Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: will & probate

yes, offer the will to open probate. if the will does not waive a bond, or your county requires a bond, you will most likely have to hire an attorney. in fact, you should hire an attorney nevertheless. probate is more complicated than most people think.

Re: will & probate

Yes. But, not to execute the will. It must be properly executed and witnessed. It must be proved up to be a valid last will in probate and the court has to appoint a personal representative of the estate. Any interested person and petition the court to probate the will and be appointed the executor of the estate. If the will names an executor, that person can and should apply for letters of adminstration.

Re: will & probate

Unless you dad left an estate worth less than $100,000 and no real property, his estate will most likely have to be probated. Since probate involves the court, I suggest you seek an attorney near you to assist you.

If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Kai H. Wessels, Esq.

(tel. 1-877-wessels)

The above is intended for informational purposes only and not intended to be relied upon as legal advise.

Re: will & probate

You should interview a few lawyers [find out how much of a free conference they give]to find out if you need one. You might not need one, if it is very straight forward--no creditors, heath care providers seeking reimbursement, easy to prepare his final tax return and the estate return, all the heirs know what is in the Will and are still going along with it, etc. Before you go to an attorney, read up a little on probate so you know what questions to ask or not to ask. Nolo Press puts out a fairly good instructional book for lay people; most libraries have it.

You have not given us enough information to know whether or not you will need an attorney. If you do decide you will but only for a few hours to guide along the right path, most attorneys would charge on a hourly fee so would not take away 1/3rd of the estate. Good luck.

Re: will & probate

If your dad has property totaling over $100,000 in value than a full probate is generally necessary in California. Exceptions would be joint tenancy ownership, living trusts and beneficiary designation. Under $100,000 there still might b some documentation necessary so that you can gain access to the assets. I do a substantial amount of probate work in California and would love to help you. My main office is in Sacramento and my second office is in Roseville. However, we are not limited to that area and file proabtes everywhere in the state. With the internet, FedEx and CourtCall it's very easy for us to do probats throughout the state. We are very efficient! Email or call me with questions!