Probate
There was no plan, and the bank has closed the account.
Probate is not a punishment. It is a queue, with notice periods fixed by statute. What we can change is whether you are in it at all, and how cleanly you get through it.
In short
The court proceeding that moves property when there was no trust, or when the trust did not own it.
Probate is a court-supervised process for moving property from a person who has died to the people entitled to it. It is public, it is slow, and it is mostly clerical. The delay is not the court thinking; it is the notice periods, which exist so that creditors and heirs who do not yet know can find out in time to say something.
The first question is always whether you need one at all. California has procedures for smaller estates that a surprising number of families qualify for and never hear about.
What this covers
Five things we do here
Petition for probate
The filing that appoints someone with authority to act, and everything that follows it.
Small estate procedures
It may not need a probate at all. Whether you qualify is arithmetic, not argument.
Spousal property petitions
Where a surviving spouse is entitled to the property, one petition can replace the whole proceeding.
Creditor claims
A four month window, a required notice, and a claim that has to be allowed or rejected in writing.
Probate in another state
One asset outside California can add a second proceeding, and often does not have to.
Read about this
Five questions we are asked about probate
- My parent owned property in another state. Do I need a second probate?Sometimes, and often less than you have been told. A California proceeding does not reach land in another state, but a second full probate is not the only answer.
- How much does probate cost in California?The fees are set by a public formula, calculated on the gross value of the estate rather than on your equity in it.
- Does a surviving spouse have to go through probate?Frequently not. Where property passes to a spouse, a single petition can replace an entire administration.
- How long do creditors have to make a claim against an estate?Four months from the issue of letters, and the representative has to allow or reject each claim in writing rather than ignore it.
- Can I avoid probate if the estate is small?Often, yes. Whether you qualify is arithmetic rather than argument, and it is worth doing before anyone opens a file.
Who does this work
Elsewhere
The other practice areas
- Estate planningThe documents that decide who acts for you and who receives what, written to be used rather than filed.
- Trust administrationWhat happens after. The notices, valuations, transfers and accountings a successor trustee is required to produce.
- Property transfersDeeds, retitling and the reassessment questions that follow a change in ownership of California real property.
- Business successionWhere the estate plan meets the operating agreement, and the two have to be made to agree.
- Incapacity and special needsWho decides when you cannot, and how to provide for someone whose benefits an outright gift would put at risk.