Selling an inherited home is one part of a much bigger job. We help you manage the whole thing.
Kim Ward, CPREA, and her team guide executors, administrators, and trustees through every stage of an inherited property, from the day you're appointed to the day the estate closes, so you can meet your fiduciary duties without guessing at the details.
Key Takeaways
- Kim Ward has completed more than 500 probate and trust home sales throughout San Diego County over more than 25 years. (Source: Kim Ward / Horizon Real Estate transaction records, 2026)
- Kim is a Certified Probate Real Estate Advisor (CPREA) and the founder of the CPREA designation, which trains agents nationally on probate and trust property sales.
- California DRE license #01218310 covers Kim's brokerage activity across San Diego County.
- The Probate and Trust Home Sale Process™ is Kim's structured, named framework for managing an inherited property from appointment to closing. (Source: Kim Ward, "The Probate and Trust Home Sale Process," 2026)
What makes an inherited property sale different?
Most executors, administrators, and trustees are managing a property for the first time, often while grieving, while also handling legal deadlines, remaining personal property, and family expectations. A typical home sale playbook does not account for court confirmation, Notice of Proposed Action timelines, vacant property risk, or beneficiary communication, and that is exactly where Kim's team focuses.
Many of the homes Kim helps sell have been owned by one family for decades. That usually means deferred maintenance, title questions, unresolved insurance, and personal belongings that still need to be addressed before the property can go to market. Kim builds a plan for each of those pieces so the family is not solving them one crisis at a time.
- Property preparation and vendor coordination
- Pricing strategy grounded in date of death valuation
- Disclosure compliance for inherited property
- Vacant property oversight and risk reduction
- Escrow management through court or trustee requirements
Trained by the person who wrote the standard
Through ProbateBiz and the CPREA designation, Kim has trained real estate professionals across the country on the specific challenges of probate and trust property sales, and brings that same structured approach to every San Diego County family she works with directly.
A five-stage process built for fiduciaries, not just sellers
Every inherited property moves through the same core stages, appointment, assessment, preparation, marketing, and closing. Kim's process names each one so nothing gets handled out of order or missed.
Appointment & Orientation
Kim reviews the letters of administration or trust documents, confirms authority to act, and walks the fiduciary through the timeline and decisions ahead.
Property Assessment
A full walkthrough identifies deferred maintenance, title issues, remaining personal property, insurance gaps, and safety concerns before anything is listed.
Preparation & Pricing
Vendors are coordinated for repairs and clean-out, and pricing strategy is set using date of death valuation alongside current market data.
Marketing & Disclosure
The property is marketed to both retail buyers and investors where appropriate, with disclosures handled correctly for inherited property.
Escrow & Court Confirmation
Kim manages escrow through any required court confirmation or trustee sign-off, and coordinates final distribution details with the fiduciary's team.
Common questions, answered directly
Probate property sales
Independent Administration of Estates Act authority, Notice of Proposed Action, court confirmation sales, and what changes when a property must be sold through probate.
Browse Probate FAQs →Trust property sales
Successor trustee duties, beneficiary communication, trust accounting basics, and how selling a trust-owned home differs from a standard sale.
Browse Trust FAQs →What clients say after working with us
Janice and Andy, acting as trustees on the sale of a Hillcrest property, said Kim and the Horizon team were sympathetic to their family's needs from the very first meeting during a difficult time, and that the final "results exceeded our expectations."
Janice and Andy, Trustee (Source: probateandtrusthelp.com, accessed 2026)
Joanie B., who sold a Genesee Avenue condo through probate, said Kim's office first reached her with an informative property-preparation booklet rather than cold calls, and that her probate attorney separately recommended Kim, which made the choice easy. She noted the team "worked very hard to sell the property" despite the complex's age-restriction rules, and valued Kim's grasp of probate law throughout.
Joanie B., Seller (Source: probateandtrusthelp.com, accessed 2026)
A few places to verify what's here
Probate and trust real estate is governed by California law and county court procedure, not just brokerage practice. These are useful primary sources if you want to read the underlying rules yourself: