Trustees often ask me some version of the same question: the house is sitting empty, the utilities are running, and everyone keeps saying to wait, but wait for what? In a California trust administration, the answer is usually the 120-day contest period. It is one of the most misunderstood dates in selling a trust-held home, because it affects distributions and risk much more than it affects whether a house can be listed.
The short answer: after a trust becomes irrevocable at a death, the trustee must serve a notification on beneficiaries and heirs within 60 days. Anyone served generally cannot contest the trust more than 120 days after service, or 60 days after receiving a copy of the trust terms during that window, whichever is later. California law does not automatically stop a trustee from preparing or selling a house during that period, but it expressly lets the trustee consider the open contest window when timing distributions. Whether to sell before it closes is a risk decision for the trustee and the trust's attorney.
In this guide: The 60-day notice and the 120-day window · Can a trustee sell during the window? · What to weigh · What to do while the clock runs · Disclosures on a trust sale · A sample timeline · Questions I get
What are the 60-day notice and the 120-day contest window?
California Probate Code section 16061.7 requires the trustee to serve a "notification by trustee" when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because a settlor died. It goes to each beneficiary and each heir of the deceased settlor, and it must be served within 60 days of the death, or within 60 days of the trustee learning about someone entitled to it. The notice includes the trustee's contact information and tells recipients they can ask for a copy of the trust terms.
It must also include a boldface warning, and that warning is where the 120 days comes from. Under section 16061.8, a person served cannot bring an action to contest the trust more than 120 days from the date the notice is served, or 60 days from the date a copy of the trust terms is delivered to them during that 120-day period, whichever is later. A trustee who fails to serve the notice can be responsible for resulting damages, attorney's fees, and costs.
Can a trustee sell the house before the 120 days are up?
The contest statute sets a deadline for lawsuits. It is not a listing moratorium. Many trust instruments give the trustee the power to sell real property, and a trustee typically proves that authority to escrow and title with a certification of trust under Probate Code section 18100.5 rather than handing over the whole trust.
What the law does address is distributions. Section 16061.9 says a trustee, in deciding the timing and nature of distributions, may consider that the contest period has not expired. That is why the common approach in practice is not "never sell early" but "be careful about distributing proceeds early." A sale can close into the trust's account while the money waits.
Whether your trustee should sell during the window depends on the trust's terms, the family, and the attorney's advice. I will not guess at that for you, and you should not let a real estate agent decide it either.
What should a trustee weigh before listing early?
Reasons to move sooner | Reasons to wait |
|---|---|
A vacant home carries taxes, utilities, insurance, and upkeep every month | A beneficiary or heir has signaled a dispute |
Beneficiaries agree in writing on selling and on the price range | Heirship is unclear, or someone has not been located |
A seasonal market window matters for this property | A family member may want to keep the home and move in |
The home is deteriorating or hard to insure while vacant | The trust's authority to sell is unclear or needs court instructions |
One question belongs early: does anyone in the family want to keep the house? If a child plans to move in, the Prop 19 parent-child exclusion and its one-year deadlines come into play, and I cover those in my guide to inheriting a home under Prop 19. If the surviving spouse is the one planning a move, my guide to Prop 19 downsizing in Newport Beach covers that path.
What can a trustee do while the 120-day clock runs?
Quite a lot, and doing it now is what makes a later sale go well:
- Secure and insure the home. Tell the insurer the home is vacant and confirm coverage.
- Order a date-of-death appraisal if the attorney or CPA needs one for basis and accounting.
- File the county paperwork. In Orange County, the Change in Ownership Statement after a death is due within 150 days.
- Clear out personal property once the beneficiaries have taken what they want, with a written inventory.
- Get a pricing opinion and a repair list so the trustee and beneficiaries see the same numbers.
- Gather documents for escrow: death certificate, certification of trust, and the grant deed.
Does a trustee have to give the usual seller disclosures?
Partly. California Civil Code section 1102.2 exempts sales by a fiduciary in the course of administering a trust from the Transfer Disclosure Statement requirement. There is an important exception: the exemption does not apply when the trustee is a natural person serving as trustee of a revocable trust who is a former owner of the property or lived in it within the preceding year. A trustee who is also the adult child who lived in the home may not qualify. Either way, the exemption from one form does not erase the duty to disclose known material facts, so confirm the disclosure package with the trust's attorney. My post on trust sales vs. probate sales in Orange County explains how the two processes differ.
A sample timeline for a trust-held home
When | What typically happens |
|---|---|
Days 1 to 14 | Secure the home, notify the insurer, locate the trust, deed, and tax bill |
By day 60 | Trustee serves the notification by trustee on beneficiaries and heirs |
Days 30 to 120 | Appraisal, clean-out, pricing, repair decisions, family decision on keeping or selling |
By day 150 | Change in Ownership Statement filed with the assessor |
About 120 days after service | Contest period generally closes, subject to the 60-day rule for late-delivered trust terms |
After that, or earlier with counsel's approval | List, sell, and distribute according to the trust |
Questions I get about selling during the 120-day period
What is the 120-day period after a trust becomes irrevocable in California?
It is the time limit to contest the trust. Under Probate Code section 16061.8, a person served with the trustee's notification generally cannot contest the trust more than 120 days after service, or 60 days after receiving the trust terms during that period, whichever is later.
Can a trustee sell a house before the 120-day contest period ends?
The statute does not automatically prohibit it, and many trusts give the trustee power to sell. The risk is mainly in distributing proceeds early, which the law lets a trustee consider when deciding timing. Get the trust attorney's advice before listing.
When does the trustee have to send the notification?
Within 60 days after the trust becomes irrevocable because of the death, or within 60 days after learning of a person entitled to notice.
Does a trustee have to fill out a Transfer Disclosure Statement?
Sales by a fiduciary administering a trust are generally exempt, but not if the trustee is an individual trustee of a revocable trust who previously owned or lived in the home within the past year. Known material facts should still be disclosed.
What can a trustee do while waiting?
Secure and insure the home, get an appraisal and pricing opinion, clear personal property with an inventory, gather escrow documents, and file the assessor's Change in Ownership Statement.
A note from Jade
The 120 days do not have to be dead time. Most of the work that decides how a trust sale goes, from pricing to repairs to paperwork, can happen while the attorney handles the notice and the family decides. My trustee and executor guide lays out that preparation in order.
Sources and further reading: Probate Code section 16061.7 · section 16061.8 · section 16061.9 · section 18100.5 · Civil Code section 1102.2 · Revenue and Taxation Code section 480. Rules verified September 2026.
This is general real estate education, not legal or tax advice. Trust administration depends on the trust document, the family, and the facts. Work with the trust's attorney before listing, selling, or distributing trust property.
