Selling an inherited home or trust property in Monterey County

Last checked: September 2026. Trust and estate sales involve legal and tax questions that depend on your situation. This chapter explains how things generally work, but you'll want an estate attorney and a tax professional involved.

A lot of homes sold here are inherited. The Peninsula has many long-time owners, and when a parent or relative passes, the family is often left with a house that needs a decision.

If that's you, I'm sorry for your loss. This chapter is meant to make the real estate part a little clearer, so you can focus on everything else.

First, figure out how the home is held

How you sell depends on how the home was owned when the person passed. The most common situations are:

• In a living trust. The trust names a successor trustee, who can usually sell the home without going to court.
• Through probate. If the home wasn't in a trust or passed some other way, it may need to go through probate court, and the court appoints someone, often called the executor or administrator, to handle the estate.
• Joint ownership. If the home was owned jointly with a right of survivorship, it may pass directly to the surviving owner.

The deed and the estate documents will show which one applies. An estate attorney can confirm it and tell you what paperwork the title company will need before you can sell.

Selling through a trust

Trust sales are usually the simplest. The successor trustee steps in and acts as the seller. There's no court process for the sale itself, and the timeline usually looks a lot like a regular sale.

The title company will typically ask for documents like a death certificate and proof of your authority as trustee. Get these together early, because they can hold up closing if they're missing.

Selling through probate

Probate sales have more steps, and how many depends on the authority the court gives the executor or administrator:

• Full authority. The executor can usually list, accept an offer, and close without a court hearing. They still have to send a Notice of Proposed Action to the heirs and other interested people, who get 15 days to object. If no one objects, the sale can move forward much like a regular sale.
• Limited authority, or court confirmation. The sale has to be approved at a court hearing. At that hearing, other buyers can show up and bid more than the accepted offer, so the original buyer isn't guaranteed the home. This adds time, and it could be months.

In court-confirmed sales, the price generally has to be at least 90% of the value set by a court-appointed appraiser, called a probate referee. Your attorney and agent will walk you through what applies to your case.

Disclosures when you didn't live there

Heirs often know very little about the home's history. That's normal, and the rules account for it.

Trustees and executors are generally exempt from filling out the Transfer Disclosure Statement. There's an exception for a trustee of a revocable trust who used to own or live in the home, so check with your agent or attorney. You still have to disclose what you actually know, and other disclosures, like the Natural Hazard Disclosure and the local requirements in Chapter 5, still apply.

A couple of things tend to come up with inherited homes:

• A death on the property. Deaths within the past 3 years are disclosed, usually as a question on the Seller Property Questionnaire.
• Unknown history. A home that's been in one family for decades could have unpermitted work no one remembers, or some other quirk that only comes up once the house is on the market. Checking the permit history before you list can save you a surprise in escrow.

If you don't want to do repairs

Many heirs don't want to take on repairs, especially if they live out of the area or are splitting the proceeds. That's understandable, and it's common.

You'll often hear people call this an "as-is sale." But under the standard California purchase contract, every sale starts out as-is. The seller isn't required to make repairs unless they agree to, and the buyer still gets to inspect the home and ask for things. Calling a sale as-is doesn't stop a buyer from asking for repairs, a credit, or a lower price if an inspection turns up something. It just means you don't have to say yes. The buyer can then decide whether to move forward or cancel within their contingency period.

So if you don't want to deal with repairs, there are two ways to plan for it:

• Price for the condition. If the home clearly needs work, we can factor that into the list price from the start, so buyers see the price already reflects it.
• Be open to negotiating later. If something comes up during inspections, a credit or a price reduction often solves it without you having to manage any work.

Either way, it doesn't mean skipping the required local items. On the Peninsula, the water fixture rule still applies, and city reports may still call out things that need to be corrected. Those can often be negotiated with the buyer, usually through a credit or the price, as covered in Chapter 5.

Some light work, like clearing out the house, cleaning, and basic yard work, often pays for itself in how the home shows. Your agent can help you decide what's worth doing.

Taxes

Taxes are where inherited homes are most different, and where it's most worth talking to a tax professional before you sell.

The step-up in basis. When you inherit a home, its tax basis is generally reset to its value on the date of death. If the home is sold soon after, there's often little or no capital gain to pay tax on, even if the original owner bought it decades ago for much less. When a married couple owned the home as community property, the whole home may get a new basis when the first spouse passes. A current appraisal as of the date of death is often useful for this, so ask your tax professional whether you need one.

If you're thinking about keeping it. Under Proposition 19, a child who inherits a parent's home can sometimes keep the parent's lower property tax base, but generally only if they move in as their primary residence, and there are limits based on the home's value. If you rent it out or keep it as a second home, the property taxes will usually be reassessed. That can change the math on keeping versus selling.

Handling it from out of the area

Many heirs live somewhere else. You can usually handle a sale here without being local:

• Documents can often be signed electronically, and loan-free sales usually don't require an in-person signing, though some title documents need a notary wherever you are.
• The house needs someone to manage it while it's empty. That can mean keeping the utilities on, checking on it regularly, and making sure the homeowners insurance still covers a vacant home. Some policies change their coverage when a home sits empty, so call the insurance company.
• Clearing it out can be the biggest job. Estate sale companies, donation pickups, and junk removal services can handle most of it. Take your time with anything that matters to the family before you start.

When there's more than one heir

When siblings or other relatives share an inheritance, it helps to agree on the big decisions early: whether to sell, the price range you'd accept, who's making decisions day to day, and how costs before the sale will be handled. In a trust sale, the trustee usually has the authority to act, but keeping everyone informed prevents a lot of friction later.

Where to focus your own research

• First: Find out how the home is held, and talk to an estate attorney about what's needed to sell.
• Before you list: Talk to a tax professional about your basis and whether an appraisal as of the date of death makes sense.
• If you're out of the area: Line up someone to look after the house, and check the insurance.

I work with a lot of families in this situation, including those handling a sale from out of the area. If you'd like help thinking through your options, reach out.

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This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Trust, probate, and tax rules depend on your situation and change over time. Talk to an estate attorney and a tax professional before you sell. I'm a real estate agent, not an attorney or tax advisor.