Best Family Law Attorneys in Chino Hills, CA

What is Probate? Probate is a legal process that occurs after someone dies. It includes validating a will in court, identifying / inventorying / appraising the deceased person’s property, paying debts and taxes, and distributing the remaining property as the will or law directs. Probate Avoidance Probate is the court process by which a person’s last will and testament is administered, creditors are paid, and assets are finally distributed to the decedent’s named beneficiaries. If the decedent died without a will (“intestate”), statutes provide an order of preference for relatives of the decedent who will be considered the decedent’s beneficiaries. Most clients choose to avoid probate for the following reasons: Expense Probates are expensive. Because the statutes set forth a structured sequence of events that must be completed before the estate can be settled, lawyers have little discretion as to how the proceeding should be conducted. Even the simplest probate proceedings can cost as much as $5,000. Complicated estates can cost in excess of $100,000. As a guideline, estates facing probate should assume 3% to 5% of the estate will be paid to attorneys in legal fees. This cost should be compared to the relatively small costs associated with establishing a revocable living trust.