Probate and date-of-death appraisals

Probate Appraisals for Riverside Homes

If you're settling an estate, call your attorney first, then call us if you need a value for a reason beyond the court inventory. One rule to know up front: the value that goes on a California probate inventory comes from a probate referee, not a private appraiser, unless the court has waived the referee. We appraise where a separate opinion still helps, and we'll tell you plainly when it doesn't.

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For personal representatives, trustees and the attorneys who advise them.

What to do next

Ask your attorney who is valuing the house. In most probates it's the court's probate referee. Whether the court has waived the referee is a question for your attorney.
Decide what the second opinion is for. A tax record for each heir, a listing price, a buyout or a disagreement among heirs are different questions, and the purpose decides the date and the reporting.
Gather what you have (the list is below) and call us. We'll tell you whether an independent appraisal helps your situation.

Who values the house in a probate

After the court names a personal representative, there are four months to file an inventory of the estate. Cash and similar items are valued by the representative. Real estate, including the house, goes to the probate referee, who is appointed by the State Controller for the county. In Riverside County the court assigns referees in rotation.

A court order can dispense with the referee altogether. Unless it has, an independent appraisal does not take the referee's place on the inventory. The rules and their sources are listed in "The rules, with sources" near the end of this page.

Where an independent appraisal can still help

Each of these is a judgment for the personal representative and the estate's attorney or tax adviser.

Tax records for each heir. An heir's basis is generally the home's fair market value at death. A tax adviser may want a full appraisal report in the file; ask whether the inventory value is enough.
Choosing a listing price. If the court must confirm a private sale, the winning bid has to reach 90 percent or more of an appraisal dated within a year of the hearing. An independent market opinion can help a family choose a listing price; it does not set that 90 percent floor.
A buyout or a dispute among heirs. If one heir wants to keep the house, or the heirs disagree about its value, an independent opinion can inform the discussion. The attorneys decide how it is used.
A home held in a trust. When a trust is administered without a court case, the trustee or estate representative may select the referee. Whether a trustee uses a referee or hires an appraiser is a question for the trust's attorney. Our trust appraisal information is on the residential appraisals page.

The $750,000 primary-residence petition

If someone died on or after April 1, 2025, the successor to their main California home can ask the court to receive it without a full probate when its gross value at death is $750,000 or less. That limit is adjusted every three years, and this figure applies to deaths before April 1, 2028. The petition needs an appraisal by a probate referee for the county, so the value that qualifies the home is the referee's, not a private appraiser's. Your attorney can tell you whether this petition suits the estate.

Purpose, date and condition

Purpose. Basis records, a listing price and a buyout are different questions. The purpose decides the date and the reporting.

Date. Basis looks to the date of death, or to an alternate date if the executor elects one on an estate tax return. A listing decision looks to the present. Ask whether you need one date or both.

Condition. If the house has been emptied, cleaned or repaired since the death, a date-of-death value has to describe it as it was. Photos and records from that time help.

What to gather

Letters issued by the court (form DE-150), or trust documents showing who can authorize the work
The date of death
The deed, the same one lodged with the inventory
The referee's appraisal, if the inventory has been filed
Photos and records of the condition at death, and a list of later changes
Your attorney's instructions and any hearing or sale date
How to arrange entry

How a probate-related request goes

Purpose first. We confirm the use, the effective date, the intended users and your deadline in a written scope, fee and delivery estimate.
Property visit. We arrange access and review what the records show about the home's condition on the effective date.
Sales research. The appraiser analyzes Riverside sales and market conditions relevant to that date.
Report. The report states its effective date, use, users and assumptions. Legal questions about the estate stay with your attorney.

What it costs

As a price guide, the VA's published appraisal fee for a single-family home in Riverside County is $750 (VA fee schedule, effective May 1, 2026). A private probate appraisal can cost more or less than that, depending on the property and the assignment. A past effective date, the property's complexity and your deadline can all change the fee and the schedule.

Call 951-877-4884 for a quote. You'll get a written scope, fee and delivery estimate before you rely on a hearing or sale date.

Next step

Call us, or send the address, the date of death, who the report is for and any hearing or sale date. For an inherited home with no probate case, see estate appraisals.