Trust, estate & inherited home sales — handled like the fiduciary matter they are
Selling a family home from a trust or estate isn't a normal listing. There's a fiduciary duty, a date-of-death valuation, a step-up in basis, Prop 19 consequences, and — usually — grief in the room. I've been handling these sales since 2006, with a CFO's discipline and a neighbor's care.
You didn't ask for this job. Here's what it involves.
Most successor trustees are doing this for the first time, while settling everything else and often from out of the area. Your legal duty is to protect the asset and obtain fair market value — and to be able to show you did. That's a process, not a promise:
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Confirm authority & secure the property
Trust certification or letters, death certificate, EIN. Then the practical side: keys, insurance (vacant-home coverage matters), utilities, mail, and regular checks on the house. I handle the property side from day one — including for out-of-area trustees.
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Date-of-death valuation
The appraisal that sets the stepped-up basis — often the difference between a large tax bill and none at all. I coordinate with the appraiser and provide the broker's market analysis your CPA and attorney will want alongside it.
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The keep / rent / sell decision — in numbers
Prop 19 changed this decision: an inherited home kept as a rental is now reassessed at full market value, and the step-up in basis is most valuable when the sale happens near the date-of-death value. I put the three scenarios side by side in dollars so the family can decide with clear eyes.
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Prepare the home — with care
Decades of belongings, sometimes deferred maintenance, always memories. Estate-sale and cleanout services, only the repairs that return more than they cost, staging, and a pace the family can live with.
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Market, document, and sell at fair market value
Full marketing exposure, documented offer history, and clean records — the file that protects a fiduciary if a beneficiary ever asks "did we get a fair price?" Trustee disclosure duties differ from a normal sale; we get them right.
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Close and coordinate the paper trail
Escrow in the trust's name, proceeds to the right account, and a closing package your attorney and CPA can drop straight into the trust administration file.
The Prop 19 wrinkle every heir should know: since February 2021, an inherited home keeps its low property-tax base only if a child moves in as a primary residence within a year — and even then, only up to the old assessed value plus $1,044,586 (the inflation-adjusted allowance for transfers dated February 16, 2025 through February 15, 2027). Kept as a rental, it's reassessed at market value. For many families that flips the old "hold it for the taxes" logic. Full Prop 19 guide here. To see every deadline the death started, run the free Deadline Clock.
Why families and their advisors call me for these
- CFO background. Step-up in basis, date-of-death valuations, capital gains on post-death appreciation, Prop 19 reassessment math — I speak the language your CPA speaks, and I show my work.
- Licensed since 2006, 150+ transactions across Silicon Valley and Santa Cruz County, including trust, estate, and inherited-home sales.
- I work with counsel, not around them. Your attorney runs the administration; I run the property. Clean lanes, documented decisions, no surprises.
- One point of contact for scattered families. Weekly written updates all beneficiaries can see. Out-of-state heirs never wonder what's happening.
- No hype. A fiduciary sale needs a defensible price and a documented process, not a flashy promise.
"Lance took on the sale of my property at the most traumatic time in my life… He needed copious amounts of documentation and I was totally unable, both physically and mentally, to comb through decades of paperwork… Lance went above and beyond and 'held my hand' through the entire process. I felt like I had a family member helping me, rather than a realtor." — Seller, 2024 · ★★★★★ verified Zillow review
A broker your file won't have to apologize for
What you can expect
Date-of-death BPOs and market analyses on request. Documented marketing and offer history for the administration file. Trustee-appropriate disclosures. Written status updates your client can forward to beneficiaries.
How I work with you
You run the administration; I run the property and report in. I don't give legal or tax advice — I give you numbers, documentation, and a defensible fair-market-value process.
Beyond the sale
Client seminars on "your home in your estate plan," Prop 19 and step-up explainers your clients actually understand (see the YouTube channel), and a straight answer when a matter isn't a fit.
The detailed walkthroughs
This page is the overview. Depending on which seat you're in, one of these three goes considerably further — statute by statute, deadline by deadline.
Probate & trust home sales
Full versus limited authority under the IAEA, when court confirmation is required, the §10311(a)(1) overbid math, and the 15-day NOPA window. Plus a free first-30-days task list.
Read the walkthrough →The surviving spouse & the house
The two-year $500,000 window, the 100% community-property step-up, and an honest account of what genuinely has a deadline versus what everyone just feels anxious about.
What actually has a deadline →Sell now, or let them inherit?
Step-up in basis versus the Prop 19 intergenerational cap, in dollars — including the one-year occupancy gate and what happens if the kids rent it out instead.
Compare both paths →Or run the inherited-home deadline clock against your date of death →
Tell me where the estate stands
Three fields. I'll tell you what I'd want to know next, whether the timing is wrong, and where your attorney or CPA needs to weigh in before I do anything. If the honest answer is that the house should wait, I'll say so — I've said it plenty of times.
I'm a real estate broker, not a CPA and not an attorney. I don't opine on your authority and I don't tell you what the Letters mean. What I do is get the property facts and the numbers straight so your professionals have something solid to work from.
Trust & estate sale FAQ
What is the step-up in basis, in plain English?
When the owner passes away, the home's tax basis generally resets to its market value on the date of death (California community property typically gets a full double step-up for a surviving spouse). Sell near that value and the taxable gain is often minimal. This is why the date-of-death appraisal is so important — and why timing the sale is a numbers conversation with the CPA, not a guess.
Will the inherited house keep its low property taxes?
Usually not, under Prop 19 — unless a child moves in as their primary residence within one year, and even then the exclusion is capped at the old assessed value plus $1,044,586 for transfers dated February 16, 2025 through February 15, 2027 (the Board of Equalization re-indexes that figure every two years). Held as a rental, it's fully reassessed. This is often the deciding factor in keep-vs-sell. Details here, or check your deadlines.
Do we need to go through probate court to sell?
If the home is in a revocable living trust, usually no — the successor trustee can sell under the trust's authority without court confirmation. If there's no trust (or assets fell outside it), the sale may run through probate, with court oversight depending on the representative's authority. Your attorney makes that call; I run the sale accordingly, either way.
The heirs disagree about selling. Can you still help?
Often, yes. Most disagreements are really information gaps — one sibling thinks the house is worth more, another worries about taxes, a third wants it done yesterday. A written valuation, a net-proceeds analysis for each scenario, and weekly updates everyone receives tend to shrink the argument. When it's truly contested, that's your attorney's lane, and I support it with documentation.
The house is full of belongings and needs work. Where do we start?
That's normal — I've never sold an estate home that was empty and perfect. I bring in estate-sale/cleanout services, coordinate donations, and recommend only the repairs that return more than they cost. The family doesn't need to be local, and nobody has to spend weekends hauling boxes.
What does this cost the trust or estate?
Commission is negotiated in the listing agreement and paid from sale proceeds at closing, like any sale. Prep costs (cleanout, repairs, staging) are typically fronted by the trust/estate or handled through escrow — I lay out the options and the expected return on each dollar before anything is spent.
Not ready to move? Stay in the loop anyway.
Once a month: what actually sold on both sides of the hill, what changed in California property-tax law, and the occasional honest “don’t sell yet.” No listings spam. Unsubscribe whenever.
City of Santa Cruz only: Measure C and inherited homes. Since July 1, 2026 the City of Santa Cruz has charged a graduated transfer tax on the portion of a sale price above $1.8 million — 0.5% to $2.5M, 1% to $3.5M, 1.5% to $4.5M, 2% above that, capped at $200,000. It is on top of the county’s $1.10 per $1,000 and it is marginal, so a $2.6M sale owes $4,500.
The distinction that catches people: the transfer from the person who died, or out of their trust, to the heirs or beneficiaries is exempt (Santa Cruz Municipal Code 3.34.258, adopting Rev. & Tax. Code §11930). The subsequent sale to a buyer is fully taxable — SCMC 3.34.160(b) applies the tax “regardless of the method by which the transfer is accomplished or the relationship of the parties.” Inheriting the house does not exempt selling it. This applies inside city limits only, not to unincorporated county, Capitola, Scotts Valley or Watsonville. The net proceeds calculator accounts for it.
Settling an estate is a big job. The house shouldn't be the hardest part.
Tell me where things stand — even if the timeline is uncertain or the family is still deciding. First conversation is information, not obligation.
Talk Through Your Situation