Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

If an estate has real property, and you are administering a will, I'm supposing that you are operating within a probate proceeding. The Probate Code provides (section 11004) "The personal representative shall be allowed all necessary expenses in the administration of the estate, including, but not limited to, necessary expenses in the care, management, preservation, and settlement of the estate."

I believe that you should have your own lawyer, and probate-related attorney fees are largely regulated by statute at quite reasonable levels. Your attorney could assist you with issues such as the mechanics of dealing with the heirs and making your reports to the court, as well as how to accumulate and present your expenses for approval and reimbursement.

Finally, this is not primarily a real estate and real property question, and you will probably get better-informed answers if you re-ask your question as a wills or administration of estates question on LawGuru. Questions are farmed out to lawyers based on legal specialty and the average real estate attorney doesn't know the ins-and-outs of probate.

All legitimate, reasonable and necessary expenses of administering the estate are reimbursable to the approved administrator. You have to submit proper documentation and get court approval, then submit that for payment from the sale proceeds. If you need legal representation in this, feel free to contact me.