For most people, IRAs and retirement accounts do not go through probate in California. When you have a valid beneficiary designation, these assets typically transfer directly to the named beneficiary outside of the probate process. However, if no beneficiary is named, the beneficiary designation is invalid, or your estate becomes the...
How Long Does Probate Take in California?
In California, probate typically takes 9 to 18 months, although some estates are completed sooner and others take two years or longer. The timeline depends on factors such as the size of the estate, the type of assets involved, creditor claims, court schedules, and whether disputes arise.
If you've...
When Probate Turns Into Litigation: Warning Signs Executors and Beneficiaries Should Not Ignore
Probate can shift into litigation when disputes arise over how an estate is being handled or when legal duties are not being met. Issues like executor misconduct, missing assets, or disagreements among heirs can quickly require court intervention.
If you are involved in a California probate matter, recognizing these...
What Assets Go Through Probate — and Which Ones Don’t?
Probate is a court-supervised process that validates a deceased individual’s will and oversees the administration of that person’s estate. The probate court may only distribute property that was solely owned by the deceased individual. In other words, some assets, such as property that was owned jointly, are not subject to the probate...
How Probate Affects Life Insurance Policies
One type of asset many people have when they pass away includes life insurance policies. People take out life insurance to provide their loved ones with financial assistance after they pass away, including help with funeral/burial costs and making up for the loss of the decedent’s income and monetary contributions to the...
How Probate Affects Small Estates: Streamlined Processes and Exemptions
Probate refers to the court-supervised process of administering a decedent’s estate. It is often a costly and time-consuming business, which can frustrate heirs and beneficiaries as they wait to receive their inheritances. However, small estates may take advantage of streamlined processes that facilitate property transfers much more efficiently than traditional probate.
Dealing with Probate for Out-of-State Assets: A Guide for Executors
Many people pass away while owning assets in multiple states. Unfortunately, this can complicate the estate administration process for executors, who must open probate cases where a decedent left assets in each state. Executors should familiarize themselves with probating out-of-state assets to ensure a smooth estate administration.
Understanding...The Executor’s Guide to Handling Retirement Accounts in an Estate
An executor is the individual or entity tasked with administering a deceased party’s estate as directed by his or her will. An executor’s duties include settling the estate’s debts, selling estate property, and distributing the estate’s assets to heirs and beneficiaries according to the decedent’s will. In this article, we discuss how...
What to Do for Your Loved One’s Estate After they Pass Away
After experiencing the death of a loved one, you may feel extremely overwhelmed without any sense of what to do next. That’s why it’s so important to have a list of steps that can help you to take care of the legal and financial matters of their estate. Here’s what to do for your...
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What Exactly Does “Personal Property” Mean?
While some think that personal property encompasses all property aside from real property, that’s not always true. In California the court will look at the specific language within a document and at times other evidence in order to determine the testator’s intent – exactly what property they intended to gift.
The best thing that you...
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