You have been named to settle a loved one's estate in Escondido, and the house is the largest piece. The court will want a value for it, and so may the heirs and the tax adviser, and they are not always the same value. Your attorney can tell you which you need; we help with the one that isn't the court's.
Request a probate appraisal quote or call 442-248-3110.
Who values the house for the court?
A probate referee the court appoints. In a formal California probate, the Inventory and Appraisal (form DE-160) is due from the personal representative no later than four months after letters first issue (Probate Code section 8800). The personal representative values cash and similar items. Every other asset, real estate included, is valued by the referee (sections 8901 and 8902), at fair market value on the date of death. The Judicial Council's duties summary (form DE-147) says the same: the referee sets the value unless the court waives the appointment.
Only the court can waive the referee, by order (section 8903). In San Diego County, Local Rule 4.14.3 covers the case where no referee has been designated yet: 15 days' notice of a petition to waive appraisal by referee goes to the referee designated by the San Diego Probate Referees. Whether to ask for a waiver is a question for your attorney.
So a private appraisal does not replace the referee's inventory value.
Where is an Escondido probate filed?
It is easy to assume probate is handled at the North County courthouse in Vista, where divorces go. It is not. Under San Diego Superior Court Local Rule 4.1.2, the North, East and South County divisions are included in the Central Division for all probate cases, and probate papers may be filed at the Central Division, 1100 Union Street in San Diego. The North County courthouse keeps a drop box for probate papers. The Probate Business Office is at the Central Courthouse.
Can the house skip full probate?
Sometimes, if it was the owner's main home and worth up to $750,000. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, the courts' self-help guide explains that the court can be asked to transfer the owner's main California home to a successor, without a full probate, if the gross value of the owner's interest in it was not more than $750,000 (Probate Code sections 13151 to 13154; petition form DE-310). The value is shown by an appraisal attached to the inventory forms, and a probate referee appointed for the county must perform it. The limits are adjusted every three years; the next adjustment is due April 1, 2028.
What is a private appraisal for?
An independent appraisal can sit alongside the referee's work. Raise each use with your attorney or tax adviser first.
- Tax basis records. Heirs generally take a federal basis equal to the home's fair market value on the date of death (Internal Revenue Code section 1014). An appraisal dated to that day documents it. See IRS step-up appraisals.
- A sale, or buying out a co-heir. A private opinion of value can inform that conversation. If the sale needs court confirmation, the order (form DE-265) finds, for a private sale, that the bid is at least 90% of the appraised value, as appraised within one year of the hearing. If more than a year has passed from the date of death to the hearing, the probate referee must reappraise. A private appraisal can inform pricing but doesn't set that minimum.
- A disagreement about value. A documented, independent opinion gives everyone the same starting point. How it is used in the case is your attorney's decision.
What should we settle before the work starts?
The date. The inventory uses the date the owner passed. A buyout or sale months later may need a current value instead.
Before or after the clean-out. If the house has been cleared, repaired or updated, its condition then must be kept apart from later changes. Dated photos and records help.
Who will read it. Heirs negotiating a buyout, a tax adviser documenting basis and an attorney preparing for a hearing can each need different reporting.
The appraiser looks at sales from around the date you need. Today's prices, an online estimate or a city median can't stand in. The San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk offers parcel searches for Escondido homes, but a recorded sale or assessed value is a clue to check, not the value on your date. For a recent month of Escondido sales as background, see the service area page.
How does the work go?
- You tell us about the home, what the value is for, the date you need, who will read it and your deadline. We confirm scope, fee and delivery estimate in writing.
- Entry is arranged, and you share records of the home's condition on that date and the changes since.
- The appraiser works through sales from around that date and shows how they lead to the opinion.
- You check the date and the stated use, and tell us if any fact about the home is wrong.
Reports follow USPAP, the professional appraisal standards, which govern method and don't oblige a court, agency or heir to accept a report. Earlier dates, larger homes and tight hearing dates all affect fee and timing, so have availability confirmed first. If the inheritance is being handled outside probate, see estate appraisals.
What else might come up with the county and the IRS?
Form DE-147 also notes a second filing under Revenue and Taxation Code section 480: when the inventory is filed, a change of ownership statement goes to the recorder or assessor in each county where the person who passed owned real property. If the home passes to a child, Proposition 19 may change its property tax.
Federally, Internal Revenue Code section 2032 allows an alternate valuation date six months after death only if the executor elects it on a federal estate tax return and the election reduces both the gross estate and the tax. Your attorney or tax adviser decides what applies. An appraisal doesn't settle a tax result or bind a court or agency.
What should I send?
- The Escondido address and property type
- What the appraisal is for, and whether letters have been issued or a referee designated
- The date of passing, and any changes to the house since
- Your hearing or filing deadline, and who will rely on the report
Call 442-248-3110 or request a probate appraisal quote.
General information about probate valuation in California; not legal or tax advice and not a value for any property.