Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Do I really need an attorney?

My father passed away and left his house to us three children. House is paid off. No fighting amoung us three. The only thing my father owned is his house, that's it. It seems to be a very simple & straightforward probate.

I am the executor. With ALL due respect to attorneys here, since this should be easy from what I've read online, seems like if I hire an attorney we are still the ones that will be doing most the work for such a simple probate? I read what the executor does & its quite a bit. The attorney knows where to file things but I will have to notifiy utility companies, SS Dept, credit cards, etc., the list goes on. Also empty & sell the house at the end of probate. If we can do this alone without an attorney since there ISN'T alot involved, is there a way to pay an atty for some advice to walk us through this? Like a coach? Why does the atty get so much money if we have to do the majority of work? I mean all this very respectively. I thought hiring an atty meant they would go through everything & call the utility companys, ss office, set up probate referee, go over debts, etc? But it looks like we do it all. Can a CPA or atty advise us for we don't have to pay so much out from the estate?


Asked on 5/10/08, 1:18 am

3 Answers from Attorneys
OCEAN BEACH ASSOCIATES OCEAN BEACH ASSOCIATES

Re: Do I really need an attorney?

You will find that it is not simple. What is easy is the busy work that you list. Unfortunately moving the matter to a final distribution requires legal acumen. Contact me directly.

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Answered on 5/10/08, 1:53 pm
Mitchell Roth MW Roth, Professional Law Corporation

Re: Do I really need an attorney?

An attorney cannot get paid to advise on a probate matter. He must get paid through the probate. It is a small percentage of the value of the assets in probate. Do it yourself if you want, but I don't think the savings will be worthwhile. First of all, the administrator will be doing all of the work for the benefit of 1/3 of the savings.

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Answered on 5/10/08, 7:11 pm

Re: Do I really need an attorney?

Of course you do not need an attorney. The real question is will an attorney help you? I like to think an experienced probate attorney earns their keep on most every case they work on and their clients ends up better off than if they had done it them self. An attorney that performs a lot of probates knows the ins and outs which keep a probate moving so that it can end in 7 months. The do it yourself books do NOT tell you everything. Additionally, attorneys know the people involved with the probate process and know what to tell them to make everything work out the best for their clients. For example, do it yourselfers do not know the probate referees but attorneys do. I personally will perform over 50 probate estates this year. I work with the probate referees in counties throughout the state. I know what they want to know about in making their appraisals. I know how Judges like to see things filed in different counties which can be the difference between approval of a final petition and a 4 week continuance! Lastly, an attorney knows how to advise an administrator so that they are protected from creditors, taxes, etc.... For example, did you know about a supplemental tax bill if the parent to child exclusion form is not filed timely? This is just one example of what a good probate attorney knows that a book might not tell you about. Don't kid yourself, a lawyer is not required but they do earn they keep in most every probate they work on! Feel free to call me to discuss your case and I would gladly explain more. -John

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Answered on 5/10/08, 11:21 pm


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