California also has processes that bypass probate depending on the net worth of the diseased. You should not be paying anyone $40K just for probate in Californi

California also has processes that bypass probate depending on the net worth of the diseased. You should not be paying anyone $40K just for probate in California. There is a progressive fee schedule that would limit the costs of a $1MM estate to about $20K. If you really don’t want that property, just let the bank repossess it. You’re not required to do anything with it. If for some reason the house was not foreclosed on you would eventually be able to claim it from the state. Banks also have procedures for next of kin to take over mortgages while you sort this out, should you want to. My brother passed this year and I paid an attorney about $1000 for some very basic templated documents on a probate-less estate in CA. The key was setting everything (before passing!) to have myself or the intended recipient as a beneficiary or joint owner. I further distributed the assets per his will and used the Small Estate process for what he had left. Items my brother placed in my name are legally a gift and I’ll be filing gift tax paperwork in his final return. Note that the Gift Tax is not a paid tax in Federal returns, but a reduction in your Estate Tax exemption. This is still a zero tax transfer since my brother’s estate was no where near that exemption. For what I further transferred, anything over the gift tax limit will eat into the portion of my Estate Tax exemption that is set to disappear in 2026. It’s low enough that it won’t materially affect me. If it’s extended and I manage to have my own $20MM estate there will definitely be trusts and distributions before I pass. Estate planning isn’t difficult. Find a good CFP and/or Estate Lawyer and speak with them. https://www.courts.ca.gov/10440.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en https://www.courts.ca.gov/10440.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en