• After appointment, the personal representative must marshal, or take possession, of all of the decedent’s property to be administered as part of the probate estate.
• Obtaining a Tax I.D. number:
  Before an estate checking account can be established or existing accounts can be transferred, the personal representative will need to obtain from the Internal Revenue Service a “Tax Identification Number” for himself or herself as Personal Representative of the decedent’s estate.
  This is done by completing an Application for Employer Identification Number ( IRS Form SS-4 ). Call the IRS at (559) 452-4010  to obtain a number. The SS-4 form must be faxed to the IRS at (559) 443-6961 within 24 hours after the tax identification number is assigned. You can also apply for this number on the Internal Revenue Service website at www.irs.gov . 
• Notice of Fiduciary Relationship:
  The personal representative must also notify the Internal Revenue Service of his or her appointment by filing a Notice of Fiduciary Relationship (IRS Form 56 ).
• Intangible Personal property (cash and investments) :
  Once a tax identification number has been obtained, cash accounts standing in the decedent’s name may be closed and transferred to an estate account in the personal representative’s name. If closing the decedent’s account would trigger early withdrawal penalties, the registration of the account may be changed to the name of personal representative without closing the account.
  You will need to talk to the officials at the bank to find out their specific requirements.
  Stock certificates and brokerage accounts should also be changed to reflect the change in ownership from the decedent to the personal representative so that dividends and earnings can be correctly reported on behalf of the estate.
• Real property:
  It is not necessary to record a deed to change title to the decedent’s real property. Instead, the personal representative must notify the Tax Assessor in the county or counties where the decedent’s real property is located by filing with the Assessor the following forms:
• Notice of Death of Real Property Owner
• Preliminary Change of Ownership Report
• Claim for Reassessment Exclusion for Transfer Between Parent and Child (this is required if the property will pass from parents to child) or the Claim for Reassessment Exclusion Form for Transfer Between Grandparent and Grandchild (if the property will pass from grandparent to grandchildren) to avoid property tax reassessment
• Copy of decedent’s death certificate.

These and other forms are available through the website of the Office of the Assessor.

• Within four months after appointment, the personal representative must file with the court an inventory of the property to be administered as part of the probate action, together with an appraisal of the fair market value of each item of property as of the decedent’s date of death.
   
• Preparation of Inventory and Appraisal:
  You must use the printed form, Inventory and Appraisal (Form DE-160, Judicial Council), and the Inventory and Appraisal Attachment (Form DE-161, Judicial Council).
  As personal representative, you should complete and sign the front side of the Inventory and Appraisal form (leaving the line for “Total Appraisal by Referee” blank, but otherwise answering each section), and describe each asset on the Attachment forms.
  Each item of property must be described fully so that it can be identified and appraised, including account numbers, legal descriptions, license numbers, etc. The property is divided into two categories: property that can be appraised by the personal representative (Attachment 1), and property that must be appraised by a probate referee (Attachment 2).
  In addition, each item should reflect whether the property is the decedent’s separate property or the decedent’s one-half interest as community property of the decedent and his or her surviving spouse.
   
• Property to be listed on Attachment 1:
  Money and other “cash” items, including accounts in financial institutions, refund checks (including tax and utility refunds, Medicare, medical insurance and other health care reimbursements), money market funds and cash held in a brokerage cash account, and proceeds of life insurance policies and retirement plans and annuities payable to the decedent’s estate in lump sum amounts.
  Each item should list the dollar value as of the decedent’s date of death.
• Property to be listed on Attachment 2:
  All property not included on Attachment 1, including but not limited to real property; stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other securities; and tangible personal property such as automobiles; partnership and business interests. Household furniture and furnishings may be listed as a collective item rather than listing each item of furniture individually.
  You should not list the value of these items, but should include a blank space after each item, which will be appraised and completed by the probate referee.
  However, if the decedent owned property which would be considered to be a “unique, artistic, unusual or special item of tangible personal property” (such as antique furniture, collectible automobiles, or a coin collection), you may choose to have the item appraised by an independent expert, and should make a notation on the form indicating the property to be appraised by an independent expert.
• Probate referee:
  Probate Referees are qualified appraisers who have passed stringent education and testing requirements and are appointed by the California State Controller’s Office to act as probate referees for each county. See List of Probate Referees for your county.
  At the time of appointment of the personal representative, the Probate Court designates on the Order for Probate the probate referee to be used in that estate. The probate referee’s fees (see the local fee schedule ) are set by law as a commission of 1/10th of one percent of the value of the property appraised by the probate referee, with a minimum fee of $75 (representing property having a value of $75,000) and a maximum fee of $10,000 (representing property having a value of $10,000,000).
  The property appraised by the personal representative (listed on Attachment 1), as well as any property appraised by an independent expert, is not included in the computation of the referee’s fees. The personal representative is responsible to deliver the completed and signed Inventory and Appraisal (with Attachments 1 and 2) to the Probate Referee, together with any supporting data to enable the Probate Referee to appraise the property listed in the Inventory and Appraisal (such as profit and loss statements for closely held or privately owned business interests).
  The Probate Referee should return the completed Inventory and Appraisal with the asset values within 60 days (unless he or she contacts you because additional information is needed).
  Warning: Be careful to describe the property accurately and completely on the Inventory and Appraisal. Some common problems include: 1) promissory notes secured by deeds of trust on real property (failure to fully describe the note and the underlying real property, including the recording information on the deed of trust); 2) failure to specify the decedent’s interest (100%, 50%, 25%, etc.) and whether the property is separate or community property.  

Partial, supplemental, and amended inventories:
If you are able to include all of the estate assets on one Inventory and Appraisal form, the Inventory and Appraisal should be marked as “Final” at the top of the form. You may also file a “Partial” Inventory for some of the assets, and file a “Final” Inventory when the last of the assets are inventoried.
If you discover additional property belonging to the decedent after the “Final” Inventory has been filed, you should file a “Supplemental” Inventory. If you discover that any of the items listed on a previous Inventory were incorrect (for example, the account number or legal description was wrong), you should file a “Corrected” Inventory to fix the error.
Failure to correct errors can lead to a delay in getting final approval from the court to close and distribute the assets of the estate!