Probate

It may not be one of your estate planning goals yet, but as your estate grows in the years to come. Probate avoidance will likely become of your most important goals. The good news is that because probate avoidance is such a common estate planning goal, there are a wide variety of tools and strategies aimed at helping an estate avoid the formal probate process.  Given the personal nature of estate planning, you should consult with your estate planning attorney to determine how best to … [Read more...] about 5 Tips for Avoiding Probate

If you recently lost a loved one and find yourself in charge of administering the decedent’s estate, you will likely find yourself struggling to manage your grief while simultaneously focusing on the practical steps you need to take during the probate process. Unfortunately this internal struggle often leads to making a mistake. Sometimes those mistakes can be costly ones.  To help you avoid making those mistakes, a Los Angeles probate attorney at Collins Law Group discusses probate mistakes you … [Read more...] about Probate Mistakes You Want to Avoid Making

If you recently lost a family member or a close loved one, you are undoubtedly still going through the grieving process. At some point, however, the legal ramifications of the decedent’s death will need to be addressed by someone. If that “someone” turns out to be you, and you have never before handled the practical aspects of a loved one's death, you may have a number of questions. One of the first questions people have after losing a loved one that left behind a relatively modest estate is … [Read more...] about Do All Estates Need to Be Probated?

When a loved one passes away, the last thing most people want to think about is the practical and legal ramifications of their loved one’s death. If you find yourself in this situation though, and you find that you were appointed to be the Executor of the estate by the decedent, you must focus on the legalities as they apply to the decedent’s estate. Acting as the Executor may seem a daunting prospect if you have never before served in that capacity. To help get you started, the Los Angeles … [Read more...] about Top 5 Concerns for a First-Time Executor

One of the most common goals of a comprehensive estate plan is probate avoidance. If you are relatively new to the world of estate planning, you may have listened to well-meaning friends and family members tell you how important it is to avoid probate; however, they may have neglected to explain why probate avoidance is so important. In order to explain why avoiding probate is such a sought after estate planning goal you need to have a better understanding of the California probate process. … [Read more...] about 10 Steps in the California Probate Process

There is a legal process called probate that can come into play when you pass away while you are in direct personal possession of property. The property would become probate property immediately after your passing, and it could not be distributed to the heirs until the estate was probated and closed by the court. This is true if you had no estate planning documents at all, and even if you have a last will, the will would be admitted to probate, and the estate administration would be … [Read more...] about Dissecting the Probate Process

Did you recently find out that you are the Executor of a Will of a recently deceased loved one? If so, and the appointment was not discussed with you at the time it was made, you are probably wondering what it means to be the Executor. Unless you have served as an Executor before, you may not know where to start or who to turn to for help. Although no two estates are exactly the same, there are some common duties and responsibilities that the Executor of a Will usually has when probating an … [Read more...] about I’m the Executor of a Will? Now What?

When you think of estate planning goals, the first thing that comes to mind is likely the distribution of estate assets after your death or providing for loved ones after you are gone. While these are certainly common – and important – estate planning goals, there are a number of additional goals that you may also choose to include in your estate plan. Probate avoidance, for example, is a common secondary estate planning goal. In order to understand why probate avoidance is such a common estate … [Read more...] about How Long Does It Take to Probate a Will?

Navigating the judicial system can be challenging for someone unfamiliar with the system under the best of circumstances. If you find yourself trying to navigate the probate court system, chances are good that the circumstances are far from the best. The primary purpose of probate court, after all, is estate administration. As such, if you are involved with the probate court, it typically means that you recently lost a family member or loved one. For specific questions and/or concerns regarding … [Read more...] about Tips for Navigating Probate Court in Los Angeles

At some point in your life you are bound to be directly involved in the probate of an estate. Your involvement could stem from the fact that you are a beneficiary or heir of the estate or because you qualify as a creditor of the estate. You might even be named as the Executor in the decedent’s Last Will and Testament or volunteer to be the Personal Representative if the decedent died intestate. If you manage to avoid being directly involved in the probate of someone else’s estate during the … [Read more...] about How Long Does Probate Take?