Probate

You may have heard that probate in California is a nightmare but you may still be wondering if it is a process that you can do yourself, in most cases it is highly recommended that you get a lawyer for this process but it is important to understand the process as well as the reasons why a lawyer is a good idea. probate is the court administered process of dealing with a person's estate after they have died, probate is required for any situation where the estate is over $100,000, there is no will or there is a dispute between family members. It can be a lengthy process that is by its very nature complicated and not a process for the average person to undertake. It is important to get a probate lawyer that can carefully put together a probate plan for you, this will ensure that every step that is required and there are many, is done at the proper time and that none of them are missed. While probate will always be a difficult process, the right probate lawyer can take most of the sting from having to deal with this essential part of dealing with the deceased persons estate. Your probate lawyer will have a timeline that includes all the papers that must be filed and when they must be filed by.

Rather than showing you a huge list of documents that must be filed and throwing big terms at you that you will not understand he should simplify the process for you in such a way that you will know and understand what needs to happen when. The first 45 days after the date of death are for filing of documents as well as an initial court appearance to appoint a personal representative for the estate. The next 4 months are the months set aside for the creditors to respond and make a claim on the estate. This includes contacting any creditors you are aware of as well as publishing a newspaper ad to inform those that you may not be aware of, of the upcoming probate. After about 5 to 6 months your lawyer will have a final accounting prepared that includes all of the assets as well as the debts this estate has accrued and file them at court.

At some point a probate hearing will occur that will finalize the estate, and then in the following months the disbursements will be made to creditors and the remainder will be given to the heirs according to the will if there is one and when not according to California state law. With this probate is over, this process can take anywhere from six to nine months to complete, making it important to find a good lawyer that you can be comfortable with and can work with over the long term. You have very little time to find a lawyer at the start of the process, since many of the documents must be filed within the first 30 days. If you need a good probate lawyer fast talk to The probate Guy, he knows how difficult this situation can be and will do his best to be there for you, answer all of your questions and concerns and make this situation as easy as possible.