“Probate”
refers to a court case that deals with the process of transferring a
deceased person’s property to his or her heirs. While this may
sound simple and clear-cut enough, there are actually a variety of
matters that need to be settled first. These include assessing the
true value of the properties, paying final bills and estate taxes,
and the like. In the State of California, a probate may or may not be
undertaken, depending on certain circumstances.
For
example, the assets of a deceased person don’t need to go through
probate if they’re owned in joint tenancy, in a living trust, or as
survivorship community property with the person’s spouse. In
addition, assets that are no more than $150,000 in value can be
easily transferred through a streamlined summary probate process,
which takes a much shorter time. Properties and assets that don’t
meet these criteria need to go through the probate process.
A
last will and testament is one of the issues that may be settled in
probate. This document not only declares which heir will get what,
but also identifies the executor in charge of supervising the
transfer of assets. The executor is also responsible for settling the
aforementioned matters of paying bills, estate taxes, and the like.
If an executor is not named, the California Probate Code can allow
one family member to act as a court-appointed administrator, who
performs the same duties of an executor.
