Deceased Lender; clearing title

[Jennifer Shelton]

A friend purchased a tract of land from an individual who carried the note (California).  The seller died.  She didn't find this out until months after his death, but someone was continuing to cash the payments that were sent.  She contacted the executor and told her she wanted to see her authority to continue to collect on the note.  She never received anything.  She then spoke to an attorney who advised her to continue to make the payments, but to put them into a bank account, for the next three years at which time she would go back to see him and he would "take care" of this.  She has been paying into the bank account and three years have now elapsed.  In all this time, she has heard nothing from the seller's estate.  Meanwhile, the attorney she spoke with died.  

Does anyone know the attorney's reasoning behind the three year time frame?  I understand putting the payments in a quasi escrow account, but my research seems to indicate 10 years is the minimum she needs to wait before the note could possibly be extinguished...and then only if certain requirements are met.