What is a Heggstad petition?

A Heggstad petition is a legal tool used in California to transfer assets into a trust after someone has passed away, even if those assets were never formally titled in the name of the trust. It is based on the case Estate of Heggstad, which allows a successor trustee to ask the court to recognize property as part of the trust when there is clear evidence the decedent intended to include it. It can help families avoid the time and expense of probate when a home, bank account, or other asset was mistakenly left out of the trust.

How long does a Heggstad petition take? Do you offer ex parte services?

The timeline varies by county. Many counties, including San Francisco, Alameda, Riverside, San Bernardino, Mendocino, and San Diego, can hear and decide a Heggstad petition in 2-3 months. Other counties, including San Mateo and Orange County, may require 6 months. When time is critical and all parties consent, an ex parte petition can often secure a court order in just days.

How much does a Heggstad petition cost?

The Law Office of Ravi Patel provides Heggstad petition services for flat rates starting at $3,500 to recover one property or up to two accounts, on a flat-fee, contingent pricing model: you pay nothing upfront, and no legal fees are due until you have a signed court order in hand.

Who can file a Heggstad petition?

A Heggstad petition is normally filed by the successor trustee, often a surviving spouse or child. Beneficiaries and heirs may also file in some situations, but should generally defer to the successor trustee unless the trustee is neglecting their fiduciary duties. In rare cases, anyone with a legitimate interest in the trust and the property may petition under Probate Code section 850.

Where should a Heggstad petition be filed?

Venue usually depends on where the successor trustee conducts the trust's day-to-day business, normally the county where the trustee lives, not where the decedent died or where the property is located. Courts have grown strict about venue, and filing in the wrong county can delay a petition by months.

What documents are filed with a Heggstad petition?

A well-supported petition generally includes copies of the decedent's trust, the decedent's last will, current title documents such as the most recent deed or account statement, the trustee's notice to beneficiaries under Probate Code 16061.7, and any other evidence showing the decedent treated the property as trust property.

Who gets notice of a Heggstad petition?

Trustees, beneficiaries, heirs, and anyone who owns or claims an interest in the property are entitled to notice of the petition and hearing, served on the required Judicial Council form with a copy of the petition. Notice may be sent by first-class mail, but certified mail is often best practice for proof of delivery.

What happens after a Heggstad petition is granted?

The court issues an order confirming the property belongs to the trust. For real property, the trustee records the order with the county recorder. For accounts, the trustee presents the order to the bank or financial institution. The trustee can then administer or distribute the property under the terms of the trust, with no probate required.

Heggstad petition vs. probate: which is faster and cheaper?

Both can move an asset that was left out of a trust, but the difference is time and money. Even with a pour-over will, a formal probate typically requires publication, an appraisal, multiple hearings, and a year or more, with costs that can exceed $10,000 for even a simple estate. Nearly all Heggstad petitions resolve in 2 to 6 months, at a fraction of the cost.

Inherited Home Foreclosures

Stop the Foreclosure. Sell the Home. Anywhere in California.

When a loved one passes away with a mortgaged home and there is no money to pay the lender, the foreclosure clock starts running. We help heirs, trustees, and administrators stop the sale and get the time they need to sell the home at full market value. Our pricing is outcome-based: when the home sells and the equity comes to your family, that is how we get paid.

Book a free consultation below and an attorney will call you, or call (510) 443-0443 to book an appointment.

Book a Consultation

What can you do when an inherited home is in foreclosure?

The mortgage does not die with the borrower, and the lender does not have to wait for probate. If the loan goes unpaid, the servicer records a notice of default and the home moves toward a trustee’s sale, often while the family is still grieving and the estate is still being set up. California law now gives families real tools to pause that sale and protect the home’s equity.

The first tool is Assembly Bill 2424, effective in 2025. Delivering a broker’s listing agreement to the foreclosure trustee at least five business days before the sale postpones it by at least 45 days, and delivering a signed purchase agreement adds at least 45 more. The law also forbids selling the home at the initial auction for less than 67 percent of its fair market value. Attorney Ravi Patel wrote an article on AB 2424 published by the California Lawyers Association, and we put these protections to work for families across the state.

When the statute is not enough, we go to court, on an emergency basis when needed: restraining orders halting a sale, orders appointing a trustee or administrator with power to act, orders authorizing a listing over an uncooperative co-trustee, and expedited Heggstad and Primary Residence Petitions that put the home in sellable hands before the auction date.

Book a Consultation

Recent Matters

Serving all of California.

Los Angeles County

The lender’s auction was days away. We filed suit and obtained a temporary restraining order stopping the foreclosure of an estate home, and the home later sold at full market value through a court-confirmed probate sale.

Alameda County

A home in a family trust could not be listed for sale because a co-trustee refused to cooperate. We obtained an ex parte order authorizing our client to sign the listing agreement, unlocking AB 2424’s foreclosure postponement so the home could be marketed.

What happens to the mortgage when someone dies?

The loan does not disappear, and in most cases it does not automatically come due either. Federal law lets family members who inherit a home take over the existing mortgage, and the servicer must recognize a documented successor in interest, communicate with them, and consider them for relief options.

But if nobody pays, the lender does not have to wait for probate. The servicer can record a notice of default and push the home toward a trustee’s sale even while the estate is still being sorted out. That is the trap this practice exists to solve: getting your family enough time to sell the home on your own terms instead of losing it at auction.

How does AB 2424 help families facing foreclosure?

AB 2424, effective January 1, 2025, built three protections into California’s foreclosure statutes. Delivering a licensed broker’s listing agreement to the foreclosure trustee at least five business days before the sale postpones the sale by at least 45 days. Once the home is in escrow, delivering the signed purchase agreement postpones it again, to at least 45 days after the trustee receives it. And the home cannot be sold at the initial auction for less than 67 percent of its lender-assessed fair market value.

Each postponement can be used only once, the paperwork must be exact, and the deadlines are unforgiving, so families should not run this play alone. Attorney Ravi Patel wrote about the new law in an article published by the California Lawyers Association, and other technical analyses of AB 2424 are available as well.

Can a court stop a foreclosure sale?

Yes. When a sale cannot be postponed by statute, a lawsuit and an emergency application can stop it. California courts can issue a temporary restraining order halting a scheduled trustee sale when the lender has not met its legal obligations, such as the duty to contact the borrower or the borrower’s successor about alternatives before recording a notice of default. Courts hear these applications quickly, and we have obtained an order stopping an auction that was only days away.

No one has authority to sell the home. What can we do?

This is one of the most common reasons an inherited home slides into foreclosure: the person trying to save it has no legal power to sign a listing agreement, and AB 2424’s protections require one. The probate court can fix this, on an emergency basis when needed. It can appoint a successor trustee or personal representative, authorize a trustee or co-trustee to sign a listing agreement over another’s refusal, or confirm title through a Heggstad or Primary Residence Petition so the successors can sell. We match the tool to your situation.

How fast can you act?

Quickly. California courts hear ex parte, meaning emergency, applications on a few days’ notice, and we have obtained orders stopping a foreclosure sale in as little as a few days. In one matter, where the estate could not carry the property at all, we obtained an expedited ex parte order, with all interested parties consenting, so a pending sale could close on deadline. Book a free consultation and we can talk about what can realistically be done before your sale date.

What does outcome-based pricing mean?

It means our fee is tied to the result. Families in this situation rarely have cash on hand, and the equity in the home is locked up until the home sells, so we do not ask you to fund the fight up front. If we are able to sell the home and generate value and more equity for you, that is how we get paid: our fee comes out of the sale, when the home sells and the equity comes to your family. We explain the exact structure in your free consultation, before you commit to anything.

The foreclosure sale already happened. Is it too late?

Not necessarily. If the trustee’s deed has not yet been recorded, there may still be room to act, and even a completed sale can sometimes be challenged when it was conducted in violation of the foreclosure statutes. If the sale stands, the surplus funds, meaning the amount the winning bid exceeded the debt, belong to the former owner’s successors, and we can pursue them through the trustee or the court. Either way, contact us as soon as possible; every day narrows the options.

Which tool is right for our situation?

That depends on how the home is titled, how much time is left before the sale, and who is willing to cooperate. A home in a trust may need a trustee appointment or a Heggstad petition. A home still in the decedent’s name may call for a Primary Residence Petition or a probate with an emergency request. A sale that is days away may require a restraining order first and paperwork second. This is exactly what the free consultation is for: we look at the notice of default, the title, and the calendar, and we give you a concrete plan.

Is the home you inherited headed to a foreclosure sale?

If it is, time matters more than anything else. Book a free consultation below, or call (510) 443-0443, and an attorney will call you, go over your sale date and the title to the home, and talk through what can be done and how the outcome-based fee would work. We handle these matters in every California county, and we would be glad to help your family.