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What are the California Probate Guidelines? Los Angeles Ca Efficient Transfer of Assets after Death

Los Angeles Probate Lawyer, Mina Sirkin advises clients regarding probate guidelines in California and the efficient transfer of assets after death in Los Angeles. See the California Probate Guide here for probate steps and guidelines.

Transfer of a deceased person's assets can occur in several different manners:  1) By Probate Administration in court; 2) By Trust Administration; or 3) By passing by Contract/joint tenancy or Beneficiary Designation. Each method has different guidelines and rules.  The last two methods are the most efficient ways of transferring assets of a deceased person.

Probate is a court proceeding that is set up to insures that notice is given to the appropriate heirs, family members, and that creditors of the decedent are adequately protected before assets of the decedent are distributed.  

Distribution of assets of a deceased person is then done either according to instructions in a will, or by California's intestacy rules, if there is no will.   Intestacy is the the default way California distributes the assets of a person who died without a will.

How long does it take for probate in California? Probate is a time-consuming process and in most cases can be avoided, if there is a living trust.   A nice probate in California can take about a year.   If there is any litigation involved in probate, it may take two years or longer to settle the estate.

A shorter way to distribute the assets of a decedent, would be if he/she had a trust.   Trust Administration is similar to probate administration, except that it generally does not involve the courts, unless there is litigation or questions regarding the rights of beneficiaries or duties of the trustee.   In trusts as well, Creditors are also given notice during the trust administration period and are afforded rights to file claims.   Trust distributions are done informally and simply by notice to the potential beneficiaries who can review an informal accounting.

For information on Los Angeles Probate requirements, contact Mina Sirkin, Los Angeles Probate Lawyer.  Ms. Sirkin is Certified as a Specialist lawyer in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law, in Los Angeles County, California.  818-340-4479. http://www.SirkinLaw.com/attorneys.html.

LOS ANGELES PROBATE

Mina Sirkin

SIRKINLAW.COM ®

818.340.4479

PROBATE SPECIALIST ATTORNEY

LOS ANGELES

 

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Sirkin Law Group's probate attorneys and lawyer regularly serve the following cities and areas in Los Angeles County, Ventura County, Orange County, Santa Barbara County. San Fernando Valley; Bell Canyon,Woodland Hills Calabasas Conservatorship & Elder Law, Complex Conservatorships, Complex Estates, Contested Conservatorship Litigation Woodland Hills & Los angeles,  Hidden Hills, Elder Law Woodland Hills, Conservatorship Woodland Hills,  West Hills, Los Angeles, Glendale, ProbateAttorneyLosAngeles, LosAngelesProbateAttorney, Calabasas, Woodland Hills Elder Law, Agoura, San Marino, Altadena, Eagle Rock, Alhambra, Downtown Los Angeles, Van Nuys, Pasadena, Studio City, West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Burbank, LosAngeles, Encino, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Reseda, North Hills, Sunland, Studio City, Universal City, North Hollywood, Sylmar, Northridge, North Hills, Granada Hills, Pacoima, Simi Valley, Canoga Park, Woodland Hills Conservatorship Attorney, East Los Angeles, Woodland Hills Elder Law Attorney,  West Hollywood, West Los Angeles, Chatsworth, Santa Monica, Culver City, Los Angeles, Woodland Hills Elder Law, West Hollywood, Anaheim, Playa Del Rey,, Marina Del Rey, Conservatorship, Woodland Hills, Venice, Santa Monica, Malibu, Culver City, Elder Law Conservatorship Woodland Hills Calabasas, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Los Angeles California, Trust Litigation La County, Torrance, Pacific Palisades, LosAngelesProbate, Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, Long Beach, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa,Irvine, Laguna, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach, Tustin, Fullerton, Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Sherman Oaks, Studio City.   Practice areas: Los Angeles Probate Attorney, Probate Attorney Los Angeles, CA Probate Law, Probate Litigation Los Angeles, Trust Litigation Los Angeles, Probate Lawyer Los Angeles. Probate, Trust, Conservatorship, Special Needs Trusts, Los Angeles Conservatorship Attorney, Estate Planning, Conservatorship Litigation, Trust Litigation, and Probate Litigation areas. Los Angeles Probate Lawyer & Probate Attorney Los Angeles

 

California Probate Attorney:  Los Angeles: Probate Attorney Los Angeles California

 

Do you Have Questions About Wills Trusts & Probate in Los Angeles? San Fernando Valley

Frequently Asked Questions about Wills, Trusts & Probate

• By: Mina N. Sirkin
• Certified Specialist Estate Planning Lawyer Los Angeles
• Sirkin Law Group, P.C.
• 21550 Oxnard St. #300
• Woodland Hills, CA 91367
• 818-340-4479
• Email: [email protected]
• http://LosAngelesProbateLawyer.com

What happens if you die without a will?

• In California, if you die without a will, you are said to have died intestate.
• California has a set of default rules for who gets the estate if there is no will.
• Generally, as to community property, the surviving spouse gets 100% of the community property if there is no will in California.
• As to separate property, the children and spouse share it depending on whether there are any children, and the number of children.

The Default Estate- No will

Community Property: 100% to Spouse, or  Registered Domestic Partner, if any.

Separate Property:

If there are no children, the spouse (Domestic Partner) gets it.

If there are children, ½ to spouse, and ½ if only one child. If more than one child, then 1/3 to spouse and 2/3 split among the children.

What is the Cost of Probate Administration in Los Angeles

• Generally, there are several categories of fees and costs.
• Statutory Fees and for Personal Representative and for the Attorney for the Personal Representative
• Extra-ordinary Fees for Personal Representative and his/her lawyer.
• Bond (if not waived)
• Filing Fees for Petitions
• Probate Referee’s Appraisal Fees
• Miscellaneous Costs of Letters and Certified Orders
• Translation of California Statutory Fees

Estate Size            Statutory Fees for Each Personal

                                  Representative and his/her attorney

$100,000              $4,000

$200,000              $7,000 

$500,000             $13,000

$800,000            $19,000

$1,000,000        $23,000

$2,000,000       $33,000 

$3,000,000      $43,000

How long does it take to close a probate estate in Los Angeles?

• A nice probate without any litigation in Los Angeles can take about a year.
• Most cases take somewhere between 1-2 years to complete.
• Complications can happen when there are undiscovered assets or assets which have escheated to the State of California or other states.
• What if there is not enough money to pay cash gifts in a will?
• Cash gifts usually get paid first before the residue.
• If there is no residue, and the cash gifts exceed the size of the estate, the cash gifts get reduced (called abated.

What happens if the deceased left more than one will?

• If the decedent left more than one will, generally, there is a presumption that the last one governs, unless:
• You can show there was fraud, duress, mistake, undue influence, or lack of capacity at the time of execution of the will.
• In that case, there will be a will contest and the court will set the case for a trial as to which will is valid.

What are the best ways to prevent
gold diggers from getting to your trust assets?

• Preventing undue influence can be effectuated by:
• Naming a Professional Fiduciary as Successor Trustee
• Setting up an automatic change in the trustee to a professional, once trustor reaches a particular age
• Creating an Exclusive Method of Revocation for the Trust.
• Creating an Exclusive Method of withdrawal and transfer of property from the Trust.

About Mina Sirkin, Los Angeles Probate Lawyer

• Mina N. Sirkin has been practicing probate law in Los Angeles County since 1992.
• Ms. Sirkin is a Board Certified Specialist in Probate, Estate Planning, and Trust Law in California.
• Frequent Media Expert on Estate and Conservatorship Cases in Los Angeles
• Appeared on CNN, CNBC, Inside Edition, RollingStone.com, KCET, NPR News

Probate Attorney Los Angeles | Sirkin Law Group Probate | Los Angeles County, Glendale, Woodland Hills

Probate Attorney Los Angeles | Sirkin Law Group Probate | Call 818.340.447

Some of you may wonder what the probate process is like in Los Angeles from an attorney's perspective.  

"The most important fact to know about probate is that Probate is a protective proceeding."

1.   The process insures that the court supervises the actions of an executor or administrator.  

2.  The Court overlooks the admission of wills and allows a forum for people to question authenticity of any will or codicil.  Sometimes, a will or codicil cannot be admitted, if it was the result of undue influence, fraud or lack of capacity of the decedent.   The probate process allows for relatives to voice their concerns and objections to a will or codicil via a will contest.

3.   It insures that creditors' rights are protected, via a bond.

4.   Probate provides a method of transfer of title to property of a decedent.

5.  It includes a timeline for an accounting for the executor or administrator, and a time for distribution of the assets of the estate.

How do you file probate in Los Angeles?

The process in Los Angeles begins with a Petition for Probate filed with the Central Court (Downtown). The petition requires that a notice be published in the local newspaper where the decedent resided.   The reason for the publication and notice requirements is to make sure that any relatives find out about the probate filing, have an opportunity to object, and that creditors can come forward to collect any money due them by the decedent.

Unless there is a will that waives bond, or the court at its discretion waives the bond, the Court requires that an administrator/ executor post a bond. Sometimes, administrators cannot get bonded due to bad creditor, or prior bankruptcies or other reasons.    If a bond is ordered but it it is not posted, the executor/ administrator cannot get appointed unless an alternative method is used.  Bond waivers are getting more rare in Los Angeles and require a personal appearance to request one.

The alternative to a bond is a blocked account, or appointment of another person, such as a private professional fiduciary, or a trust company as administrator.

What if you can't agree to an issue in probate?

While there are many times where there are disputes regarding actions of an executor or administrator, there are great opportunities for settlement of cases in probate via mediation.    The least expensive way of settling a probate dispute is by mediation.

Why hire us?

Mina Sirkin is a nationally recognized probate attorney and has served as a media expert to CNN, MSNBC, Inside Edition, NPR and KTLA regarding probate and estate matters.  She is Certified as a Specialist by the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California, in Probate, Estate Planning and Trust Law.   Mina Sirkin is rated 10/10 on Avvo.  Sirkin Law Group's Probate Offices are located in Los Angeles, Woodland Hills, Glendale and Pasadena. Probate Attorney Los Angeles  

Call: 818.340.4479. Los Angeles Probate Lawyer

Los Angeles Probate Attorney, Mina Sirkin quoted in Rollingstone re Jackson v. AEG Trial

Rollingstone quotes Mina Sirkin, Los Angeles Probate Attorney, re Jackson v. AEG

By Steve Knopper

April 10, 2013 11:05 AM ET

"The latest super-trial involving Michael Jackson will hinge on a few key questions: Did executives from AEG Live, Jackson's concert promoter, hire Dr. Conrad Murray? And did they pressure Murray into pumping Jackson full of drugs so he could sleep properly and be ready to perform his scheduled multimillion-dollar shows at London's O2 Arena?

Jackson's family – mother Katherine and children Paris, Prince Michael and Blanket – argue that AEG is at fault for the singer's unexpected death after an overdose of sleep medication on June 25th, 2009. They're suing AEG for $40 billion, claiming wrongful death. "The truth about what happened to Michael, which AEG has tried to keep hidden from the public since the day Michael died, is finally emerging," the family's attorney, Kevin Boyle, said earlier this year. "We look forward to the trial where the rest of the story will come to light." (Attorneys for the family and AEG would not comment to Rolling Stone.)

Video: Conrad Murray Sings During TV Interview

The trial began last week with jury selection. It could last from two to four months, with potentially dramatic testimony from all three Jackson children as well as high-profile witnesses such as the musicians Prince, Diana Ross, Quincy Jones, Lisa Marie Presley, Jackson's brothers and Sharon Osbourne.

The family's goal is to make an emotional case to the Los Angeles Superior Court jury, painting AEG as a money-hungry promoter. The $40 billion claim may be to draw attention to the case for public-relations purposes, or to create a strong starting point for a settlement negotiation – or it may actually be what the Jacksons believe they can win. "They may feel they're going to fight this to the bitter end because [AEG] killed Michael," explains Stan Goldman, a Loyola Law School law professor who teaches criminal law and legal ethics and has closely followed trials involving Michael Jackson over the years. "They may feel as strongly about getting them punished as they did about Conrad Murray being punished." (Murray is in prison after a 2009 involuntary manslaughter conviction.)

Supporting the Jacksons' case are emails reportedly sent by AEG executives in the 2009 run-up to Jackson's O2 shows. In March 2009, Randy Phillips, the company's president, wrote in an email to his superiors, "MJ is locked in his room drunk and despondent. I [am] trying to sober him up. I screamed at him so loud the walls are shaking. He is an emotionally paralyzed mess riddled with self-loathing and doubt now that it is show time." At the time, Phillips was offering a very different sentiment in public: "In order to do this deal, Michael had to submit to a five-hour physical by an independent, third-party physician picked by the insurance carrier," he said then. "He passed with flying colors."

The family is likely to argue that the emails show AEG officials not only knew about Jackson's inability to perform, but they pushed him to do so anyway. While AEG's attorneys argue vehemently that it was Jackson himself, and not AEG, who hired Murray, one internal email suggests otherwise. "We want to remind [Murray] that it is AEG, not MJ, who is paying his salary," the company's co-chief executive, Paul Gongaware, wrote 11 days before Jackson's death. "We want to remind him what is expected of him."

It's unclear how much credibility these emails will have to a jury, or whether Judge Yvette Palazuelos will find them admissible. "Just one email isn't by itself enough," says Mina Sirkin, a Woodland Hills, California lawyer who specializes in estate planning and trusts. "But if it does get admitted during trial, it could be pretty damaging."

Nonetheless, AEG's goal will be to insist that Jackson himself hired Murray and gave him instructions. "I don't know how you can't look to Mr. Jackson's responsibility there. He was a grown man," the company's attorney, Marvin Putnam, told CNN. "Mr. Jackson is a person who was known to doctor-shop. He was known to be someone who would tell one doctor one thing and another doctor something else."

Jackson's death was due to a fatal dose of propofol, a powerful anesthetic; Murray gave it to him after Jackson begged for the drug he called "milk." In a bizarre phone interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper last week, which involved the doctor singing Nat King Cole's "The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot" at length on cable television, Murray suggested he might not take the Fifth Amendment if called to the stand during the AEG trial. "If I testify, I'll testify very honestly," he said. "Michael said to me, 'I no longer want to be a band for my family,' but all you see today is a continuation of that."

AEG's attorneys will try to paint Jackson as a drug-addicted pop star who would have demanded and received the sleep-inducing drugs regardless of outside influence. Putnam has suggested AEG will drag the star's child-molestation accusations into the trial because they "resulted in an incredible increase in his drug intake." Adds Loyola's Goldman, "Some of the more sensational stuff would be coming out with the defense case. They're the ones who want to bring out the child-molesting [trial] and the toll it took on him."

So far, the biggest decision Judge Palazuelos has made in the trial has been to ban CNN cameras from the courtroom, thus preventing an O.J. Simpson-style legal circus. Says Sirkin, "They just don't want this to become another public fiasco." It might already be too late for that."

Related

• Michael Jackson Wrongful Death Trial Begins in Los Angeles
• Conrad Murray Sings During TV Interview
• Michael Jackson Promoter Withdraws Insurance Claim Over Singer's Death

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/michael-jackson-trial-may-hinge-on-conrad-murray-testimony-20130410#ixzz2Q5042ju9 
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

Copyright Rollingstone.com

Mina N. Sirkin, Los Angeles Probate Attorney quoted in Rollingstone re Jackson v. AEG.  To reach Mina Sirkin, Email [email protected] or [email protected].  Tel.: 818-340-4479.   http://SirkinLaw.com

Beneficiary Rights in California Trust and Probate Matters

Probate Attorney Los Angeles: Mina Sirkin is a Los Angeles Certified Specialist lawyer who handles beneficiary rights, trust and probate litigation matters in California:

Estate and trust beneficiaries often do not know their rights under California law.

Protecting a beneficiary's claims and objections in trust and probate litigation matters involves taking immediate action.   Waiting too long to respond or object to petitions can often detrimentally affect the rights of beneficiaries.

If you are a trust or estate beneficiary, you should know about the following rights:

1.   Right to receive advice from an independent attorney.   Do not rely on advice given by the trustee or executor's attorney who does not represent you.

2.  Remember that if you don't question an action by a trustee or executor, you will waive your rights as to that action.

3.  Review the trust or will with an experienced trust and probate attorney for impact on your interest.

4.  File any necessary objections timely and watch for no contest clauses. 

5.  Ask for an accounting in writing and keep a copy of your letter requesting the same.

6.  If you don't get a response to a request for an accounting, call your lawyer immediately.  

When needing counsel to review your documents, contact Beneficiary Rights Lawyers, Sirkin and Sirkin.  Our Certified Specialist in Probate Litigation in Los Angeles, California can assist you.   Contact us at: 818-340-4479.  http://www.SirkinLaw.com.   Probate Attorney Los Angeles.

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