I'm sorry to hear about your dad passing. According to the probate code, as the surviving spouse, your mom has priority to act as the administrator of your father's probate estate. The court can waive the bond requirement if all beneficiaries sign a bond waiver. If all beneficiaries do... View More

In order to claim property through adverse possession, there must be uninterrupted and continuous possession of the property for at least five years. Once the adverse possessor invades the property, the clock begins ticking on the five-year requirement. If the true owner resumes possession,... View More

Yes, you can certainly request a continuance at the time of the hearing or beforehand. Oftentimes you can call the court clerk beforehand and request a continuance. Worst-case scenario, you can request the continuance at the hearing. I also recommend checking the probate examiner's notes on... View More

The bank will not turn over the funds to the Trust absent a court order. Through a Heggstad petition, you can ask the court to fund the bank account into the trust. Since the trust lists this account, a Heggstad should be granted. Unfortunately, in Alameda County, it takes around 9 months to... View More

This is a really good question that comes up regularly in co-ownership situations. The co-owners should sit down with an attorney or mediator and come up with a co-ownership agreement. Legally, both co-owners are entitled to possession, responsible for the bills and costs associated with... View More

The current executor should have opened up a bank account and funded the account with cash from the estate. You should ask around to find out who may know where the account is. In addition, the executor is required to provide an accounting to the probate court and beneficiaries before they are... View More

I'm very sorry to hear that your husband passed. I hope that you are doing ok. The life insurance proceeds are not part of your husband's estate. Also, I highly doubt that the credit card company will come after used cars, especially if they are in particularly poor condition.... View More

This is a great tax question. I recommend that you ask your CPA or tax advisor how this is handled. Tax questions are typically outside the lane of probate attorneys. However, I suspect that the proceeds will be considered non-taxable inheritance. The 2022 estate tax exemption amount is $12.92... View More

In certain circumstances, a donative transfer is presumed to be the product of fraud or undue influence. This includes when the transfer is to a person who drafted the Will, a caretaker, etc. I recommend reviewing Probate Code section 21380 to see if any of the relationships or connections... View More

I agree that the money will most likely be held in trust for your son until he reaches at least 18, perhaps longer depending on the terms of the Will and/or Trust. When your son reaches 18, there is most likely no oversight that you or anyone else will be able to provide unless the Will and/or... View More

I agree that a quiet title action may be necessary. A quiet title action is a judicial proceeding whereby a party seeks to establish an interest of record in real property (e.g., ownership through adverse possession, a prescriptive easement), or remove liens and encumbrances affecting title (e.g.,... View More

If your parents are still alive, they should definitely have a trust (and other estate planning documents) that names you as their beneficiary of the home. You should also have a trust and name your beneficiaries so that your beneficiaries can avoid the probate process. It's never too early... View More

If your boyfriend passed without a will, then his estate should be distributed through the laws of intestate Succession found in Probate Code section 6400 - 6414. Under no circumstances is your boyfriend's ex-wife (assuming they were actually divorced) considered next of kin.

If the vehicle is in the name of the decedent, then you need to wait until you are appointed administrator of the estate. Good luck with this.

I'm sorry to hear about the jerk around. As the administrator of the estate, you can file a small claims case to recover the money. That is the only recourse I can think of. Best of luck with this.

I'm sorry to hear about your mom passing. I'm sure this is a difficult time for you. If I understand correctly, your mom passed and she owned a home in her name. There is no written Will or Trust. If this is the case, then the home needs to go through the probate process for it to... View More

I agree with attorney Julie King. You should take advantage of a free consultation and discuss the situation more thoroughly with an attorney. You should provide copies of all relevant documents via email so that this can be carefully evaluated. I suspect that the notarized document can be... View More

The transfer tax exemptions are contained in Revenue and Taxation Code sections 11911-11930. Section 11930 exempts transfers into trusts. This needs to be written into the Trust Transfer Deed, normally towards the top. I recommend that you have an attorney handle this.

Yes! I consult regarding probate matters so feel free to email or call my office.

Yes. In this case, the life insurance policy is a non-probate asset. You can use a non-probate asset to pay probate attorney fees and other costs of probate administration.