The first days after a death do not feel like the days that came before. Everything continues — the mail, the bills, the calendar — but you are not the same person receiving them. The family calls come first. The funeral arrangements come next. And then, sooner than you expect, the practical questions begin to arrive. Do you have the will? Who is the executor? What accounts existed? Who inherits the house?
For the families I sit with in the weeks and months after a loss, the practical questions are often the hardest to face — not because they are difficult in themselves, but because they arrive at the moment when you have the least energy for them.
This is a guide to what to do in the first thirty days after someone dies in California. It is not exhaustive. It is not a substitute for talking with an attorney. But it is the outline I wish every family had before they needed it — the shape of what is coming, so that when the paperwork begins to arrive, you know roughly what to do with it.
The First Week
The first task after a death is to arrange for the immediate legal pronouncement — usually handled by a hospital or hospice if the death occurred there, or by paramedics or a coroner if at home. The funeral home or mortuary will guide the family through the next steps for the body, the memorial service if there is one, and disposition of remains.
Alongside those arrangements, one of the most practical things a family can do in the first week is order death certificates. In California, certified death certificates are needed for almost every financial and legal task ahead — closing bank accounts, transferring property, notifying insurance companies, filing taxes, claiming benefits. Most families need between ten and fifteen certified copies. The funeral home usually orders the initial batch on behalf of the family. Each certified copy costs approximately $28 in California. Ordering enough at the start saves weeks of delay later.
In the first week, someone should also secure the deceased’s home. Change the locks if appropriate. Bring in the mail. Cancel any newspaper or subscription delivery that would signal the home is unoccupied. If pets remain, arrange for their care. If there are valuables in the home — jewelry, cash, important documents — take an inventory before other family members arrive. This is a common source of family conflict later, and a simple inventory taken in the first week prevents many of the disputes that arise months into the process.
Finally, the first week is when you locate the estate planning documents. The will. The trust. Any powers of attorney or healthcare directives. If the deceased had an estate planning attorney, contact that firm. The attorney will usually have a copy of the executed documents on file and can guide the family through the next steps. If you cannot locate documents, check safe-deposit boxes, home safes, filing cabinets, and any digital storage the deceased used.
The Second Week
By the second week, the immediate arrangements have usually settled and the practical work of settling the estate begins.
The most important step in this window is contacting the deceased’s estate planning attorney. If the deceased had a trust, the attorney will explain the trust administration process, identify the successor trustee, and outline what the trustee needs to do in the coming months. If the deceased had only a will — or no estate plan at all — the attorney will explain the California probate process and whether it applies to the family’s situation.
Social Security should also be notified in this window. The funeral home usually handles this as part of standard practice, but confirm it has been done. Once Social Security is notified, the deceased’s benefit payments stop, and any surviving spouse or dependent may become eligible for survivor benefits.
This is also the window for contacting financial institutions. Banks, brokerages, credit unions, and any other financial institutions where the deceased held accounts need to be notified. Each institution has its own process for freezing accounts, transferring assets, and releasing funds to the estate or the appropriate beneficiaries. The successor trustee — or the personal representative if the estate is going through probate — is the person authorized to handle these communications.
Insurance companies matter here too. Life insurance policies should be identified and the claims process started early — the payout on a life insurance policy can be one of the fastest sources of liquidity for families managing the practical costs of an estate. Health insurance should be canceled or transitioned. Auto and homeowner’s insurance should be updated to reflect the change in ownership.
Days Fifteen Through Thirty
By the second half of the first month, the family should have a clear picture of what the deceased owned, what is owed, and how the estate will be settled.
The most important legal step in this window is understanding which of two paths the estate will take: trust administration or probate.
If the deceased had a properly funded revocable living trust, most of the assets bypass the probate court and are handled directly by the successor trustee under the terms of the trust. Trust administration is generally private, faster, and less expensive than probate — but it still requires a specific set of legal steps, including formal notice to beneficiaries and heirs under California Probate Code Section 16061.7. That notice must be sent within sixty days of the death, and it starts a legal clock. The trustee has responsibilities that begin from the moment of death, not from the moment of hire, and getting the timing right matters.
If the deceased did not have a trust, or had a trust that was never properly funded with the assets it was supposed to hold, some or all of the estate will go through probate. Probate in California typically takes eight to twelve months. It is a public court process. It has statutory attorney and executor fees set by California law. And it usually cannot be avoided once it has started.
This is often the moment when families discover whether the estate planning done years ago is actually going to work as expected. A trust that exists on paper but was never funded with the family home is a trust that will not do its job — and the home may still go through probate despite the trust’s existence. This is one of the most common surprises families encounter in the first thirty days.
Understanding the Fork in the Road
The difference between trust administration and probate is not just legal — it is practical. It affects how long the process takes, how much it costs, and how much the family has to do.
Trust administration keeps the family in control. The successor trustee — usually a family member — handles the estate under the guidance of an attorney, following the terms of the trust. The court is not involved. Beneficiaries receive their distributions when the trustee completes each phase of administration, which for a straightforward estate can be six to twelve months. The process is private. The family manages the timing.
Probate takes the estate to court. A judge oversees the process. Statutory fees apply based on the gross value of the estate — not the net, meaning fees are calculated on the full value of the assets even if the estate owes debts against them. For a home worth $2 million with a $1 million mortgage, probate fees are calculated on the $2 million, not the $1 million of equity. The process is public. Filings are visible to anyone who searches the court records. And the timeline is largely outside the family’s control.
For families in Walnut Creek, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Danville, and San Ramon — where property values often make the difference between trust administration and probate substantial — this fork in the road is one of the most important consequences of the estate planning that was or was not done in advance.
How We Work with Families in These Moments
When a family calls us in the weeks after a death, our first job is to help them understand what is ahead. Sometimes that means walking through the trust administration process with a successor trustee who has never done this before. Sometimes it means explaining what probate is going to look like for a family whose loved one died without a plan. Sometimes it means helping a family understand that the plan they inherited is actually working — and that most of what they are worried about is going to unfold smoothly.
Our process for trust administration and probate begins with a first meeting. Families come in, and by the end of that meeting they know what the next several months are going to look like, what our role will be, what their role will be, and what it will cost. There are no surprises and no pressure.
What we have learned over 20 years as an estate planning attorney is that the families who navigate this well are the families who ask for help early. The first thirty days are the window when the most is happening at once and when guidance matters most. Waiting until month three, when a deadline has been missed or a decision has already been made, usually costs the family more than the initial meeting would have.
Beyond the First Thirty Days
The first thirty days are the beginning, not the end. For a family administering a trust, the work continues for six to twelve months as assets are gathered, valued, and eventually distributed. For a family going through probate, the process typically runs eight to twelve months, sometimes longer. Tax filings for the deceased’s final year — and possibly for the estate itself — need to be handled. Creditor claims need to be resolved. Real property may need to be sold or transferred. Assets held in the deceased’s name alone may need to be retitled.
For some families, there is also Medi-Cal estate recovery to consider — the state’s process for recovering the cost of Medi-Cal benefits paid to the deceased during their lifetime. This applies only in specific circumstances but can affect what the family ultimately receives. Our recent piece on the 2026 Medi-Cal reinstatement covers this in more detail for families whose loved one received long-term care benefits.
For families where the deceased owned a home, there are also Proposition 19 property tax questions that need to be addressed within the first year — including the primary residence requirement for children who inherit real property. Our Proposition 19 piece walks through these mechanics in detail.
The plan is not just the documents. The plan is the way the documents work together, the way the family understands what is in place, and the way each step of administration is handled in the months after a loss. That is the work. And it is the work we do every day for East Bay families.
For East Bay Families
If you have recently experienced a loss, or if you are helping a family member or friend navigate the first weeks after a death, and you are in the East Bay — Walnut Creek, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Danville, San Ramon, or the surrounding communities — we would welcome the conversation. At Absolute Trust Counsel in Walnut Creek, our team works exclusively with California families on estate planning, trust administration, probate, Medi-Cal planning, and special needs planning. For over 20 years as an estate planning attorney, my focus has been on helping East Bay families through the moments that matter most — including the ones that arrive without warning.
If you have questions about what to do in the first thirty days after a loss, or if you are ready to schedule a discovery call with our team, we are here.
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