Probate

 
Probate in California is a court supervised process by which the assets of a deceased person’s estate are administered and distributed per the terms of the deceased person’s will or, if the person died without a will, according to the laws of the State of California. Efficient probate of a deceased person’s estate usually takes anywhere from six to twelve months and can be a complicated and costly process. A probate attorney will assist the personal representative (the person appointed by the will or the court if no will) to administer the estate per California law. A probate attorney will assist the personal representative with drafting and filing with the probate court various required documents, preparing inventories and appraisals of the estate assets, paying creditors of the estate, handling various issues which arise during the probate of estate and, eventually, filing a petition to close the probate of the deceased person’s estate allowing distribution of the remaining estate assets to the deceased person’s beneficiaries or heirs.