Over the course of your lifetime, you will likely require the services of an attorney for a variety of different reasons. Knowing which type of attorney you need for your legal issue or problem is crucial. Just as you would not allow a pediatrician to treat a tumor in your brain, you wouldn’t hire a criminal defense attorney to help you pursue a breach of contract case. How then, do you know if you need a Sacramento probate attorney to help you with a legal matter? What Is Probate? First, it … [Read more...] about How Do I Know If I Need a Probate Attorney to Help Me?

When a loved one passes away, one of the first practical steps that should be taken is to search for the decedent’s Last Will and Testament. What happens though if you cannot find a Will? Surveys indicate that over half of all Americans do not have even a basic estate plan in place, making it equally likely that your loved one did not execute a Will prior to his/her death.  If that is the case, it means that he/she died “intestate” which is a legal term meaning without a Will. When a decedent … [Read more...] about What Are the Rules of Intestacy in California?

Creating a successful estate plan typically requires you to incorporate numerous inter-connected goals and objectives into one comprehensive plan. As you may have heard from friends or family, probate avoidance is a popular estate planning goal. In order to decide if you should make probate avoidance one of your goals, however, you need to have a firm understanding of why you might want your estate to avoid probate. Probate Process Basics Probate is the legal process that is typically required … [Read more...] about Why Avoid Probate?

The death of a family member or someone else close to you is usually followed by a period of grief, confusion, and a variety of other heightened emotions. Someone, however, must handle the legal and practical implications of your loved one’s death. If you have been designated as that person, you probably do not know where to begin or exactly what needs to be done unless you have been in the same position in the past. That lack of experience, coupled with your heightened emotional state, can lead … [Read more...] about 5 Probate Mistakes Executors Often Make

When a celebrity dies, it is far from uncommon for a contentious legal battle to ensue over the fortune left behind. Sadly, the behavior of the litigants is not surprising. What is surprising, however, is how often the rich and famous fail to leave behind a well drafted and thorough estate plan – a plan that would dramatically decrease the likelihood of litigation. The death of actor Alan Thicke, and the battle over his estate that continues long after his death, is yet another example of this … [Read more...] about Lessons We Can Learn from Alan Thicke’s Estate Drama

When a loved one dies, the money and property included in their estate needs to be distributed to their heirs.  In many cases, the estate must go through the probate process in order for the assets to be properly distributed. The basic probate process requires completion of several steps in order to close probate and make those distributions.  Here, our probate attorneys will explain the most basic steps of the probate process in the great state of California. Appointing a personal … [Read more...] about The Probate Process – Step by Step

Creating a successful estate plan requires you to think about much more than just how you want your estate assets to be distributed when you are gone. Precisely which additional estate planning goal and objectives you decide to incorporate into your comprehensive estate plan will depend on numerous factors; however, one common estate planning goal is probate avoidance. Why is it so desirable to avoid probate though? To help answer that question, we explain the probate process and why many people … [Read more...] about Why Is Probate Avoidance Such a Common Goal?