San Bernardino Probate Court: Filing, Timeline, and Cash Advances

If a family member died with assets in San Bernardino County, those assets generally move through the San Bernardino County Superior Court Probate Division before the heirs can receive them. This page walks through how that process works in SB County specifically. Where to file, how long the wait typically runs, what California statutory fees cost, and the realistic options for accessing inheritance cash before probate closes.

The San Bernardino County Superior Court Probate Division

Decedent's estate probate cases in San Bernardino County are heard by the San Bernardino County Superior Court Probate Division. The primary courthouse for SB County probate is the San Bernardino Justice Center at 247 West Third Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415. Conservatorship, guardianship, decedent's estate, and trust matters are all heard there.

SB County is the largest county by area in the contiguous United States, covering everything from the city of San Bernardino in the south to the Mojave Desert and Needles in the north and east. Most probate matters are heard at the central courthouse regardless of where in the county the decedent lived, though some matters originating in the High Desert may be filed at the Victorville courthouse. For current courthouse hours, filing windows, and the most up-to-date probate calendar, the Court's official information lives at sb-court.org. The Court's Self-Help Center has plain-language guides for self-represented heirs and personal representatives.

How Long Probate Takes in San Bernardino County

California probate has a statutory expectation set by California Probate Code section 12200. The personal representative is required to close the estate within one year of issuance of Letters (or 18 months if a federal estate tax return is required), or file a status report under section 12201 explaining the delay.

Typical SB County probate timeline by case type:

• Simple estate, no real property, responsive personal representative. 9 to 12 months from Petition for Probate to Order for Final Distribution.
• Estate with real property, no contested issues. 12 to 18 months. The additional time is driven mostly by the court-confirmed sale process under California Probate Code section 10300 and related sections when a personal representative does not have full IAEA authority.
• Estate with multiple heirs, contested distribution, or will contest. 18 to 30 plus months.
• Estate with a 706 federal estate tax return. 15 to 24 months, with the longer window built into Probate Code section 12200 for tax cases.

SB County's geographic size means logistics matter more here than in compact counties. The four-month creditor claim window under section 9100 still applies on every California probate, SB County included.

Statutory Probate Costs in California

California is one of a small number of states that fixes probate attorney and executor fees by statute. Both the attorney for the personal representative and the personal representative themselves are entitled to a fee under the same graduated schedule, set out in California Probate Code section 10810 (attorney) and section 10800 (executor):

• 4 percent of the first $100,000 of the estate's gross value
• 3 percent of the next $100,000
• 2 percent of the next $800,000
• 1 percent of the next $9 million
• 0.5 percent of the next $15 million
• Above $25 million, the court sets a reasonable fee on petition

The attorney and executor each receive this schedule independently. For a $500,000 SB County estate, the combined statutory fees are $26,000. For a $750,000 estate, $36,000. Extraordinary fees (will contests, complex tax filings, real-property sales) are additional and require a separate court order under section 10811. The court filing fee for a new Petition for Probate in SB County Superior Court is currently $435 plus applicable surcharges.

Small-Estate Alternatives in California

Not every SB County decedent's estate has to go through full probate. California has three simplified alternatives that can move much faster when the dollar thresholds permit:

• Small estate affidavit (section 13100). For personal property worth up to $208,850. No court case required. The successor signs an affidavit 40 days after the death.
• Petition to Determine Succession to Real Property (sections 13150-13152). For the decedent's primary California residence with a gross value up to $750,000 under the AB 2016 threshold effective April 1, 2025.
• Spousal or Domestic Partner Property Petition (section 13500). For property passing to a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, with no dollar limit.

For a fuller walkthrough of when each alternative applies, see our guide to transferring property after a death in California.

Where Probate Advances Fit In

For heirs whose share of an SB County estate runs through full probate, the practical question is how to manage the 9 to 18 plus month wait between the petition filing and the eventual final distribution. Mortgages, rent, medical bills, and ordinary cost-of-living expenses do not pause while probate runs.

A probate advance is the financial product designed for that gap. A probate-advance company purchases a portion of the heir's expected inheritance share at a discount, paid as a lump sum now, and is repaid directly from the estate when probate distributes. It is not a loan. There are no monthly payments, no credit check, and the heir is not personally liable if the estate distributes less than expected (non-recourse).

The San Bernardino County Probate-Advance Market

San Bernardino is one of the more active California counties for probate-advance funding. CSF's analysis of California Superior Court probate filings between January 2024 and May 2026 identifies 43 SB County probate cases in which a tracked probate-advance company was named as a funding party on the docket. The per-funder breakdown:

Source: CSF analysis of California Superior Court probate filings between January 2024 and May 2026. Includes every SB County probate case in which a tracked probate-advance company was named as a party on the docket. Shares exceed 100 percent because 10 cases (23 percent) had more than one funder named.

The notable SB County data point is the tie at the top (Inheritance Funding Company and Probate Advance, LLC each had 19 cases, 44 percent), with the next two funders (Advance Inheritance and ProbateCash) collectively accounting for 19 more cases. SB County is one of the more fragmented competitive markets among the higher-volume California counties, which can work in heirs' favor when comparing offers.

CSF for San Bernardino County Probate Advances

Catalina Structured Funding is a California-headquartered direct funder based in La Crescenta, about an hour west of the San Bernardino Justice Center. The company has been funding future-payment purchases (structured settlements, lottery winnings, annuities) since 2010 and applies the same in-house attorney team and court-filing infrastructure to its probate-advance work.

For SB County heirs, three things tend to matter most:

• Same-day funding capability. CSF can fund as quickly as the same day the heir requests an advance, provided the basic case information is in hand at intake.
• Lower minimum. CSF advances $3,000 to $250,000. The $3,000 published minimum is lower than the $5,000 minimum typical at the larger competitors, useful for smaller-share heirs.
• Compare offers in a fragmented market. SB County's top-two tie means heirs have credible alternatives to choose from. Getting at least two written quotes is straightforward and almost always identifies the better-priced offer for the specific case.

CSF has four licensed attorneys on staff who handle compliance with California Probate Code section 11604.5 and the related assignment-of-rights statutes directly. To get a written quote on an SB County inheritance, you need the decedent's name, the case number if known, and your relationship to the decedent. Everything else CSF can pull from the public docket. Call (800) 317-3769 or fill out the form on the probate advances overview page.