This glossary collects plain-language definitions of the terms families encounter during a California probate or trust real-estate sale, from executor to intestate succession to a comparative market analysis. Each entry explains the general concept in a sentence or two, links to a few related terms, and points to a fuller guide where one exists. None of them tell you how a term applies to your specific situation, that depends on the facts of a particular estate, will, trust, or deed. For that, talk with a probate attorney or, for the real-estate side, Alex Gonzalez.
Why this glossary exists
Most people only encounter this vocabulary once, when they’re suddenly the executor named in a parent’s will, or the successor trustee stepping in after a family member passes away. The terms show up in court forms, attorney letters, title company paperwork, and conversations with a real estate agent, usually without much explanation, because everyone else in the room already knows what they mean. A short, plain-language glossary won’t replace legal advice, and it isn’t meant to. What it does is make those conversations easier: knowing the difference between an executor and a personal representative, or between probate and a living trust, means you can ask sharper questions and actually follow the answers instead of nodding along and hoping it becomes clear later.
Two kinds of terms in this glossary
The terms below fall into two rough groups. Court and estate-administration terms (administrator, decedent, estate, fiduciary, heir, intestate, personal representative, probate) come from California’s probate code and show up in court filings whether or not real estate is involved. Real-estate and trust terms (comparative market analysis, executor, living trust, successor trustee) are the ones that matter specifically once a home or other property needs to be sold. Several terms straddle both categories, which is exactly why they end up needing a plain-language definition in the first place rather than just a dictionary entry that assumes you already know the surrounding context.
How each entry is structured
Every term below follows the same short pattern: a one- or two-sentence definition in plain English, a note on where the term is most likely to come up during a probate or trust real-estate sale, and links to a few closely related terms so you can build context term-by-term instead of searching through a full guide. Several entries also link out to a longer guide (on the probate timeline, on selling real estate from a living trust, or on a specific document like Letters Testamentary) for readers who want the fuller explanation rather than the short version.
Terms are listed alphabetically below. This glossary is still growing: it currently covers the terms that have cleared compliance review, and will expand as more terms clear review, including, for several of the remaining terms, sign-off from a named California probate attorney.
General California probate and trust real-estate education. Not legal, tax, title, appraisal, or court advice. Talk with a qualified professional about your situation.
Terms
- Administrator
- Beneficiary
- Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)
- Decedent
- Estate
- Executor
- Fiduciary
- Heir
- Intestate / Intestacy
- Living Trust
- Personal Representative
- Probate
- Successor Trustee
More terms will be added here as each one clears compliance and, where required, attorney review. If you’re new to this topic entirely, a reasonable place to start is Probate or Living Trust, whichever applies to the property in question, since most of the other terms on this page are defined in relation to one of those two starting points.
Official resource: The California Courts Self-Help Guide keeps its own list of probate terms, which you can use alongside this glossary when you are reading court forms.