Probate Sales differ in that the Administrator or Executor must be confirmed by the Court before any sales process can begin. Once confirmed, the Court issues the Letters Testamentary, confirming who is administering the Estate. In some instances, those sales may need confirmation by the local Probate Court in order to close escrow. The California Independent Administration of Estates Act (IAEA) was enacted in 1987 and it grants the representative of a decedent's estate authority to take action on behalf of the estate without having to obtain prior court approval to do so. With Full Authority, the Administrator (or executor) does not need court confirmation in order to close.
If court confirmation is necessary, the confirmation process also involves an “overbid process” where other buyers can attend the Court Confirmation proceeding and then bid higher than the original buyer. The minimum overbid is set by law by a simple equation. So, the legal minimum-starting overbid begins at 10% of the first $10,000 over the accepted bid. Then you add 5% of the remaining balance of the current accepted offer. After the initial bid, the process is controlled by the judge.
Disclosures are similar to Trust Sales, where the Estate is Exempt from certain Disclosures.