Probate appraisals · San Bernardino, California
Probate Appraisals in San Bernardino
In a California probate, the court's probate referee values the house on the inventory unless the court waives the referee. If you are the executor or administrator and need an independent date-of-death value for something else, such as a sale, a buyout, a disagreement among heirs or tax basis, that is the report we write.
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If You're the Executor: Your Action Plan
- First: the inventory is due four months after letters are first issued, and the house goes on Attachment 2 of the inventory form (DE-160) for the probate referee, unless the court orders that no referee is required.
- When an independent appraisal helps: for heirs' tax basis, pricing a sale, a disagreement over value, or support for a petition to waive the referee. It does not replace the referee's figure, and your attorney decides whether it fits your case.
- What the referee does: values the house for the inventory. If the house is sold with court confirmation, the 90% floor is measured against that appraisal, which can be no more than a year old at the hearing.
- What to send us: the address, the date of death and the date letters were issued, the referee's value if filed, your attorney's instructions, the condition at death and your deadline.
The full court detail, with every source, is below. Open any section.
The inventory, the referee and a court-confirmed sale
The inventory is due four months after letters are first issued. The house goes on Attachment 2 of the Inventory and Appraisal (DE-160) for the probate referee, unless the court orders that no referee is required; the duties form is DE-147.
If the house is sold with court confirmation, a private-sale bid must be at least 90% of the appraised value, and the appraisal can be no more than a year old at the hearing (DE-265, DE-260).
Where San Bernardino probate cases are filed, and county records
San Bernardino probate cases are filed through the court's probate division, and its filing guide lists the Fontana District for our area.
The Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino handles decedents' estates through its Probate Department (probate division). The court's filing guide lists the Fontana District as accepting probate filings for an area that includes San Bernardino (where to file), so probate cases from the city are filed and heard there.
County records: the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk
Form DE-147 adds a county step: along with the inventory, the personal representative files the change of ownership statement required by section 480 of the Revenue and Taxation Code with the recorder or assessor of the county where the property sits. In San Bernardino County both functions sit in one office, the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk.
A main home worth $750,000 or less, and tax elections
A main home worth $750,000 or less at death may qualify for a simple court transfer (DE-310), and tax elections such as the six-month alternate date belong to your tax adviser (Form 706 instructions). In each case a private appraisal does not take the referee's place; ask your attorney.
If the main home was worth $750,000 or less
A 2025 change raised the value limit for a court petition that transfers real property without a full probate to $750,000 and limited that route to the decedent's main home in California. For a death on April 1, 2025 or later, a successor may petition to have a main home transferred that way if its gross value at death was no more than $750,000 (self-help: simple transfer). The petition, form DE-310, shows that value with an attached appraisal, and a probate referee appointed for the county must perform it (Probate Code sections 8901 and 8902). The limits change every three years, next on April 1, 2028. Here too a private appraisal does not take the referee's place; ask your attorney whether this route fits.
Leave tax elections to your adviser
Valuing at the alternate date, six months after death, is an executor's election on a federal estate tax return, and 26 U.S.C. 2032 allows it only when it reduces both the gross estate and the tax. Whether a return is required at all depends on the estate: for a U.S. citizen or resident who dies in 2026, the Form 706 instructions require one once the gross estate, with adjusted taxable gifts and specific exemption added in, passes $15,000,000, and a return is also filed when the executor elects to transfer the unused exclusion to a surviving spouse. Which date to value, and whether a return is due, are questions for your attorney or tax adviser.
When an Independent Appraisal Helps in a Probate
A private appraisal does not replace the referee's figure on the inventory. It can answer other questions, and your attorney is the right person to say whether any of these applies.
Heirs' tax basis
Federal basis in inherited property generally starts from fair market value at the date of death (26 U.S.C. 1014). A dated report documents it.
Pricing a sale
An independent opinion can inform the asking price of a house being sold through probate. It does not set the court's 90% floor, which is measured against the referee's appraisal.
A disagreement over value
Heirs weighing a buyout, or questioning a value, may want a separate opinion before they agree on a number.
Asking the court to waive the referee
Should your attorney petition under Probate Code section 8903, the attorney decides what support the petition needs.
Three Things a Probate Value Turns On
The date
The inventory speaks as of the date of death. A later sale, buyout or distribution can raise a question about a different date.
The condition
If the house was cleaned out, repaired or remodeled after the death, a date-of-death value has to reflect the earlier condition. At least half of the city's housing stock is 50 years or older (City of San Bernardino 2021-2029 Housing Element), so wear and deferred repairs at the date of death are worth documenting.
The users
The personal representative, the attorney, the heirs and a tax adviser may each need something different from a report. Name them before work starts.
A retrospective appraisal gives an opinion of value as of an earlier effective date, using sales and market conditions from around that date rather than today's prices. Photos taken before a cleanout, an earlier listing and repair receipts help separate the house then from the house now, and the report states any assumptions the evidence cannot settle.
From Request to Delivered Report
- Scope. We go over the property, effective date, intended users and deadline, and confirm a written scope, fee and delivery estimate.
- Records and access. You share what you have about the home on the effective date and since, and arrange access if an inspection is part of the scope.
- Research. The appraiser analyzes sales and conditions for the effective date and explains the reasoning.
- Review. Read the effective date, use, users and assumptions, and raise any factual errors.
What to gather
- Property address and kind of home
- Date of death and date letters were issued
- The referee's inventory value, if filed and a sale is planned
- Your attorney's instructions and the purpose of the report
- Condition at the date of death and changes since
- Access arrangements and your deadline, including any hearing date
Fee and schedule
Ask for a written scope, fee and delivery estimate. Cost and schedule depend on the home's size and complexity, how far back the effective date is, and your deadline. If the house passed through a trust rather than a court probate, see estate appraisals; for basis records, see IRS step-up appraisals; for a near deadline, see rush appraisals.
This page explains the probate rules and the appraisal process; it does not value a property or replace advice from your attorney.