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California Probate, when a loved one dies, the trauma of the emotional impact is often compounded by the pressures and worries associated with administering the deceased’s estate. Whether or not the decedent had a living trust, we can help in all aspects of post-death administration.
For larger estates and living trusts, we can provide full trust administration
services. If there was no living trust, we can assist with California probate administration. Even when a decedent had a trust and affairs properly titled to avoid court intervention, much work remains for the successor trustee. We can represent successor trustees in ensuring that they fulfill all duties to the beneficiaries of the trust to avoid later challenges from beneficiaries. The trustee has the duties to account; act with the loyalty required by law; maximize benefits to the beneficiaries; avoid self-dealing; and the duties of notification and information. We can assist trustees with specifics such as:
If you require assistance with any of these duties, please Contact Mortensen Law Office, (661) 799-8035 California Probate Administration WHAT IS PROBATE IN CALIFORNIA? Probate in the state of California is a court-supervised transfer of your property to your heirs. Many people mistakenly think that having a Will avoids probate. The opposite is generally true. Having only a will almost guarantees that your assets will have to be probated. WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE SETTING UP LIVING TRUSTS TO AVOID PROBATE IN CALIFORNIA?
If you do not have a living trust, your heirs will likely have to go through two probates, one in California and another in the other state where you own real estate. A living trust will allow you to avoid probates in both states. DOES A CALIFORNIA LIVING TRUST AVOID A CALIFORNIA PROBATE? A living trust enables you to avoid probate in California if you set it up correctly and make sure pretty much all your assets are in the trust. CAN'T I JUST AVOID PROBATE IN CALIFORNIA WITH JOINT TENANCY?For a married couple, holding their assets as joint tenants together does avoid probate upon the death of the first of them. However, as is explained below, joint tenancy may very well have a high income tax cost to the surviving spouse. Furthermore, a major problem will arise when the second spouse dies, or if both spouses die together - a probate will be required at that point.In addition, many problems are caused by owning property in joint tenancy with a child. For example, your child's creditors might try to seize your property. Furthermore, at your death, your property could end up going to only one of your children at the expense of your other children or grandchildren. A living trust can avoid all these problems. WHY DOES JOINT TENANCY CAUSE INCOME TAX PROBLEMS FOR A COUPLE IN CALIFORNIA? In short, if a couple holds appreciated property, such as real estate, as joint tenants and one of them passes away, the surviving spouse will have income taxes to pay if the property is sold. This occurs because only half of capital gains are eliminated at death under joint tenancy. The cost may be tens of thousands of dollars or even more. On the other hand, if the same couple were to set up a living trust and transfer the appreciated asset to the trust as community property, on the death of the first spouse the survivor could sell the asset and have no income tax to pay. WHY SHOULD I WANT TO AVOID A CONSERVATORSHIP? Medical science is making great strides, but an unfortunate consequence of longer life spans is many older people cannot manage their own affairs. If you become incapacitated by a stroke or another cause and do not have a trust and durable powers of attorney, your family may have to petition the court to have a conservator appointed for you. As with a probate, the purpose of a conservatorship is actually quite simple - enabling someone to make decisions for you and manage your financial affairs. The problem is that as with a probate, a conservatorship is an expensive and complicated procedure. Having a living trust and durable powers of attorney almost always avoids the need for a conservatorship. If you become incapacitated, whomever you have named in the trust and durable powers takes over for you without having to go to court. In particular, the "Power of Attorney for Health Care," one of our basic estate planning documents, will give your family the legal authority to make health care decisions for you, including the authority to make end-of-life decisions such as the decision to "pull the plug." Probate in California is a court-supervised transfer of a decedent’s property to the heirs. It becomes necessary when the decedent did not have a living trust, regardless of whether or not there was a will. What if the Estate is Small? For small estates with assets totaling less than $100,000, we can provide informal administration, such as Petitions to Determine Succession to Real Property (Estates $100,000 or Less), Affidavits re Real Property of Small Value ($20,000 or Less), or Affidavits for Collection without Letters of Administration for Personal Property of Deceased Person Not Exceeding $100,000 in Value. Please contact us for further information on these summary administration procedures. If an estate amounts to less
than $100,000, probate will be informal and will not require the appointment
of a decedent’s representative. We will prepare the necessary affidavits
and collect and distribute the assets. Please contact us for further
information. What if there is No Will? If there is no will for the decedent. Please contact us to file a petition with the court to have an administrator appointed. Have you been appointed as the executor of the decedent’s will? We can help you fulfill your many responsibilities, including:
Tax, Trust & Probate Attorneys, P.C. 22807 Lyons Avenue Newhall, California 91321 (661) 799-8035
Please click the links below to get information for your specific needs:
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