California Probate Terms - California Probate Court

The California Probate Court handles the settling of estates in the state of California. Most people have little or no experience with the California Probate Court. Their only knowledge of probate court proceedings comes from word of mouth reports about the inconvenience, expense and inefficiency of probate. The fact is that it is far easier to get an estate settled in California now than it was just a generation ago when nearly every estate in California was subject to the scrutiny of a California probate court judge.

Today, thanks to many changes in probate law, there are many different ways to transfer property at death that don't require an appearance in probate court. At its most basic, the process of probate is meant to prove the validity of a Will and ensure that the properties and assets belonging to the decedent are distributed according to the wishes of the decedent. Nowadays, though, probate refers to more than just the Will and its proving. It refers to any proceeding or instrument that impacts on estate planning or transfer of property upon death.

Most people have little or no experience with probate court until they are in need of its services. Probate attorneys, on the other hand, deal with the ins and outs of estate planning and probate court every day. They're familiar not only with estate law and the probate process, but with the various ways to avoid probate and minimize the expenses and taxes associated with the transfer of assets. A good probate lawyer can help set up an estate plan that will take advantage of the various ways of sheltering inheritance from taxes and ensuring that property is passed on to its intended beneficiaries in as efficient a way as possible.

The process of settling an estate through the California Probate Court has five main parts. Those parts are:

1 Determining if there is a will and if so, validating the will;
2 appointing an executor or administrator;
3 determining what property belongs to the estate;
4 determining and paying any debts outstanding against the decedent; and
5 distributing the remainder of the property according to either the decedents wishes or the California Probate Code.

If there is no will, the estate is settled according to the statutes laid out by the California Probate Code. The entire process generally takes from six to fifteen months. The State of California regulates fees that may be charged by probate attorneys and paid to executors, based on the size of the estate.

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