Q: Wife's father died in CA in 2013. No legal paperwork has ever been filed. How do we fix this?

A: A probate proceeding needs to be filed. If your wife doesn't take fees, but acts as administrator, then there will only be court fees and attorney fees. Taxes will have to be filed and paid, but should be minimal. Statutory attorney fees are four percent of the first $100,000 of the estate, three percent of the next $100,000, two percent of the next $800,000, one percent of the next $9,000,000. The probate needs to be filed in CA if he was a resident here at his death.

A: If no real property is involved I assume that only financial assets such as bank and investment accounts were owned as of the date of death.

If there are named beneficiaries on accounts then no probate would be required for the account with the named beneficiary(ies). You should check with the financial institutions. If they indicate that a court order would be required for an account you can assume that there were no beneficiaries listed on that account. If "no beneficiary" accounts total over $150,000.00 as of the date of death you should contact a probate attorney to initiate a formal probate.

Probate attorney fees are the same as the fee for the court appointed personal representative. Here are the current rates:

4% of the first $100,000 of the gross value of the probate estate.

3% of the next $100,000.

2% of the next $800,000.

1% of the next $9 million.

.5% of the next $15 million.

A: I agree with Mr. Sweeney and Mr. Dorfman's responses. I thought that I would add a bit more:

Due to the lapse of time, you gain the benefit of California's one year limitations period on claims by creditors which runs from the date of death. This prevents creditors from making claims against the estate, except for MediCal, California's Medicaid program, the California and Federal taxing authorities, California Franchise Tax Board and the I.R.S., and a couple of other governmental agencies. This means that there is one less hurdle to clear for administration.

I would also run the Decedent's name through the California Unclaimed Property data base (https://ucpi.sco.ca.gov/UCP/). And be wary of "asset recovery firms" which tend to take a high premium to do work that you could do yourself.

As far as fees go, if the matter is exceedingly simple. You might be able to find an attorney who will reduce the statutory fee or will accept a fee that is the lesser of the fee based on the time spent or statutory fee. (Never hurts to ask.) I would consider this an exceedingly simple matter if their are no issues with the will (correctly executed) and their are no other potential beneficiaries. Other than beneficiaries named in the will, potential beneficiaries (who might contest a will) would be other children of the Decedent or the issues (blood decedents) of any of the Decedent's children who died before the Decedent.

If you do not know where to find an attorney, you can contact the local county bar association in the county where the Decedent lived at the time of his death. (This is the county where the probate would be located.) Most county bar associations provide a referral service that connects you with an attorney in the right practice area for a small or no fee. The attorney will provide a half hour to hour consultation in which you can discuss the price for services. (Policies on cost and consultation time vary by county.)

Best of luck.