The Probate Process in California - What to Expect!

Probate Process in California?filed
The probate process in California begins with a- Opening estate bank account and arrange for
legal request or petition that opens the estate andtax returns
names a PR or personal representative who- A mail with legal notice is sent to debtors and
takes care of the deceased's property. An officialclaims are cleared
Notice for Creditors is published in newspaper and- Approval or refusal of claims are made
a notice of same is sent to all the involved parties.- Property is listed for sale
Creditors are then given a set amount of time to- A petition is filed for Confirmation of Property
file their claims depending upon the estimated timeSale
published in the notice. The PR then clears all the- Court hearings are made and any final federal
debts and dues remained in the name oftaxes are cleared
deceased person and distribute the remainingProbate Third Phase
estate to his close relative. Finally, the petition for- Final petition is filed for distribution
discharge is filed and the estate is closed.- A notice is sent to heirs and beneficiaries
This is the normal process of probate in California.- Proof of mail is filed with court
The process involves many smaller steps which- Final order of petition is filed
had to taken care of during the whole legal- Transfer of assets and properties is cleared
process. In many cases when the propertyIf in case there are any living spouse or relatives
balance is more than speculated or has some taxof the deceased the property is distributed in a
liability to it then a tax consultant or a CPA is tolegal way among them without giving benefit to a
be hired who estimates the overall pricing of thesingle person. The California state law has the
estate.rules according to which the reaming estate is
Below we show you how the legal procedure ofdistributed. The court has the final verdict on the
Probate in California runs:sale or distribution of property. If a bid is overbid
Probate - First Phaseby any person during the hearing then the
- Original Will and Codicils are filedproperty is transferred to the highest bidder.
- Legal Notice of Petition is published to theThis is a simple explanation of probate process in
Administer EstateCalifornia. We are only describing the legal process.
- Notice of Petition is filed and published in the localIt is advised to contact an attorney for proper
newspaperlegal procedure. You can find more detailed
- Proof of Will and Codicils are filed for furtherinformation in Sections 6400-6413 of the California
enquiryProbate Code.
- A letter is issued to all interested parties.If you are in need of an attorney please feel free
Probate - Second Phaseto e-mail me, I will send you a list of attorneys in
- Application for Employer Identification NumberLos Angeles.
- Income tax return and other legal taxes are