Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

When anyone dies leaving a house in his or her name, the generally-nnecessary first step is to contact a lawyer who does probate work to determine whether a formal probate is needed, whether there is a will or the decedent is intestate, etc. The stuff about partially blind adult daughters and husbands is not trivial (especially the husband) but the first step is always to determine if there is a will or trust or whether the decedent is intestate, and then to follow the appropriate estate-management pathway. Among other things, the bills, etc. owed by the decedent need to be handled before the heirs take anything.