Choosing the right person to administer your will and other estate matters is as vital as creating an estate plan. After all, this individual will have access to your money and property. Therefore, even a small error or an act of intentional misuse could cause...
Every will must undergo probate - the court process of validating and executing a will. Once the court is satisfied that the will is legally valid and there are no contests to the will, it sets everything in motion. However, certain things must happen before the...
If a loved one died with debts to their name, you might be worried that creditors will come knocking at your door as a beneficiary to the estate. However, you do not have to worry. It's only in certain circumstances that this can happen. Usually, the deceased's debts...
Selecting an executor is a big part of the estate planning process. You may have seen lists of attributes that your prospective candidate should have. An executor is a fiduciary, or someone who operates on the legal behalf of another, such as a deceased individual and...
Often, when people are developing their estate plan, they will give a family member, friend or someone else they trust the authority to act as their agent to handle their finances and their medical care if there comes a time when they’re unable to do so. This...
California and other states have similar processes in place for handling a testator's estate. They generally require the estate to pass through the probate process whether the decedent had a will in place or not. The probate process generally takes up to a year to...
For many families, their angst begins over the fair distribution of their parents’ assets and possessions when their parents have passed on. But other families face quite a different conundrum: Their parents died broke and with their finances in a mess. Almost 50% of...
An estate plan can represent hours of planning and hundreds of dollars of investment. If you spent time and money to create one, you probably have a specific legacy that you want to leave for the people you love. Unfortunately, no matter how carefully you try to avoid...
There is a host of movies called “Dead Men Can’t something.” “Dead Men Can’t Dance,” “Dead Men Can’t Wear Plaid,” and so on. Probate exists because dead men can’t own property. If you want to avoid an asset going through probate when you die, you need to make sure...
Probate in California can be expensive and time-consuming. But if an estate is of relatively modest size, a full estate administration proceeding may not be required. Under California's Probate Code, simplified proceedings are available for smaller estates.If the...
