It’s easy to create a plan to pass financial accounts directly to heirs before you die and avoid the probate process after death. All you have to do is complete a form from your financial institution ...

Without a will, your state probate court decides where your property goes after your death. Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when ...

Probate Initiation: An interested party, often a family member or creditor, petitions the probate court to open an intestate estate. Appointment of Administrator: The court appoints an administrator ...

Christy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and ...

California’s Assembly Bill 2016 – which goes into effect April 1 – introduces significant positive changes to the probate process, particularly for primary residences. The law raises the value ...

When someone passes away and their property is not in a trust, these assets must typically go through probate. Probate is a court-supervised process that can delay distribution, increase costs and ...

Before shifting my practice from estate planning to estate litigation, I witnessed up close the challenges and frustrations associated with the California probate process. That has changed for many ...

Save your loved ones a lot of hassle and expense by taking steps now to protect your estate from probate. Unless you're a lawyer, there's nothing good about the probate process. Probate is basically a ...