Probate deals run on the court's clock. Tracking probate leads in Salesforce

Why are probate leads different?

• The owner isn't the one deciding. The person who owned the house has died. The personal representative, called the executor when a will names one and the administrator when the court appoints one, acts for the estate once the court issues letters testamentary or letters of administration.
• The court sets the pace. Depending on the state, probate typically takes six to twelve months, faster for simple estates and a year or more for complex ones.
• A sale may need the court's OK. In many states the executor needs court approval before selling real estate. Some require the court to confirm the sale, which can mean a hearing where other buyers can bid more. Some wills give the executor authority to sell without approval.
• Families are involved. Heirs in other states, siblings who disagree, someone living in the house. Patience and a record of every conversation matter more here than anywhere else.
• The filings are public. Probate records usually include the will, the petition, the inventory and the representative's name, sometimes with contact details. That's where most probate lead lists come from.

Who's who in a probate deal?

Opportunity contact roles handle the people side: one deal, several contacts, each with a role. Then anyone opening the deal sees who to call and who not to.

How do you set it up in Salesforce?

• Lead source "Probate", with each list tracked as its own campaign, such as one county and month, so you know which lists pay.
• A deal for each property once the lead is qualified, with the representative as the main contact and the attorney and heirs linked by role.
• A probate case record if you work more than a handful: case number, county, filing date, letters date, decedent, representative and attorney, linked to every property in the estate. One estate can hold several properties, and a case record means you enter those details once.
• Its own pipeline. A separate record type or sales process for probate, with stages that match the case: researching, letter sent, talking with the representative, waiting on letters, offer made, waiting on court approval, under contract.
• Duplicate checks on case number and property address. The same estate often shows up on a probate list, a vacant list and a tax list. See duplicate sellers in Salesforce.

Which fields and dates matter?

What timeline are you working with?

A typical sequence for an estate with a will, from LegalZoom's guides. Every state differs, so treat the durations as rough.

LegalZoom puts the whole run, from filing to closing a probate sale, at typically six to twelve months, with simple estates closing in three or four and complex ones taking eighteen months or more.

That timeline breaks most investor CRMs. A deal that sits in one stage for four months isn't stale; it's waiting on a court. Keep probate out of your normal aging alarms and give it alarms of its own, built on the case dates above.

What follow-up fits probate?

• Start slow and in writing. I'd lead with a letter to the representative rather than a call, and give the family time first. Whatever your rule is, put it in Salesforce so every rep follows it, such as no first contact until a set number of weeks after the date of death.
• Let the case dates drive the tasks. A check-in a week after letters are issued, another before the creditor deadline, another after the inventory. Scheduled paths in a Flow can create those tasks from the dates, and they move if the dates change.
• Space calls weeks apart, not days. A representative handling an estate gets a lot of calls from investors. Being the patient, organized one helps.
• Bring in the attorney when the representative is comfortable with it. Attorneys often know when the estate will be ready to sell.
• Write everything down. A probate deal can pass between reps over the months it takes. The next person needs to know who said what, and who doesn't want calls.
• Opt-outs still apply. The consent and do-not-call rules in reactivating dead seller leads apply here too.

How do you get probate data into Salesforce?

Probate filings are public, and anyone can usually see the case file through the local court, online in some counties and in person in others. Most teams buy lists from a data vendor or pull them from county records. Either way:

1. Import with the case details: case number, county, filing date, decedent, representative's name and mailing address, and the property address.
2. Match duplicates on the way in, by case number and property address, before anyone sends a letter.
3. Tag each list as a campaign, one per county and month, so cost per contract by list is a report, not a guess.
4. Find phone numbers for the representative, not the decedent, if your process includes calls.

Which reports matter?

1. Probate pipeline by stage and case milestone: letters issued or not, creditor period over or not.
2. Case dates coming up in the next 30 days, so every milestone gets a call.
3. Cost per contract by probate list, by county and month.
4. Letter to conversation to contract, to see where probate deals drop out.
5. Probate deals by age, judged against your own history rather than your two-week wholesale deals.

Questions

Related guides

Sources

Checked in October 2026. Probate rules vary by state and change, so check with a probate attorney before you rely on any timing or requirement. Nothing here is legal advice.

1. LegalZoom: How long does probate take?. Typical durations, the steps, letters testamentary and creditor claim periods
2. LegalZoom: How to buy and sell probate property. Who can sell, court approval and confirmation, overbids, and six to twelve months from filing to closing
3. Trust & Will: Are probate records public?. What probate records contain and how the public can see them
4. Salesforce Developers: Schedule your path in Salesforce Flow. Tasks scheduled from a date field that move when the date changes