Our blog offers regular updates on probate administration in California, giving you the information you need to close a loved one's estate. Learn more about the California probate and estate administration process from our experienced attorneys.
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Lessons from Kobe On January 26th, the world was shocked by the sudden and tragic passing of basketball legend, Kobe Bryant. Add to that ... Current Events -
Supreme Court undertakes review of trust taxation case The laws surrounding estate planning can be complex and are ever-changing. One of the ways that the laws that affect ... Estate Planning -
3 common mistakes that may delay the probate process Creating a will is an important step in planning for the future of your estate and family after you're gone. A well-crafted, ... Probate -
What is the purpose of probate in California? There are certain words in the English language that inspire confusion in those who hear them. One of those words is probate. ... Estate Administration -
Aretha Franklin left behind a great legacy, but no will. When Aretha Franklin passed away earlier this year, the world lost one of the most iconic soul singers of our time. The Queen ... -
How will probate affect my family? No one enjoys thinking about what will happen in the event they pass away. Death can be a scary thought and it's emotionally ... -
3 common mistakes that may delay the probate process Creating a will is an important step in planning for the future of your estate and family after you're gone. A well-crafted, ... -
John Mahoney Left Behind $5 Million and Many Heirs Court lists 38 friends and relatives as potential beneficiaries to actor's estate. A friend of John Mahoney, who passed away ... Estate Administration -
More Lawsuits Loom over Harper Lee’s Estate Harper Lee's life was private, but her estate is drawing a lot of interest as well as lawsuits. The estate of Harper Lee, who ... Estate Litigation -
Benson’s Will: Who Is In and Who Is Out? Will reveals that he was not happy with his daughter and her children. Tom Benson, the wealthy owner of the New Orleans ... Estate Plan -
What Type of Estates are Likely to Face Litigation? Experts predict the kind of estates that will face litigation. Family grievances are a key issue. It is interesting to ... Estate Litigation -
Court to Determine Fate of Las Vegas Shooter’s Estate The potential high number of claims against the Las Vegas shooter's estate, has the court worried that there will not be ... Estate Administration -
Charles Manson’s Body Still on Ice Officials in California would like to dispose of Charles Manson's remains as quickly as possible, but they are not sure who ... Estate Administration -
David Cassidy’s Estate Faces Past Legal Bills Entertainer left behind $150,000 in assets but there were suits filed against it. Entertainer David Cassidy filed for ... Estate Administration -
Glen Campbell’s Estate Faces Possible Challenges Campbell had eight children but left three out of his will. Glen Campbell drafted his will in 2006 and explicitly cut out the ... Estate Litigation -
Where Is Aaron Hernandez’s $9 Million? Hernandez put millions of dollars in an irrevocable trust. It appears that Aaron Hernandez, who committed suicide while in ... Estate Litigation -
Shooter’s Estate Will Be Tied Up for a Long Time The family of the man who killed concert goers in Las Vegas and the victims of the tragedy are likely to square off over $5 ... Estate Administration -
Another Celebrity Estate Battle Looms Celebrity's son claims his son is attempting to cheat him out of his proper share of legacy. The late poet Maya Angelou, who ... Estate Litigation -
Battle over Tompkins Estate Moves to Chile Daughter of founder of Esprit and North Face loses in California. Douglas Tompkins, who founded Esprit and North Face, and ... Estate Litigation -
The Widow of Alan Thicke Wins First Round Disagreement between stepparents and stepchildren isn't unusual. However, the fight over Thicke's estate is taking ... Estate Litigation -
Do Not Avoid Probate by Gifting House to Children Avoiding probate is a good idea, but not at the cost of losing your home. There are better ways to avoid probate than giving ... Estate Planning -
Slayer Statutes are Sometimes Difficult to Enforce The real challenge is finding out who is responsible for the death and will they benefit from the death. Most states have ... Estate Administration -
Michigan Accepts Unsigned Will into Probate An appellate court in Michigan overturns precedent and rules signature is not needed. For centuries, courts have required a ... Estate Planning -
Is There a Conflict in Thicke Estate? Judge asked to decide if there really is a conflict. A prenuptial agreement would lead one to think the settlement of the ... Estate Litigation -
Carrie Fisher Leaves Trust, but Probate May Be Necessary The sole daughter of the actress is the only beneficiary of estate but all of the assets not included in trust. Carrie ... Estate Administration -
A ‘Real Housewives’ Has a Real Battle Television reality entertainer claims that her stepchildren are trying to take her home from her. Alexia Echevarria, one of ... Estate Planning -
Prince’s Estate Is Awash in Controversy Sometimes a good example can tell you what not to do. People often do not get an estate plan because of the cost. However, ... Estate Administration -
Media Calculations See Prince’s Estate at $200 Million Court documents give reporters insight into estate's value Following calculations made by experienced journalists, the total ... Estate Administration -
Woman Claiming to Be Prince’s Wife Steps Forward Wife' says she has marriage license and a will. The fervor caused by people claiming to be heirs of Prince has died down. ... Estate Administration -
Prince Estate Becomes More Complex in Identifying Heirs State law may broaden definition of heirs to entertainer's estate. The list of potential heirs to Prince's estate has been ... Estate Planning -
Despite False DNA Report ‘Daughter’ Receives Millions Even though the DNA sample submitted was false, casino owner's estate pays out millions to woman. The estate of casino owner ... Inheritance -
Prince May Have Had a Son but Results of DNA Test Sealed Paper claims that DNA test proves Prince had a son. The Santa Monica Observer claims that DNA testing proves Prince had a son ... Probate -
Most of claims by Prince’s ‘Heirs’ are Rejected Stakes are high in inheritance of Prince's fortune and many have stepped forward to make claims. Most of the claims to be ... Estate Planning -
Woman Pays for Exerting Undue Influence That someone has used undue influence to pressure an elderly person into changing their will is very difficult to prove, so ... Will -
Prince Heirs Continue to Show Up Two more people come forward claiming to be heirs of entertainer Prince. Just as it was predicted when it was learned that ... Estate Planning -
Louisiana Estate Case Results in Charges against Attorney A child custody battle that resulted in a bitter feud has resulted in one attorney being charged with theft and falsifying a ... Estate Planning -
The Red Duchess’ Effort to Deny Her Children Their Family Legacy The Duchess of Medina Sidonia was clearly not centered around her children. She feuded with them while she was alive and ... Estate Planning -
What Is Unethical, What is Immoral and What Is Just Plain Wrong? One can only hope that this decision by an appellate court in Michigan does not reflect a slippery slope of decisions. At its ... Estate Planning -
When Wills are Not Finalized, Final Wishes Do Not Always Get Carried Out According to a homeless man in New York City, the executor of his long-standing friend and host is refusing to give him his ... Inheritance -
Estate Planning Keeps Your Life Private by Steering Clear of Probate Among the many benefits of having a well-designed estate plan is making the process of administering your estate much less of ... Asset Protection -
Will Slayer Rule Prevail in Missouri? An argument is being made that the "slayer" rule - which says you can't murder someone and then inherit their money ... Estate Planning -
Even Still, Estate Disputes Continue for Robin Williams’ Family A more precise estate plan may have saved the family of Robin Williams from their last round of court appearances to finally ... Estate Planning -
Estate Battles of the Rich and Famous BBC News takes a look at some of the more dramatic feuds that have taken place over the wills and legacies of well-known ... Estate Planning -
Late Art Collector Leaves $100,000 Tip, Boyfriend Contesting Will The long-time boyfriend of a filthy rich art collector who left $100,000 to two waitresses is fighting to get himself a much ... Trusts -
5 Probate Avoidance Tips for Business Owners If you've been in business for long, chances are you've heard at least a few tales of probate problems plaguing family ... Business -
Inheritance-Stealing Granny Probate courts generate plenty of stories about bad guardians, people appointed by a court to look after a ward's well-being ... Estate Planning -
Avoiding Probate When Real Estate Is in the Mix What has been missing for so long is a means of transferring real estate in a simple, probate-free process. In about half the ... Probate -
Conflict of Interest Causes Attorney to Withdraw from Estate Case Just five days after Breen was shot, attorneys working for Kacie Breen filed a motion in state district court in Covington to ... Estate Planning -
Dispute over Ernie Banks’ Will A dispute between the family of Ernie Banks and the woman who cared for him during his final years intensified Monday with ... Will -
Court Battle Heats Up over Robin Williams’ Estate Robin Williams' children and wife have gone to court in a fight over the late comedian's estate. In papers filed in December ... Trusts -
Estate Battle over Martin Luther King’s Bible and Nobel Prize The legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. seems to be everywhere these days with the success of the film ... Estate Planning -
Superman Publisher’s Widow May Have Been Conned, Estate Disputed Two real-life Lex Luthors took advantage of the elderly widow of the DC Comics publisher who brought Superman to news stands ... -
Beat Style Author’s Estate Faces Dispute Involving Literary Letter The one-month custody battle over a long-lost letter to Beat generation author Jack Kerouac from his driving character, Neal ... Estate Planning -
Suspicious Death, Love Triangle, and a Million Dollar Estate Battle Since last summer, investigators have been trying to answer a puzzling question: Who killed Sarah Long, who was found dead of ... Probate -
Beware of Embezzling Attorneys A prominent Staten Island attorney has been accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from five clients, according ... Estate Planning -
Bob Hoskins’ Estate Details Revealed in Probate The year 2014 will be remembered for many things, to include celebrity deaths. The details of another celebrity's estate have ... Estate Planning -
Estate Battles – Pirates Aren’t the Only Ones Dealing with Lost Treasure A New York City landlord told his siblings, on his deathbed, that he hid $4.5m worth of silver bullion and gold krugerrands - ... Estate Planning -
Estate of Fugitive with Double Life Being Challenged by Victim’s Family No one - not Florida investigators, court officials, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections or the FBI - ever notified the ... -
Supposed Billionaire Dies Penniless: Irony or Foul Play? Probate records reveal that he died without a will and left an estate valued at 'nil' in England and Wales. It is not known ... Estate Planning -
New Hampshire’s New Law Allows Probating a Will Before You Pass "I saw an alarming increase in the number of probate and trust litigation cases. It was just devastating families, and ... Probate -
Estate Litigation on the Rise as Families Drift Apart? Some attorneys and judges believe that as the Baby Boom generation ages there will be an increase in the number of probate ... Probate -
Kids – What If You Don’t Get The Inheritance You Were Expecting? If you are expecting an outright inheritance, you may need to think again. Expecting a sizeable inheritance? A recent Forbes ... Estate Planning -
IRS Sets Value Of Michael Jackson’s Image Documents recently released in litigation between the estate of pop star Michael Jackson and the IRS showed that a large ... Estate Planning -
Titling Assets to Avoid Probate Earlier in my career, I saw estate plans consisting of a set of documents drawn and signed, and that was it. There was no ... Estate Planning -
Don’t “Escheat” Your Family Inheritance Nearly 2.5 million Americans died last year, many without signing a will. One of them was apparently Roman Blum, a Holocaust ... Estate Planning -
Family Feud Threatens Four Generation Family Business Family businesses can be quite successful, he said, but the managing and intermingling of blood and commerce, insiders and ... Business -
The Perils of Joint Tenancy In Los Angeles and Orange County Eliminating the need for probate is a goal for many clients. Joint tenancy, a form of co-ownership, is one tool that can ... Estate Planning
