Fresno County Probate Estates Held by the State Controller

• Fresno County accounts for 168,615 claimable probate estates in our index, worth $116,316,421 combined.
• 1,188 of those estates are worth $10,000 or more.
• Probate estates reach the Controller through county probate courts, not through the §1530 holder-reporting process, so the 10 per cent statutory fee cap on located property does not apply to them.
• There is no deadline to claim California unclaimed property, except for estates that have been permanently escheated to the State.
• A recovery agreement must disclose the property's value and the Controller's possession of it, and no fee is owed until the State pays the owner or heir.

How much probate money is sitting with the State from Fresno County?

Our index currently shows 168,615 claimable probate estates that trace back to Fresno County, holding a combined $116,316,421. Of those, 1,188 estates are worth $10,000 or more. These figures come from the State Controller’s Estates of Deceased Persons File, which is refreshed twice a year, on the first business day of April and October.

Each entry ties a decedent’s name to a county, a probate case number, and a remaining balance still on deposit. That means if your relative’s probate case was administered in Fresno County and left a residual balance after the estate closed, it may show up here rather than under the ordinary property-holder reports most people think of first.

Why would a Fresno County estate end up with the Controller at all?

Probate is supposed to end with every asset distributed. In practice, a bank account discovered late, a refund check that arrived after the estate closed, or a beneficiary who could not be located at final distribution can all leave a balance behind. County probate courts remit that residual to the State Controller under the Probate Code, separately from the §1530 process that banks, insurers and employers use for ordinary unclaimed property.

That separate legal path matters. Property reported under §1530 is subject to a statutory 10 per cent fee cap on recovery services (CCP §1582(a)(2)(C)). County probated estates are not, because they arrive under the Probate Code rather than §1530 (CCP §1582(a)(1)). The State Controller confirms there is no fee restriction for investigators filing on behalf of the owners or heirs of these estates.

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

Start with a name search. Our free property search covers 14,613,528 State Controller records, and our probate estates page explains how the separate estates file works and what a listing does and does not tell you. A match shows you the county, the case number, and the balance; it does not by itself establish who is legally entitled to claim it.

Entitlement in a probate matter usually turns on the will, the order of distribution, or intestate succession if there was no will. That is a legal question, and if there is any dispute among possible heirs, an attorney is the right person to resolve it, not a property search.

What will it cost me to find out and to claim?

Checking is free. If you decide to use our full-service recovery, our standard fee is 10 per cent of what is actually recovered, and nothing is owed unless the Controller pays out. No fee can lawfully be collected before the State approves the claim and pays the owner or heir (CCP §1582(a)(1)(B)). Any recovery agreement we use must be in writing, must disclose the nature and value of the property and that the Controller holds it, and must be signed after you have received that disclosure (CCP §1582(a)(2)(A)-(B)).

You are also entitled to assert at any time that an agreement’s fee is excessive or unjust (CCP §1582(a)(3)). Our finder fee law page sets out these protections in full, and our scam-spotting page covers the warning signs of firms that do not follow them.

Is there a deadline to claim a Fresno County probate balance?

No. California places no deadline on claiming unclaimed property, and this holds for probate balances as much as for anything else. The Controller holds the funds until an owner or heir comes forward. The one exception is an estate that has been permanently escheated to the State, meaning the State has taken title outright; those balances are no longer recoverable, and none of the figures above describe such estates.

Because there is no clock running, there is no urgency to sign anything quickly. Take the time to confirm who the rightful heir is, gather the paperwork the Controller will ask for, and decide whether to file yourself or bring in help.

What happens after I find a match?

Claims naming an heir or executor follow a different documentation path than an ordinary owner claim, and probate estates often ask for the case number, proof of the relationship to the decedent, and sometimes letters testamentary or letters of administration. Our claiming as an heir or executor page walks through what is typically required, and our documents page lists the forms of proof the State commonly asks for. Claims of $1,000 or more in cash must be notarized, and a notary may charge up to $15 per signature under Government Code §8211.

If you would rather not chase paperwork across a probate case that may be years old, that is the part we do: locating the case file, assembling proof of heirship, and filing the claim on your behalf, for a fee owed only once the State pays.

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.