Probate Administration

California Probate Attorneys

At the San Fernando Valley law firm of Zide & O’Biecunas, LLP, the legal services our firm offers include probate administration.

If you are named executor for a California resident, no matter where you live, our attorneys can assist you with filing the necessary court documents to probate a will, trust or estate and settle the affairs of the decedent.

Probate is the legal process in which the court oversees the transfer of an estate’s assets to the rightful beneficiaries. A trusted attorney can assist in guiding you though the often complicated procedures.

The first step is proving the will, that is, to establish its validity. An executor or an administrator is then approved or appointed, if one was not named in the will. As the executor or administrator, you will be responsible for handling the affairs of the estate. Publishing a public notice, generally in a local newspaper, lets creditors know the timeframe they have to bring any claim against the estate for debts the deceased person owes them. The executor is also responsible for giving written notice to all known and possible creditors, and pays and/or collects outstanding debts, and pays taxes due. Once the executor assures the court that creditors are paid, the remaining estate assets can be distributed to the rightful heirs and beneficiaries.

The entire probate process may take six to nine months, if the estate is relatively simple and no federal estate tax is due. However, if estate tax is owed, it is not unusual for probate to take a year or more. And in the event the will is contested or there are other complications to prevent distribution, the process will take even longer.

Even in situations where there has been a lack of thorough estate planning, at the Van Nuys law firm of Zide & O’Biecunas, our attorneys’ skills will prove invaluable. No matter where you live, if you have been named an executor of an estate in California, contact our law firm at (818) 988-0180 to learn how our many years of experience can help steer you through the complications of probate administration.