California Probate Code section 8900 says the appraisal of property in a probate inventory is made by the personal representative, the probate referee or an independent expert, as the rest of that chapter provides. In practice the personal representative values cash-like items, the probate referee values nearly everything else, including the house, and an independent expert is reserved for unusual personal property. An estate can still order an independent residential appraisal of the house, but as a separate assignment, not a substitute for the referee's inventory value.
The sentence, word for word
Section 8900 is one sentence: "The appraisal of property in the inventory shall be made by the personal representative, probate referee, or independent expert as provided in this chapter." The practical detail sits in the sections that follow, read in order below. Nothing here is legal advice; the estate's attorney decides how they apply. Three terms carry the chapter:
- Personal representative, the executor or administrator the court has appointed to manage the estate in probate.
- Inventory and appraisal, the single document the personal representative files with the court listing each item of estate property with its value (Probate Code section 8800).
- Probate referee, a person appointed by the State Controller to act as a referee for the county and designated by the court in a particular estate (section 8920).
Who appraises what
The personal representative: cash and its equivalents
Section 8901 gives the personal representative a short list: money and cash items, certain checks issued after death, accounts in financial institutions, cash deposits and money market funds, and lump-sum insurance, retirement and annuity proceeds payable on death. A house is not on it.
The probate referee: everything else, including the house
Under section 8902, unless a statute provides otherwise, the personal representative delivers the inventory to the referee with the supporting data needed, and the referee "shall appraise all property other than that appraised by the personal representative." Real property falls there, so for a Claremont house in a Los Angeles County probate the referee's figure is ordinarily the one in the inventory.
The independent expert: unusual personal property
Section 8904 lets the personal representative elect to have a "unique, artistic, unusual, or special item of tangible personal property" appraised by a qualified independent expert, by noting the election on the inventory. It is written for things like art and collections, not for sending a house to a residential appraiser in place of the referee.
When the referee is waived
Section 8903 lets the court, for good cause, waive appraisal by a probate referee, on a petition with a proposed inventory and appraisal attached and notice to affected heirs. Whether good cause exists is the court's decision; whether to ask is the attorney's question, not the appraiser's.
What value the inventory states, and as of when
Section 8802 says the inventory and appraisal states "the fair market value of the item at the time of the decedent's death." The date of death is the day the owner died, and in estate work it is usually the effective date, the date the opinion of value applies to. Fair market value, in the federal estate tax regulation, is the price at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither under compulsion and both with reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts. What the fair market value definition requires takes that sentence apart.
Because the date of death has passed by the time anyone values the house, the work is a retrospective appraisal, an appraisal whose effective date is in the past. The date of report, the day the report is signed, is stated separately. Comparable sales are those that closed on or before the date of death, and condition is the house as it stood that day, not after it was cleared or repaired.
Where an independent appraisal fits
Section 8905 requires everyone who appraises inventory property to sign the appraisal and swear it was made truly, honestly and impartially. An independent appraiser engaged by the estate owes the same impartiality under USPAP, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. What differs is the assignment: who engaged the appraiser, the intended use, what the report will be used for, and the intended users, the people entitled to rely on it.
Estates order a separate residential appraisal of the house for reasons like these:
- A documented reading before the inventory is filed, with the comparable sales, condition analysis and adjustments shown, not only a figure on a line.
- A possible objection. Section 8906 lets the personal representative or an interested person file a written objection to the appraisal before the hearing on final distribution, and the person objecting has the burden of proof. Whether to object is a legal decision; an appraisal only documents evidence.
- An heir buyout or a sale decision, where siblings want one report they can all read, from an appraiser independent of every party, including the one who pays.
- Basis. IRS Publication 551 says the basis of inherited property is generally its fair market value at the date of death, or on the alternate valuation date if the personal representative elects it. Stepped-up basis is the name for that reset, the heir's new starting point for measuring gain on a later sale. Your CPA decides which value is used; the stepped-up basis article lists what the CPA looks for on the report.
Under section 8908, on demand by the personal representative or a beneficiary, the referee provides the report or backup data used for an item and justifies the appraisal if it is contested. Reading it against the house is an appraisal review question. The Pomona probate article walks through the same choice for historic-district houses and older multi-family buildings.
When the house was in a living trust, it generally passes without formal probate, according to the Judicial Branch of California, so there is no court inventory and no referee; a successor trustee orders a trust and fiduciary appraisal directly.
The kinds of Claremont assignments that come in
- A pre-1940 Craftsman near the Village and the Colleges, where the heirs want comparables chosen for era and style shown alongside the referee's value.
- A postwar ranch house north of Foothill with a rear addition, where the permit date decides whether the room existed on the date of death and belongs in the gross living area, the finished above-grade living space.
- A Claraboya or Padua Hills hillside home, where view, grade and access narrow the sales a buyer on that date would have weighed.
Claremont property is assessed by the Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor. The county's assessed value is not an appraisal and is not the inventory value. Section 8800 also has the personal representative certify that a change in ownership statement was filed in each county where the decedent owned property, so an estate with a second house across the line in Upland deals with two counties. The Claremont area page describes the city's pockets, and the estate and date-of-death knowledge hub collects the rest of this series, starting with Date-of-Death Appraisals Explained Plainly.
Next step
If you are a personal representative, attorney or CPA handling an estate with a house in Claremont or nearby, read how the estate and date-of-death appraisal is scoped, then send the date of death, the address and the intended use, or call (909) 324-6122. The fee is set by the scope of the assignment and quoted before work begins, and the fee does not depend on the value.
Sources
- California Probate Code sections 8800, 8802, 8900, 8901, 8902, 8903, 8904, 8905, 8906, 8908, 8920, accessed October 30, 2026
- 26 CFR section 20.2031-1, definition of fair market value for estate tax, accessed October 30, 2026
- IRS Publication 551, Basis of Assets, accessed October 30, 2026
- Judicial Branch of California, when formal probate may not be needed, accessed October 30, 2026
- Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor, accessed October 30, 2026
Gordon Hall, California Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, BREA No. AR003877 (lookup: https://www2.brea.ca.gov/breasearch/faces/party/view.xhtml?id=23601). Reports are prepared in conformity with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). Nothing here is legal or tax advice; admissibility is always the court's decision.
Frequently asked questions
Who appraises a house in a California probate?
Ordinarily the probate referee. Probate Code section 8902 has the referee appraise all inventory property other than the cash-like items the personal representative values under section 8901, and real property falls in the referee's share unless the court waives the referee for good cause under section 8903.
Can the executor hire an independent appraiser instead of the probate referee?
Not simply by choice for a house. The independent expert route in Probate Code section 8904 covers unique, artistic, unusual or special items of tangible personal property. An executor can still order an independent residential appraisal as a separate assignment, for example to document the value before the inventory is filed; how it is used is the attorney's call.
What date does a probate inventory value the house as of?
Probate Code section 8802 calls for the fair market value of each item at the time of the decedent's death. That makes the date of death the effective date, the date the opinion of value applies to, so the work is a retrospective appraisal using sales that closed on or before that date.
Is the county assessed value the same as the inventory value?
No. The county assessment is the taxable value under California's assessment rules and is not an appraisal. The inventory states fair market value at the time of death, appraised as Probate Code sections 8900 to 8909 provide.
Does a house held in a living trust need a probate referee?
Property held in a living trust generally passes without formal probate, so there is usually no court inventory and no referee. A successor trustee who needs a documented date-of-death value orders an appraisal directly. Nothing here is legal advice; the trust's attorney confirms what applies.
