Probate Deposits: How Much and Where They Go

The California Probate Code does not set one deposit amount for a probate house sale. The amount is a term of the purchase agreement, reported to the court on the Report of Sale (form DE-260), and several county courts set their own figure by local rule: San Bernardino County's rule asks for ten percent of the total sales price, deposited with the personal representative, and San Diego County's asks for a reasonable deposit held by the personal representative. An overbidder at the confirmation hearing brings a separate deposit in certified funds, and what happens to each deposit afterward depends on who the court confirms the sale to and whether that buyer closes.

This article walks through each deposit, who holds it, and where it goes. It describes the process; it does not tell you how to run your case. The estate's attorney sets the terms of sale, and the court decides what it will accept.

Does the Probate Code set a deposit amount?

No. The statutes on confirmation sales set the price floor, the overbid increments and what the court must find before it confirms, but they leave the deposit to the contract and to local practice. Three pieces of the code still shape it:

• The report of sale. Item 4d of form DE-260 has two blanks side by side: "Amount bid" and "Deposit." Whatever the agreement says goes in front of the judge.
• The overbidder must be a "responsible person." Probate Code section 10311 makes the court accept a qualifying higher offer only from a responsible person whose offer complies with the law. A deposit in hand is the most common way a court checks that.
• A buyer who fails to close is liable. Section 10350 lets the court vacate the order, order a resale and hold the defaulting purchaser liable for the price shortfall, the expenses the breach caused and other consequential damages. The code does not say the deposit covers those damages; the agreement and the attorney decide that.

What the local rules say, county by county

Where a county court has written a deposit rule, it is in that court's local rules. Here is what the rules we opened say about the two deposits.

County courtThe accepted buyer's depositThe overbidder's deposit at the hearing

San Bernardino (Local Rule 20-807)

A set share of the total sales price, deposited with the personal representative; exceptions under special circumstances, for example FHA or VA financing

Cash or a certified or cashier's check for a set share of the initial overbid, when the personal representative asks for it

San Diego (Local Rules 4.13.6 and 4.13.11)

A reasonable deposit, made before confirmation and held by the personal representative

Certified funds or cashier's checks for a set share of the bid, plus a loan qualification letter or bank statements

Los Angeles (Local Rule 4.39)

The sale rule covers notice, the bid form and commissions; it sets no deposit figure

A "Bid In Open Court on Sale of Real Property" form, completed by counsel and signed by the successful bidder

The shares in the San Bernardino and San Diego rules are written as ten percent. San Bernardino's rule 20-807(a) says ten percent "of the total sales price must be deposited with the personal representative," and 20-807(f) asks an overbidder, at the personal representative's request, for ten percent of the initial overbid. San Diego's rule 4.13.11 says a potential overbidder "should have in their possession" certified funds or cashier's checks of at least ten percent of the amount they will bid. For Orange, Riverside and Ventura counties, ask the estate's attorney what the court expects; which courthouse hears each county's cases is in which superior court handles your county's probate.

Where the accepted buyer's deposit sits

Two arrangements show up, and the paperwork has to say which one applies:

• With an escrow company, under the agreement. When the agreement names an escrow holder, the deposit goes there, with instructions that tie its release to the order confirming sale. The agreement's other special terms are in the probate purchase agreement and its special terms.
• With the personal representative, under a local rule. San Bernardino and San Diego both write the rule as a deposit held by the personal representative. In practice the attorney decides how that is done; ask before writing the check.

Either way, the deposit is credited toward the price at closing if the court confirms the sale to that buyer. After closing, the order confirming sale (form DE-265) may direct escrow to put the net proceeds in a blocked account "to be withdrawn only on court order," which is about the estate's money, not the buyer's deposit, but it explains why the escrow file stays open until the attorney supplies the order.

The overbidder's deposit at the hearing

An overbidder arrives with money in a form the court can see. San Diego's own Increased Bid in Open Court form (SDSC PR-065) has the bidder check "cash" or "a certified check" and fill in the percent of the bid submitted with it, and its local rule 4.13.12 says the form must be completed, signed and filed before the hearing ends, or confirmation is not effective. A bidder appearing by video must be able to send the form to the clerk before the hearing closes.

The overbid itself has a statutory floor. Section 10311 requires a higher offer to beat the original bid by at least ten percent of the first ten thousand dollars and five percent of the rest, and DE-260 item 10 works that out on the form. How the auction in the courtroom runs is in what a confirmation and overbid does to a cash offer.

What happens to each deposit after the hearing

Outcome at the hearingAccepted buyer's depositOverbidder's deposit

Confirmed to the accepted buyer

Stays in place and is credited at closing

Not used; the bidder keeps the funds

Confirmed to an overbidder

Handled as the agreement and escrow instructions say; ask in writing how and when it comes back

Goes toward that bidder's purchase, as the court's order and escrow provide

Hearing continued

Stays where it is until the new date

Bidders return with funds on the new date

Confirmed buyer fails to close

At risk, under the agreement and section 10350

A losing bidder may be asked to step in under section 10351

Hearings can be continued, and a deposit that sits for a moved hearing is one reason the agreement should say how long the buyer is bound. That is covered in continuances and the buyer who must wait.

If the confirmed buyer does not close

The code gives the estate two routes. Under section 10350, the personal representative can petition to vacate the order and resell, and the defaulting buyer owes the difference between the contract price and the resale price, plus the expenses the breach made necessary and other consequential damages. Under section 10351, if a petition is filed within 60 days after confirmation showing that the buyer failed to complete the purchase and that someone else bid the same or more, on the same or better terms, the court may vacate the first order and confirm to that bidder instead.

Neither section mentions the deposit. Whether the estate keeps it, applies it against damages or returns part of it depends on the agreement and on the court. That is a question for the estate's attorney, and it is worth asking before signing, not after a buyer walks away.

What to ask a cash buyer about the deposit

1. How much, and when? The amount on the agreement should match what the attorney will put in DE-260 item 4d and what the county's rule expects.
2. Who holds it? An independent escrow company named in the agreement, or the personal representative if the local rule and the attorney call for it.
3. What returns it if the house is overbid? The agreement or escrow instructions should say so in plain words.
4. Is the buyer bound through a continuance? A deposit tied to an offer that expires before a moved hearing protects nobody.
5. Will the buyer bring a second deposit to bid back? If the buyer plans to answer an overbid in the courtroom, they need certified funds that day, as the local rules above describe.

Offers that come through Mr. Cali Offers are made by independent buyers and investors, not by Mr. Cali Offers itself. On the confirmation track they are written with the deposit held by an independent escrow company and the answers to these five questions on the page, so the attorney can drop them into the court file. Every probate topic in one place is in the probate sales knowledge center, and the full sequence is in the pillar on court confirmation, overbid and cash that holds.

What this looks like in practice

These are the kinds of files that come in, described without names or figures.

• An administrator with limited authority on an Upland house near Euclid Avenue. The case is in San Bernardino County, so the attorney checks rule 20-807 before the agreement is signed, and the deposit line on the agreement is written to match it.
• An executor whose hearing has already been continued once. The buyer's deposit has been in escrow since acceptance, and the question is whether the agreement keeps the buyer bound to the new date. The answer goes in writing to the attorney.
• A family expecting overbidders. The administrator wants to know whether the original buyer will bid back. The buyer says in writing whether they will attend and bring certified funds.

When listing serves the estate better

A deposit rule does not decide which route nets more. A house in good condition that would finance easily and draw owner-occupants can bring the estate more on the open market, especially when the representative has full authority and the sale can skip the hearing. Each estate file gets two numbers for that reason: the as-is cash offer and an open-market read, which is a preliminary estimate, not an appraisal. When listing nets more, the written recommendation says so and introduces a designated local expert. To have both prepared, with the deposit terms written for the court, see how probate sale offers are written for the court's file or call (909) 498-3977. There is no cost and no obligation to get the two numbers and the written report.

Sources

• California Probate Code section 10311 (overbid at the confirmation hearing; responsible person), copy read on california.public.law, accessed November 6, 2026
• California Probate Code section 10350 (default by purchaser; resale and damages), copy read on california.public.law, accessed November 6, 2026
• California Probate Code section 10351 (vacating confirmation and confirming to another bidder), copy read on california.public.law, accessed November 6, 2026
• Judicial Council of California, form DE-260, Report of Sale and Petition for Order Confirming Sale of Real Property: courts.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• Judicial Council of California, form DE-265, Order Confirming Sale of Real Property: courts.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino, Local Rules of Court, rule 20-807 (court confirmation of private sales): sanbernardino.courts.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, Local Rules Division IV (Probate), rules 4.13.6, 4.13.11 and 4.13.12: sdcourt.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, form SDSC PR-065, Increased Bid in Open Court: sdcourt.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, Local Rules Chapter Four (Probate), rule 4.39: lacourt.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026

Mr. Cali Offers is not a law firm; the estate's attorney sets the deposit terms and answers how a deposit is handled. Cash offers come from independent buyers and investors who buy for their own account and may resell for profit; a cash offer is generally below what the open market would bring. Any value shown is a preliminary estimate, not an appraisal. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice.