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The Successor Trustee Checklist

You’ve just become the trustee of a California living trust, and there’s a house in it. Here is what to do, in order, in plain English. Print it, check things off, and call me when you’re ready to talk about the house.

Please read first

This is a thorough checklist, but it’s still general. Every trust is different, and yours may have its own rules and deadlines. Run every step by your trust attorney before you act on it.

01 Right away: the first two weeks

  • Order 8–10 certified copies of the death certificate. Banks, title companies, and the county will each want one.
  • Find the original trust document, every amendment or restatement, and the will. Check the home, the safe deposit box, and the attorney who drafted it.
  • Secure the house: change or confirm the locks, forward the mail, keep the utilities on, and tell the homeowner’s insurance company the owner has died. Many policies change once a home is vacant.
  • Keep paying the mortgage, property taxes, HOA dues, and insurance on time so nothing falls into default.
  • Don’t give away, sell, or throw out belongings yet. Take photos or video of every room first.

02 Stepping in as trustee: roughly month 1

  • Meet with a trust and estate attorney. Most offer a first consultation, and the trust usually pays their fees.
  • Get an EIN (tax ID number) for the trust from the IRS. Once the trust becomes irrevocable at death, it reports its own income.
  • Open a trust bank account in your name as trustee. Pay trust expenses from it, and keep it separate from your own money.
  • Within 60 days of the death, send the required trustee notice to every beneficiary and legal heir (Probate Code §16061.7). Your attorney usually prepares and mails it.
  • Record an Affidavit – Death of Trustee for the house, with a certified death certificate, so county records show you as trustee (Probate Code §210). The attorney or title company usually handles this.
  • Within 150 days of the death, file the change-in-ownership statement (BOE-502-D) with the county assessor.

03 Understanding the house and its value

  • Order a date-of-death valuation of the home. It sets the new tax basis for the beneficiaries (the “step-up in basis”) and supports your decisions as trustee.
  • Make sure the house is actually in the trust: check the vesting on the deed. If it was left out, the attorney may need a petition to confirm it as a trust asset before it can be sold (Probate Code §850).
  • Decide with the beneficiaries whether to sell, keep, or have one of them buy out the others. If a child plans to keep the home, ask the attorney about the Prop. 19 parent-child exclusion and its filing deadlines.
  • Keep the beneficiaries reasonably informed as you go (Probate Code §16060). Written updates prevent most disputes.

04 Selling the house

  • Interview an agent who has handled trust sales, and ask how they document pricing for the trustee’s file.
  • Get estimates for cleanout, repairs, staging, and photos, and approve each one before work starts. Keep every receipt; the trust pays these costs.
  • Give escrow a certification of trust instead of the whole trust document (Probate Code §18100.5). It confirms your authority to sell.
  • Ask your attorney whether to wait for the 120-day contest period to pass before closing (Probate Code §16061.8).
  • Ask your agent and attorney which disclosure forms apply. Trustees are exempt from some forms, but known problems with the home still have to be disclosed.
  • Trust sales usually don’t need a court hearing. If the trust itself requires beneficiary consent, or there’s a dispute, plan for it before listing.

05 After the sale: wrapping up

  • Deposit the sale proceeds into the trust account, not a personal account.
  • Work with a CPA on the decedent’s final income tax return and the trust’s own return (Form 1041).
  • Prepare an accounting for the beneficiaries, unless they have waived it in writing (Probate Code §§16062, 16064).
  • Distribute according to the trust, usually with signed receipts and releases from each beneficiary, then close the trust account.

Was the house left out of probate, or not in the trust at all?

If the home has to go through probate instead, the steps are different. Start with the California Probate Checklist, or read probate vs. trust sale.

Sources

Every trust is different, and this checklist is general education, not legal or tax advice. Your trust document and your attorney control. For tax questions, consult a CPA. Updated October 2026.

When you get to the house, you don’t have to do it alone.

I’ve closed 16 trust sales. I handle the property side for trustees across Ventura County and Los Angeles County: valuation, cleanout and prep, the sale, and a written update every week.

Book a Free Consultation Call or text 310-428-4008