Our Fiduciary Services
Probate Administration
Timely, Trusted Probate Administration
Probate - a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma?​​
Well, maybe we won't go that far - but probate, which essentially is derived from the word 'testing', is just that. It's really, 'a test of the will'. So, imagine your grandpa passes away, and he’s got a big house, a smaller house, some cash, and a couple of cars. He never made a will or a trust! What happens?
Probate is the legal process that figures out what to do with his stuff. If he wrote a will, probate follows his instructions. If he didn’t, the state has rules about who gets what. The court ensures everything gets sorted out - paying any bills he owed, taxes, and then giving what’s left to the people he wanted, like family or friends. There's even an accounting process that happens to prove everything was found, added up, and costs deducted. That's the rub of not having a will - you have to follow the states 'intestacy' (they died intestate) laws. There is a chain of California state rules deciding who gets what. And it might not be fair at all. I've seen a quote on the internet that strikes a chord here - 'Where there's a will, there's a relative'.​
Some stuff doesn’t go through probate - (yay Trusts, 401k and IRA and life insurance beneficiaries!). Also, if his estate is worth less than $184,500 (think of that as a cutoff), there’s an easier way to handle it without full probate.
Trusts, Wills, and Probate
How I can help
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My main focus - your families' mental health and well-being. Someone wise once said - 'Money only solves money problems'. This can be so resoundingly true. I will help take the burden of probate away, and let you focus on the rest of your lives, and properly be able to grieve grandpa's passing. More than someone who can handle probate alongside trusted agents, I can be there for you to help get through this process. I have been here before.
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In a nutshell, I can help by:
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Acting as the personal representative (executor or administrator), managing all aspects of the probate process, including filing petitions, attending court hearings, and ensuring compliance with California Probate Code.
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Handling financial management, such as paying bills, settling debts, and managing investments, ensuring the estate's assets are protected and properly distributed to everyone.
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Resolving conflicts among family members, acting as a neutral third party to avoid or settle disputes, which is crucial in blended families or when there are disagreements over asset distribution, as noted by Trust on Trial California Professional Fiduciaries Help Elders and Resolve Conflicts | Trust on Trial.
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Navigating complex estates, such as those with significant assets, multiple beneficiaries, or special needs trusts, ensuring all legal and financial obligations are met efficiently.
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Providing expertise in court-supervised proceedings, where they are ultimately responsible for their actions and can be surcharged by the court for improper management, as per the Professional Fiduciary Association of California's FAQ Frequently Asked Questions About Professional Fiduciaries - Professional Fiduciary Association of California.
Who Handles Probate?
​Potentially ruthless example
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Picture an example of grandpa having a wife, 3 adult children, and he had the first house before he re-married. Their adult children combined might be from separate marriages and not really know each other that well. In this scenario, his wife might get all of the stuff they had after they got married, but the adult kids would have access to a part of the property grandpa owned before he got married. This can become a cluster of emotions real quick. Not to mention, everyone is grieving grandpa's loss. What if probate finds that he also had a secret bank account that he had before he was remarried, and it was worth millions? Who gets it? Oh grandpa, did you really intend for this to happen after you couldn't fix things?
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Here’s how it works​
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Someone (like a family member or attorney) asks the court to start the process by filing some papers.
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The court picks someone - called an executor if there’s a will, or an administrator if there isn’t - to be in charge of everything.
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That person finds all of grandpa’s stuff, figures out how much it’s worth, pays off any debts or taxes (like credit card bills or what he owes the government), and then hands out the rest to the right people.
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It all happens through the Superior Court where he lived, and it’s official once the court says it’s done.
What could go wrong?​
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Well, here we go:
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Grief: I'm putting this here because I've seen what this can be like firsthand. It's incredibly hard to juggle work, probate, and grieve the loss of a loved one at the same time. Grief has a way of taking over, and making everything just harder.
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​Family Drama: If your aunt thinks she deserves more than your cousin, they might fight over it in court, making it take longer and cost more. Yes, this can happen with trusts, but the key here is without a will, you may never know what grandpa really wanted.
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Takes Forever: It’s not quick. It can take 9 months to a year, or even longer if there’s a lot of stuff or problems. Since COVID, the court system has been backed up more often.
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Costs Money: See Fees, below.
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Creditors: They have a timeline to make a claim for some of grandpa's stuff if he owed them money.
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Stuff: Who takes care of everything now, including maintenance of the houses?
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Everyone Can See It: Probate is public, so anyone can look up what grandpa owned and who’s getting it. If it's a sizable estate, there can be many showing up to figure out if they get a payout as well. It’s like posting his financial life online. I gather grandpa probably wouldn't have wanted that.
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Fees:
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Below is a breakdown of what it generally costs - and this goes to both the attorney AND executor/administrator. To also add, sometimes there are 'extraordinary fees', like someone jumping in and saying that the will is forged, or grandpa's house wasn't taxed properly and needs a lot of repair work. The court will have to be a part of that too, taking time and money. Filing isn't free, appraising things is handled by a 'Probate Referee', and the executor/administrator has to get bonded. It could feel like bizarro-world even if you're pretty savvy and on the up-and-up when it comes to ethics and morals.
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Fun fact - the below double s is a 'silcrow' and means 'section', since you'll see a lot of that in law books. Just in case you were wondering... :)
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PROB § 10810
(a) Subject to the provisions of this part, for ordinary services the attorney for the personal representative shall receive compensation based on the value of the estate accounted for by the personal representative, as follows:
(1) Four percent on the first one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).
(2) Three percent on the next one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).
(3) Two percent on the next eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000).
(4) One percent on the next nine million dollars ($9,000,000).
(5) One-half of 1 percent on the next fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000).
(6) For all amounts above twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000), a reasonable amount to be determined by the court.​​​
If grandpas stuff was worth about $5,000,000, probate fees would be around $126,000 - $63,000 to the attorney, the other $63,000 to the administrator/executor for their time and effort. Add in all of the other costs described above, and it can definitely add up even more!
