Huntington Beach Trust and Estate Disputes

In brief: When a mobilehome owner in a park dies, an heir or personal representative may sell the home in place if the rent and charges are kept current (Civil Code § 798.78), and the park may withhold approval of a buyer only on limited grounds (§ 798.74). The home is usually titled with the state, not by deed. Hackard Law handles these cases on contingency: no fee and no costs if there is no recovery, unless your written agreement provides otherwise.

By Michael Hackard, California trust and estate litigation attorney. Last reviewed October 26, 2026. Updated November 3, 2026.

Many older Huntington Beach residents live in mobilehome parks: they own the home but rent the space under it. When the owner dies, families find the rules are not the ones that apply to a house. The title is not recorded with the county, the park has rights of its own, and the rent keeps coming due.

Surf City and the oil boom

Huntington Beach is named for railroad magnate Henry Huntington, whose company developed it, and it incorporated in 1909. The 1920 oil boom tapped what was then the largest known oil deposit in California. Hawaiian waterman George Freeth surfed here in 1907, and the city later trademarked “Surf City USA.”

When the home is in a park

Mobilehomes are titled through the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). If the home was held in joint tenancy, the surviving joint tenant takes the deceased owner’s share (Health & Safety Code § 18080). If no other property needs probate, heirs or beneficiaries under a will can ask HCD to transfer the title 40 days after the death by signing a sworn certificate, whatever the home is worth (§ 18102). A home on a rented space generally stays titled with HCD rather than becoming real property (§ 18551).

An heir, joint tenant, or personal representative may sell the home in place, but must pay the rent, utilities, and reasonable maintenance charges as they come due, or the park may require the home to be removed (Civil Code § 798.78). The park may withhold approval of a buyer only on limited grounds, such as the buyer’s inability to pay the rent and charges (§ 798.74). In Orange County probate, a mobilehome may be sold as depreciating property, with an appraisal (Orange County Local Rule 606.04).

Warning signs

• A relative or helper who has quietly taken over the HCD registration.
• Space rent going unpaid after the death, putting the home at risk of removal.
• A park manager pressing the family to sell cheaply or abandon the home.
• A sale to an insider with no appraisal.

Huntington Beach at a glance

• Population: 198,711 (2020 Census); 191,451 (2025 estimate)
• Residents 65 and older: 19.4%
• Median home value: $1,100,000
• Owner-occupied homes: 55.4%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census, 2025 population estimates, and American Community Survey 2020–2024.

Where your case is heard

Trust and probate cases for Huntington Beach are heard in the probate department of Orange County Superior Court, Costa Mesa Justice Complex, 3390 Harbor Boulevard, Costa Mesa, California 92626, approximately 7 driving miles from Huntington Beach. Actual distance varies by starting point and route. Hackard Law’s office is in Sacramento County. The firm handles matters in Orange County Superior Court and throughout California.

How fees work

Hackard Law represents families on a contingency basis. The fee is a percentage of the recovery, stated in a written agreement before work begins. The firm advances the costs of the case, which are repaid from the recovery. If there is no recovery, you owe no fee and no costs, unless your written agreement provides otherwise.