For Heirs
Selling an inherited home: the heir's guide
This guide covers what to do in the first weeks after a loved one's home becomes yours to manage: securing the property, handling the mortgage, understanding the property tax reassessment rules, and knowing when you are ready to sell. The numbers here are checked against federal and California law, and the tax sections are clearly marked because they deserve a tax professional's sign-off too.
Facts current as of 2026-09-29 · Reviewed by Steve Rath, CA DRE 01020976.
Step one
First, take a breath. Then do these five things
In the first weeks, heirs usually feel pressure to make big decisions fast. Most of those decisions can wait. These five can't.
01
Secure the property
Change the locks, set up utilities in the estate's name, and do a walk-through. Vacant homes attract pests, leaks, and worse.
02
Keep insurance in force
The existing homeowners policy often covers the estate for a period, but confirm it in writing. A lapse is how one fire erases decades.
03
Order death certificates
Order at least a dozen certified copies. Banks, insurers, the county, and the title company will each want their own.
04
Open an estate account
The executor opens a separate account for estate funds. Never mix personal money with estate money, even by accident.
05
Inventory the contents
Photograph every room and log valuables before anything is moved. Surprises are easier to resolve when the record exists.
The money questions
Mortgage, taxes, and the rules that surprise people
The mortgage stays with the house
The loan does not die with the borrower. Under the federal Garn-St. Germain Act, a lender cannot call the loan due simply because the property passed to a spouse, child, or heir on death. The heir can generally assume the existing loan and keep making payments at the current rate.
In practice: notify the lender, provide the death certificate, and keep every payment current. If payments stop, the lender can foreclose.
Garn-St. Germain Act 1982 · verified
Step-up basis resets the tax clock
Inherited property gets a new cost basis equal to its fair market value on the date of death (IRC Section 1014). Sell near that value soon after, and there is typically little or no taxable capital gain.
Exceptions exist, including for gains that build up after the inheritance. This is an overview, not tax advice: run your numbers past a CPA who handles estates.
IRC Section 1014 · verified
Proposition 19 and reassessment
Since February 16, 2021, inherited property is generally reassessed at full market value, which can raise the property tax bill sharply. A narrow exclusion protects the parent's principal residence passed to a child, if the child makes it their principal residence, typically within one year, and the value does not exceed the parent's assessed value by more than $1 million.
Rental homes, second homes, and other non-primary property are fully reassessed. The claim form is BOE-19-P, filed with the county assessor within three years.
Prop 19 · BOE-19-P · verified
When you are ready
Selling the estate home the right way
When the family agrees it is time to sell, the estate's listing has its own playbook. The executor needs the court's authority to list; the price needs to be defensible for a confirmation hearing; and the disclosures need to be complete enough that the sale closes without drama.
A listing agent who has done this before will coordinate the appraisal, the court paperwork, and the confirmation hearing so the family is not the one chasing deadlines.
See the court confirmation detailsWhat not to do (learned the expensive way)
- Do not list before the estate has authority to sell. The offer may be untouchable.
- Do not empty the house before the contents are inventoried. Items of value settle disputes; receipts settle everything else.
- Do not let the mortgage slip while the process drags out. One missed payment can put the estate in foreclosure.
- Do not take pricing advice from an app. The estate price has to survive a court hearing, not a screenshot.
- Do not make big tax decisions on a family member's tip. Get the CPA's number on the record.
Deeper, free
The Estate Library has the checklists for all of this
The executor's 90-day checklist, the twelve questions to ask a listing agent, pricing strategy, and the tax basics in plain English. Free to unlock, no strings.
Tell Steve where you are in the process
A short conversation now saves weeks of confusion later. No obligation, no jargon, and no hard sell. That is the whole point of this site.