Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

I would like to know whether membership interest in an LLC passes outside of probate estate in California. I was a member a 25% shareholder on numerous LLC's, my late husband 25% and his partner 50%. I recently sold up various properties and am going to close the estate. The properties were originally in our family trust but in 2009 they were transferred out of the trust into LLC's. The LLC's were never transferred back into the trust and I guess that is why I had to go through nearly 3 years of grueling probate. Two sets of estate attorneys I have had have not yet filed the inventory and appraisal with the LA court. Appraisal was done in 2015 and now new estate attorney since 2015 has not filed it yet. I ask why and this is why I am asking about LLC's.


Asked on 2/03/17, 12:51 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Scott Jordan Jordan Law Office

Based on the information you provided, your deceased husband's 25% interest in numerous LLC's would be part of his probate estate and needs to be administered accordingly.

Read more
Answered on 2/03/17, 1:14 pm
Charles Perry Law Offices of Charles R. Perry

The LLC interests would be part of his probate estate. It is unclear to me whether a petition to have them transferred into the trust would be (or would have been) successful. This is generally called a Heggstad petition.

It is hard to see why the inventory and appraisal have not been submitted and the estate closed. If you cannot get information from your counsel, you may wish to investigate changing attorneys. There may be reasons for the slow pace of your estate, but they are not evident from your description. You should be able to find someone here on LawGuru or through an attorney referral service to assist you. Please note that you will have to contact the attorney directly, and not through a question posted on LawGuru or similar service.

Read more
Answered on 2/03/17, 1:38 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Probate, Trusts, Wills & Estates questions and answers in California