What is Limited Authority in California Probate?

In cases with limited authority, the same documents are issued; the Order for Probate and the Letters. However, the difference is the personal representative has limited authority.

The sale price of the property must be within 90% of what the probate referee values the house. It cannot be lower. The probate referee is randomly appointed by the court. What they do is  complete a judicial council form known as the “Inventory & Appraisal.”

In limited authority cases, there are two separate valuations given to the court by the probate referee. The first valuation is given under a “Final Inventory & Appraisal”, which provides the  property value as of the date of death.

For example, if the probate case is filed in 2020, but the decedent passed away on June of 2018, the Final Inventory & Appraisal will provide the value of the property as of June 2018.

The second value provided to the court is a “Reappraisal for Sale Inventory & Appraisal” which provides the court the current value of the property for the purpose of the sale. In limited authority cases, reappraisal has to be done within 1 year from the time you intend to sell.

The property cannot be sold for less than 90% of the reappraised value. Therefore, the court needs this information to be current before you appear in court for the confirmation of sale (Probate Code 10309).

The court also requires that a “Notice of Sale of Real Property” be published in a local newspaper in the county where the property is located, if there is no such newspaper, in such newspaper as the court or judge may direct (Probate Code §10300(a)). The publication is required at least three times over a period of no less than ten days before the sale, and the third publication must be at least a week after the first.

The purpose of this publication is to notify potential buyers that the property will be open to auction in court. Once the newspaper publication is completed, you can execute the Probate Purchase Agreement.

The initial deposit for limited authority cases is 10%. Your buyer needs to clear all contingencies, except for the contingency of court confirmation. Once all contingencies are cleared, the probate attorney will prepare and file the “Report of Sale and Petition for Order Confirming Sale of Real Property.”

This petition discloses the total commission that is to be paid to the real estate agent, the sale price, the address of the real property, the values provided by the probate referee, the deposit amount, and the starting over-bid amount along with the formula for overbids.