A Quick Guide to Probate Laws in California

<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">The loss of a loved one can be quite overwhelming&period; Notifying family&comma; planning a funeral&comma; and the grief take quite the toll on their own&period; If you are in charge of the execution of the deceased&&num;8217&semi;s will&comma; or if there was no will at all&comma; you know that probate complications make the situation even more serious&period; Understanding the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;inheritanceadvanced&period;com&sol;state-probate-laws&sol;california&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">probate laws in California<&sol;a> may help to ease some of the confusion of the situation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Probate Isn&&num;8217&semi;t Always Necessary<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Some assets aren&&num;8217&semi;t subject to probate laws because they transfer automatically if someone passes away&period; A common situation that doesn&&num;8217&semi;t require probate is known as the &&num;8220&semi;right of survivorship&period;&&num;8221&semi; For example&comma; if two people own a house as joint tenants and one passes away&comma; the survivor owns the house&period; Payable or transfer on death bank accounts aren&&num;8217&semi;t subject to probate law either&period; When someone opens one of these accounts&comma; he or she fills out forms to designate the money to someone after death&period; The money then automatically goes to the beneficiary&period; Finally&comma; <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;newsforpublic&period;com&sol;benefits-living-trust&sol;">living trusts<&sol;a> don&&num;8217&semi;t go through probate court until the assets not included in it exceed the state&&num;8217&semi;s small estate limit&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">You May Need To File Taxes<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">The state of California ended its inheritance tax in 1982&period; It does not have an estate tax&comma; either&period; However&comma; you may need to file other taxes on behalf of your deceased loved one&period; First&comma; you&&num;8217&semi;ll need to file the individual&&num;8217&semi;s federal and state returns the next year&period; Next&comma; if the estate had a gross asset gift value of more than &dollar;11&period;4 million&comma; you&&num;8217&semi;ll need to file a federal estate tax return&period; This is due within 9 months&comma; but if you contact the IRS prior to the deadline&comma; you&&num;8217&semi;ll receive an automatic 6-month extension&period; Finally&comma; a federal estate income tax return will be due on the following tax deadline&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">A Valid Will Helps the Process<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Execution of a valid will typically makes probate a much simpler&comma; much faster endeavor&period; A valid will must include specific instructions about who receives what&period; Any estate valued at more than &dollar;150&comma;000 must go through probate court but can do so more quickly with a will&period; If the estate is valued at less than &dollar;150&comma;000&comma; you can file an Affidavit for Transfer of Personal Property beginning 40 days after the deceased passed away&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">If someone passed away without a valid will&comma; the probate process may become much more complicated&period; The state&&num;8217&semi;s intestate succession laws will determine who receives what from the estate&period; Typically&comma; this means the estate is divided between a surviving spouse and children&comma; but siblings&comma; parents&comma; grandparents&comma; and other extended family members may also be included&period; If there are disputes regarding who should receive part of the estate&comma; the court process is likely to become very drawn out&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Hiring a Lawyer Can Speed the Process<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Regardless of whether your loved one had a valid will&comma; navigating the probate court system in California can be complicated&comma; especially during the grieving process&period; For this reason&comma; you may want to consider hiring a probate lawyer&period; Probate attorneys know the ins and outs of probate law in the state&comma; including how the procedure works&comma; what forms you need to fill out&comma; and how to handle possible complications&period; Hiring an attorney means you spend more time focusing on your family and less time worrying about court issues&period; A lawyer also protects you from liability if you make a mistake&comma; and many attorneys do not charge upfront fees for probate cases&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Losing a loved one is an emotional time&period; Remember to take time for yourself before beginning the probate process&period; If you decide to hire a probate lawyer&comma; look for someone who is licensed and has a strong reputation in his or her field&period; Keep these California guidelines in mind to help make the process easier&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;