Q: I live in California and my husband passed away. I am the beneficiary of everything.Do I need to file for probation?
A: The main purpose of prorate is to retitle assets in the name of a decedent. You not need to open a probate to transfer assets to you if all assets have already transferred to you via beneficiary designations or other non-probate transfer methods such as ownership with right of survivorship.
Howard E. Kane agrees with this answer
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A: I'm sorry to hear about your husband's passing. There is no need to petition the court for probate of a particular asset and have it transferred to you by order of the probate court unless there is no other legal way to transfer the asset to you. It's also a good idea to do some level of estate/legacy planning or update your estate plan regularly to ensure that your assets pass to your beneficiaries as well.
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