Los Angeles County Probate Estates Held by the State

• Los Angeles County has 3,694,806 claimable probate estates on file with the State Controller, holding $3,484,686,032 combined.
• 41,218 of those Los Angeles County estates are worth $10,000 or more.
• There is no deadline to claim a Los Angeles County probate estate unless it has been permanently escheated.
• County-probated estates arrive under the Probate Code, not §1530, so the State Controller states there is no fee restriction for investigators filing for their heirs.
• California Unclaimed Property Services charges 10 per cent of what is recovered and nothing unless the claim is paid.

How much Los Angeles County probate money is unclaimed?

The State Controller is currently holding funds from 3,694,806 claimable probate estates originating in Los Angeles County. Combined, these estates total $3,484,686,032. Of that group, 41,218 estates are valued at $10,000 or more, meaning a meaningful share of the money involves amounts worth the paperwork of a formal claim.

These figures come from our own index of the State’s published estate records, refreshed as new files are released. They describe balances remaining after county probate proceedings closed, not the general unclaimed property list that covers bank accounts, wages and insurance payouts. A relative’s estate can appear on either list, or both, depending on what was reported and when.

How does a Los Angeles County estate end up with the State Controller?

The State Controller publishes a separate Estates of Deceased Persons File for exactly this situation. It lists the decedent’s name, the heirs on record, the county where probate was handled, the probate case number, and the balance still held. Los Angeles County is one of the largest contributors to that file, reflecting both its population and the volume of estates its probate courts process.

Money reaches this file when a county probate case closes with funds still owed to heirs, and those funds are remitted to the Controller. That is a different path from the §1530 holder reports that banks, insurers and employers file for lost accounts and paychecks. The two are governed by different parts of the Code of Civil Procedure, and that distinction matters for how a claim is handled and what a recovery service may charge.

Is there a deadline to claim a Los Angeles County estate?

No. California places no deadline on claiming unclaimed property, and that includes probate balances held for county estates. The money is held indefinitely until an owner or heir files a claim. The one exception is an estate that has been permanently escheated to the State, meaning title has already passed to California and no claim will be paid on it. That status is specific and disclosed on the record itself, not a general risk that comes with waiting.

What does it cost to use a recovery service for a probate estate?

Property reported under Code of Civil Procedure §1530 is subject to a 10 per cent fee cap for locating, delivering or recovering it. County-probated estates, including the Los Angeles County estates described here, arrive under the Probate Code instead, and the State Controller states there are no fee restrictions on investigators filing for the owners or heirs of these estates.

Our standard fee is 10 per cent of what is recovered regardless of which file the money sits in, and we collect nothing before the Controller approves the claim and pays it. An agreement is invalid if it charges an owner before that payment happens. An owner may also challenge any recovery agreement at any time as based on excessive or unjust consideration. We put the nature and value of the property, and the fact that the Controller holds it, in writing before anyone signs.

What documents will I need as an heir or executor?

Claims of $1,000 or more in cash must be notarized, and all securities and safe deposit box claims must be notarized regardless of value. A California notary may charge at most $15 per signature for an acknowledgment and $15 for a jurat. Executors typically work from letters testamentary or letters of administration; heirs without an open probate case may need a small estate affidavit or a court order, depending on the estate’s size and status.

We cannot tell you who is legally entitled to a given estate. That is a question for a probate attorney, particularly where multiple heirs, a will contest, or an intestate succession is involved. What we can do is confirm what the Controller’s file shows for a Los Angeles County decedent and walk you through what documentation the claim will require.

How we search Los Angeles County probate records

Our search tool draws on the same Los Angeles County estate data described above, part of a broader index of 14,613,528 State Controller property records. Start with the decedent’s name, since that is how county probate estates are indexed in the Controller’s file. Try common misspellings and maiden names too, since estate listings are only as accurate as what the county reported.

If a search turns up a Los Angeles County estate under your relative’s name, the listing will show the county, the probate case number and the balance remaining. From there, the next step is deciding whether to prepare the claim yourself or have us handle the documentation, notarization and submission on a contingency basis.

Questions People Ask

Figures on this page are from our copy of the State Controller’s published file as it stood on 27 September 2026. The State republishes the file weekly, so current totals will differ. Search is always against the latest copy.