Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: Probate without a will

Do not sign anything with this company.

If she died without a will, her estate should be probated in the county in which she resided when she died, or where she owns property.

Fees for handling probate are strictly regulated by statute, and one must be an attorney to represent an estate in a probate matter.

If she lived in Northern California, please call me, and I can ask more appropriate questions as to how to proceed. It will depend partly on the size of her estate. You should act quickly in order to preserve any assets of the estate.

Ken Koenen, 925-924-0100

Re: Probate without a will

This is common and legal, as long as the court approves the firm's fees. However, you're probably a lot better off hiring an attorney to look into the matter and file for probate or do what's necessary to get the assets transferred to you, because 20% is an awfully high fee, and the probate/transfer work will have to be done anyway.

Contact a California attorney soon--it sounds like you have enough information to bypass the expensive probate research firm.

The only exception to this would be if your share of the estate is small enough that the 20% fee would be cheaper than an attorney's fee--this would be the case if there are a lot of heirs involved. A discussion with the attorney about the known relatives should help you figure this out.

Re: Probate without a will

While heir finder companies do this commonly, they attempt to collect high fees when they find an out of state heir who they think does not have access to an attorney.

You will do much better by hiring an attorney, when there is no will, and therefore, no contest in the matter. If there is no litigation and fighting, an attorney's fees are usually much less then 20%.

I serve Los Aneles County, Ventura County, Kern County and Orange Counties. If you need help, please email me at [email protected], and I will be glad to help you.

Mina Sirkin, Esq.

Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization

Re: Probate without a will

Since this is a CALIF case you need a calif attorney. I am a Minnesota attorney and could not help. I am curious about this contact though. My telephone is 763-424-6442

Re: Probate without a will

Only an attorney may assist in probate of another and legal fees are strictly regulated by law. If you are an heir, you may wish to apply for personal representative to probate the estate or have representation to protect your rights. Please call me directly at (619) 222-3504. You should take some action or the estate may be wasted.