee-heavy, which makes the shortcuts — and the federal filings you can finish early — matter more.
Certificates and notifications
Certified death certificates come from the county recorder or CDPH Vital Records. [Verify current fee ~$24.] Social Security notification usually flows through the funeral home; confirm directly, and expect any benefit paid for the month of death to be clawed back.
The small-estate line
Estates with probate assets under $184,500 can typically transfer by affidavit after 40 days instead of full probate. [Verify current threshold — it adjusts periodically under Cal. Prob. Code §13100.] Above it, probate — and the estate EIN, an estate bank account, and a Form 1041 — become near-certain.
Want it handled?
Estate EIN Filing does this for $99 — or follow the steps above yourself, free.
Straight answers
How expensive is California probate?
Statutory fees scale with the estate: 4% of the first $100K, 3% of the next $100K, 2% of the next $800K — for each of the attorney and the executor. [Verify — Cal. Prob. Code §10810.] It's why the affidavit route matters.