can inventory and appraisal be waived in california probate

Assuming there is no objection from beneficiaries, you can provide an "informal" accounting. Normally the executor has the authority to sell the property and/or offer it at market value to one of the beneficiaries,
After all debts are paid, and taxes, the executor makes distribution in cash to the beneficiaries as stated in the will. In my state beneficiaries must sign a release and refunding bond which the executor files in surrogate court prior to distribution. You might find it helpful to confer with a CAL probate attorney.

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LEGAL DISCLAIMER
Mr. Sarno is licensed to practice law in NJ and NY. His response here is not legal advice and does not create an attorney/ client relationship. The response is in the form of legal education and is intended to provide general information about the matter in question. Many times the questioner may leave out details which would make the reply unsuitable. Mr. Sarno strongly advises the questioner to confer with an attorney in their own state to acquire more information about this issue.

You cannot waive an inventory & appraisal, but you can sell the property before you get one. You need to send the beneficiaries a "Notice of Proposed Action" informing them of what you intend to sell the property for (price) & other pertinent details (such as how much you intend to pay the real estate broker).

You can sell the property before changing ownership to the beneficiaries as long as the will does not specify that the property is supposed to be distributed to one of the heirs (a "specific bequest"). Note, however, that if the beneficiaries are not the children of the decedent, the county tax assessor will levy an "escape assessment" (additional property tax) on the property. It can sometimes take 6 to 12 months after the sale of the property before you get the escape assessment notice. YOU are responsible for making sure the escape assessment is paid - if you've distributed all of the money to the beneficiaries and they don't pay the assessment, the county assessor can collect from YOU.

As Mr. Sarno stated, you can have the beneficiaries waive an accounting (but that is not the same thing as the I&A). To distribute the estate, you need to either prepare an appraisal in the court-required format or get the beneficiaries to waive it, prepare a petition for final distribution, obtain a hearing date, and prepare an order of final distribution.

The petition for final distribution has certain statutory requirements that you must follow, or the petition will be rejected.

Since you appear to be trying to do this alone, I suggest you buy the Nolo Press book on "How to Probate an Estate in California". You can get it on Amazon for about $40 (make sure you get the 2009 version - the forms change every year & if you don't use the most recent form, the court will reject the filing).

This information is not intended to substitute for professional legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. You should accept legal advice only from a licensed legal professional with whom you have an attorney-client relationship.

I just noticed a mistake in my answer. I did not intend to say you can prepare an "appraisal" or have the beneficiaries waive it; I meant to say that you can prepare an ACCOUNTING in the court-required format or have all of the beneficiaries waive it. Sorry for the mistake.