San Mateo County Probate Estates Held by the State

• San Mateo County has 265,740 claimable probate estates on record, holding $297,773,116.
• 3,835 of those estates are worth $10,000 or more.
• Probate estates reach the State through the county court system, not the §1530 holder-reporting process, so the 10 per cent finder-fee cap under CCP §1582 does not apply to them by law.
• There is no deadline to claim, unless an estate has been permanently escheated to the State.
• An agreement with a recovery firm must be in writing, disclose the property's nature and value, and cannot require payment before the Controller pays the claim.

How much money is sitting with the State from San Mateo County?

Our index currently shows 265,740 claimable probate estates originating in San Mateo County, holding a combined $297,773,116. Most of these are modest balances left over after a county probate closed, but 3,835 of them are worth $10,000 or more. These figures come from the State Controller’s Estates of Deceased Persons File, a separate list from the general unclaimed property file, refreshed twice a year on the first business day of April and October.

An estate lands on this list when a county probate court finishes administering a decedent’s affairs and money remains that was never distributed, often because an heir could not be located, a check went uncashed, or a final distribution was never claimed. The county remits that balance to the State Controller, who holds it under the decedent’s name pending a claim.

What exactly is a probate estate held by the State Controller?

It is not a bank account or a stock certificate in the usual sense. It is cash the county probate court held on the decedent’s behalf and, when the case closed with money still owing to an heir who never came forward, remitted to the State Controller. The Controller’s Estates of Deceased Persons File records the decedent’s name, the heirs on record, the county, the probate case number, and the remaining balance.

This is a distinct legal track from the general unclaimed property file that holds things like dormant bank accounts and uncashed paychecks. That general file is built from reports that businesses and financial institutions file under Code of Civil Procedure §1530. Probate estates arrive by a different statutory route, through the Probate Code, and that distinction matters for what a recovery firm may charge, discussed below.

How do I find out if my relative's estate is on this list?

We index all 4,438 probate estates currently claimable across California, of which the San Mateo County figures above are a part, alongside our broader index of 14,613,528 property records from the general unclaimed property file. A search by the decedent’s name is the fastest way to see whether an estate, or a separate unclaimed property record in their name, exists.

If you are not sure whether you are searching for a probate balance or a general unclaimed property record, our probate estates page explains how the two files differ and how to read what turns up. Start with a search rather than guessing.

What does it cost to claim a probate estate, and does the 10 per cent cap apply?

Here the law treats probate estates differently from ordinary unclaimed property. The 10 per cent fee cap under Code of Civil Procedure §1582(a)(2)(C) reaches only property reported under §1530. Estates that come to the State through county probate arrive under the Probate Code instead, and the State Controller has stated there are no fee restrictions on investigators filing for the owners or heirs of county probated estates.

We charge our standard 10 per cent fee on probate estate recoveries as well, even though the law does not require it. You owe nothing unless and until the State Controller pays the claim, and no fee is collected from you beforehand. Our pricing page sets out the full arrangement, and what the law says about finder fees covers the statutory background in more depth.

Whatever fee arrangement you are offered, by us or by anyone else, the law lets you challenge it at any time if you believe the consideration is excessive or unjust, and any agreement must be in writing, disclose the nature and value of the property, and be signed only after you have received that disclosure.

What do I need to file a claim as an heir or executor?

The State will generally want proof of the decedent’s death, proof of your relationship or standing as executor or administrator, and identification. Claims of $1,000 or more in cash must be notarized, and a California notary may charge at most $15 per signature for the acknowledgment. Because probate estates can involve multiple heirs, documentation of how the estate was distributed, or who the surviving heirs are, often matters more here than with a simple bank account claim.

Our claiming as an heir or executor page walks through what is typically required, and what documents the State needs covers the paperwork in detail. We are not a law firm and cannot tell you who is legally entitled to inherit; that is a question for a probate attorney if the estate has more than one possible heir.

Is there a deadline to claim?

No. California places no deadline on claiming unclaimed property, including probate balances, and the State holds the money indefinitely until an owner or heir comes forward. The one exception is an estate that has been permanently escheated, meaning the State has taken title outright; no claim will be paid on those. Nothing in our San Mateo County figures above reflects escheated estates, since we index only what remains claimable.

Questions People Ask

Figures on this page are from our copy of the State Controller’s published file as it stood on 6 October 2026. The State republishes the file weekly, so current totals will differ. Search is always against the latest copy.