The transfer is accomplished via court Order, not by a Deed. So no, you cannot transfer the property to yourself. Once all procedural requirements have been met, including the preparation and filing of an Inventory and Appraisal, you or your representative will file with the court a Petition for... View More

Per Probate Code section 6541, the court may grant or modify a family allowance on petition of any interested person. This can be done ex parte or via a regularly noticed petition, depending on whether or not an Inventory and Appraisal has been filed. In short, like most requests to the probate... View More

The cash in the bank should be obtained via the small estate affidavit process described by attorney Whitehurst. The vehicle requires different paperwork which gets submitted to the DMV:

An Affidavit for Transfer Without Probate California Titled Vehicle or Vessels Only (REG 5) form may be... View More

Hello. I am a probate attorney and licensed real estate broker. Oftentimes realtors can obtain financing through their company to handle renovations. I recommend calling around to local companies to see who may be able to assist with financing the repairs and renovations.

I recommend using free online pdf editing software such as DocHub. This will allow you to change the font and crunch all of the aka names in. Good luck with this.

Under California law (Probate Code section 16061.7) every trust beneficiary, and every heir-at-law of the decedent, is entitled to receive a copy of the trust document. However, the beneficiaries only have the right to obtain a copy of the trust when their rights have vested. The beneficiary’s... View More

There are various options to securing your sister's property, depending on the value. If you are attempting simply to get any cash that may be left in her bank account, then you can possibly use an Affidavit which an attorney or possibly the bank can provide you. If your sister's estate... View More

The property belongs to the probate estate, however, you can and should submit a Creditor's Claim to the personal representative on the proper judicial council form. The Personal Representative will have the opportunity to either consent or object to the creditor's claim. If they object,... View More

I agree with Attorney Whitehurst's assessment in part. However, there are various types of probate petitions that can be filed depending on the value of the interest in the real property. For instance, right now I am working on a Petition to Determine Succession to Real Property which is a... View More

I agree with attorney Arrasmith's assessment. However, as a practical matter, many probate courts don't track who has paid the bond premium and who hasn't. However, some probate courts schedule a hearing around one year after an Order for Probate has been issued by the court. If... View More

Dear Frank and Jama,

No, Power of Attorney for Finances and Power of Attorney for Health Care decisions are almost invariably different documents. The good news is that you can have this quickly and affordably taken care of. Many attorneys offer free consultations either through phone,... View More

I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother's passing. The proper form required to transfer the title to the mobile home in California is a CERTIFICATE FOR TRANSFER WITHOUT PROBATE, form number HCD RT 475.2. This form can be obtained through the State of California, Business, Consumer and... View More

I'm very sorry to hear about your partner's passing. The property must go through probate to transfer ownership to the heir. The non-interested siblings can disclaim their interest in the house or this can be done in tandem with a Settlement Agreement between all heirs which gets filed... View More

I'm sorry about your loss. Unfortunately there are no options to avoid probate. The reverse mortgage went into default as soon as your parents passed. Most reverse mortgage companies will give the family some latitude before setting the default process in motion, however, there is no time to... View More

Greetings nice ex-wife from Yucaipa. As an alternative to transferring the property to your son at this time, you can create a revocable living trust to insure a smooth transfer of ownership to your son upon his father's passing. Good luck with this.

I'm sorry to hear about your mom passing. Wills must be hand-delivered to the Clerk of the Court, probate division, where your mom passed. Make sure to keep a good hard copy for yourself as well as a good digital copy so that you can share the will with beneficiaries or financial institutions.

Greetings Chico. I agree with the other attorneys' answers, however, I wanted to add that your father can execute and record a new deed adding you as a joint tenant with the right of survivorship. If you survive your father, then you will become the sole owner after recording a Affidavit of... View More

As a first step, I recommend severing the joint tenancy by filing a tenancy in common (TIC) deed. The next step is to create a living trust and then fund the trust with the property by way of a trust transfer deed. This will insure a smooth transfer of the property without probate to your kids... View More

Assuming the 1990 Will was properly drafted, executed, and witnessed, is valid unless another Will superseded the 1990 Will. I would have a probate attorney review the 1990 Will and the divorce decree to see if there is any conflict. I would also check with the new spouse to see if she has an... View More

I'm sorry about your loss and the lack of an estate plan. I too must be the bearer of bad news. I have personal experience representing estranged siblings in probate court who end up inheriting even though their deceased sibling "promised" to take care of non-family members who end... View More