What Is a Probate Referee and How Is the Property Appraised?
Executors and administrators usually meet the probate referee by accident — the attorney mentions that the inventory has to go out, a number comes back weeks later, and suddenly that number is controlling the sale. It is worth understanding where it comes from.
Who is the probate referee and who picks them?
Probate Code section 8920 provides that the probate referee, when designated by the court, shall be among the persons appointed by the Controller to act as a probate referee for that county. If no appointed person is available, or if the court does not designate a person appointed for the county, the court may designate a referee from another county.
The practical consequence: in most estates, the fiduciary does not choose the referee and cannot shop for a value. The referee is a neutral valuer working for the court's record, not an advocate for the estate or for any beneficiary.
What does the referee appraise, and what does the executor appraise?
The Probate Code splits the job. Section 8901 requires the personal representative to appraise a specific list of items, generally at face value: money and cash items, certain post-death checks such as wages earned before death and tax or utility refunds, accounts at financial institutions, cash deposits and money market mutual funds, and lump-sum death benefits from life and accident policies, retirement plans, and annuities. Section 8901(d) expressly directs that all other mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and securities be appraised under sections 8902 through 8909 — the probate referee provisions.
Real property falls on the referee's side of the line in most estates. That is the value that then drives the 90 percent floor in a court-confirmed sale under section 10309.
| Asset | Generally appraised by |
|---|---|
| Cash, bank accounts, money market funds | Personal representative (§ 8901) |
| Refund checks, wages earned before death | Personal representative (§ 8901) |
| Lump-sum life insurance and retirement proceeds | Personal representative (§ 8901) |
| Real property | Probate referee (§§ 8902–8909) |
| Stocks, bonds, other mutual funds and securities | Probate referee (§ 8901(d)) |
What value does the referee report?
Probate Code section 8802 requires the inventory and appraisal to separately list each item and state the fair market value of that item at the time of the decedent's death. It is a date-of-death number, not a current listing opinion.
That single fact explains most of the friction fiduciaries encounter. If the settlor or decedent died fourteen months ago and the market has moved, the referee's number may bear little resemblance to what a buyer will pay today. In a court-confirmed sale, section 10309 requires the appraisal supporting confirmation to be within one year of the hearing on both the appraisal date and the valuation date, and section 10309(b) allows a further appraisal where those windows have lapsed or where the court is satisfied the latest appraisal is too high or too low.
What does a probate referee cost?
Section 8961 provides that the referee receives, as compensation, a commission of one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of the total value of the property appraised for each estate, plus actual and necessary expenses, which must be itemized in a verified account filed with or listed on the inventory and appraisal. The commission is computed excluding property appraised by the personal representative under section 8901 or by an independent expert under section 8904.
Section 8963(a) caps and floors that commission: not less than $75 nor more than $10,000 for any estate appraised. Section 8963(b) allows the court, on the referee's application and with notice, to allow more than $10,000 if it determines the reasonable value of the referee's services exceeds that amount.
| Value appraised by the referee | Commission at 0.1% | Effect of § 8963(a) |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50 | Raised to the $75 minimum |
| $500,000 | $500 | Within the range |
| $1,200,000 | $1,200 | Within the range |
| $4,000,000 | $4,000 | Within the range |
| $12,000,000 | $12,000 | Capped at $10,000 absent a court order under § 8963(b) |
Expenses are separate from the commission. This is one of the lower-cost line items in a typical California probate, which is worth remembering when a fiduciary is weighing whether to fight the number.
Can the referee appraisal be waived?
Yes, for good cause. Section 8903(a) allows the court to waive appraisal by a probate referee. Section 8903(b) requires the application to be made with the petition for appointment, with another petition, or in a separate petition, but no later than the time the representative delivers the inventory to a designated referee, with a copy of the proposed inventory and appraisal and a statement of the good cause attached. Section 8903(c) sets the hearing no sooner than 15 days after filing and identifies who must be given notice, including the designated referee. Under section 8903(d), the referee may oppose the waiver, and the statute addresses cost-shifting in both directions.
Key facts
- Probate Code § 8920: the court designates a referee from among persons appointed by the State Controller for that county.
- § 8802: the inventory and appraisal states fair market value at the date of death.
- § 8800(b): the inventory and appraisal is generally due within four months after Letters are first issued to a general personal representative.
- § 8961(a): the referee's commission is 0.1% of the total value appraised, plus actual and necessary expenses.
- § 8963(a): that commission is never less than $75 nor more than $10,000 per estate, subject to § 8963(b).
- § 8903(c): a hearing on a petition to waive referee appraisal is set no sooner than 15 days after the petition is filed.
Why does the referee's number matter to the sale?
Three reasons a fiduciary should care about the appraised value long before a buyer appears:
- It can set the price floor. In a court-confirmed sale, section 10309 blocks confirmation below 90 percent of the appraised value.
- It becomes the benchmark beneficiaries use. Whether or not the 90 percent floor applies, beneficiaries will compare the sale price to the inventory value and ask questions about the gap in either direction.
- It is part of the estate's tax record. Basis, gain on a later sale, and estate reporting all interact with date-of-death value. Those are questions for a CPA or tax attorney, not for a brokerage.
There is a related filing requirement worth flagging to the attorney: section 8800(d) requires the personal representative, concurrently with filing the inventory and appraisal, to certify either that Revenue and Taxation Code section 480 does not apply because the decedent owned no California real property at death, or that a change in ownership statement has been filed with the county recorder or assessor in each county where the decedent owned property.
A listing broker's opinion of value is a different document with a different purpose. It should inform pricing and marketing. It does not replace the referee's appraisal in the court file, and no broker should suggest otherwise.
Selling a probate, trust, or fiduciary-held California property?
Sea to Sierras Realty, Inc. represents sellers exclusively, not buyers, and works regularly with executors, administrators, and successor trustees. Call (858) 248-1499 or email us.
This article is general process information for California property owners and fiduciaries and is not legal or tax advice. Appraisal requirements, referee compensation, and filing deadlines depend on the specific facts of the estate and change over time, and valuation questions can carry significant tax consequences. Consult a licensed attorney or CPA about your situation before acting. Sea to Sierras Realty, Inc. · Elizabeth A. Tresp, Broker · California DRE #02013661.