Celebrity turntablist DJ AM died without a will. His mother filed for probate and sought to be appointed executor of his estate. Since he was unmarried and had not children it is a near certainty his mother will be appointed executor (had this probate been in California then she would have been appointed administrator.)
This should be plain vanilla probate. There's no hint of any illegitimate children or secret marriages. If so then his mother should be able to move this probate along and receive the net estate as the sole beneficiary.
I am regularly asked whether an executor or trustee needs an attorney to represent them in probate court. I can't imagine any other setting in which a person going to court would seriously ask whether they need a lawyer. Well, it's easy for a probate lawyer to tell you how much you need a lawyer in probate court. So don't take my word for it. Franklin County (Ohio) Probate Court Judge Eric Brown posted this on his court's website:
Does a Fiduciary Need an Attorney?
Due to the complexity of the law and the legal problems that are involved in estate administration, the Court strongly recommends that all fiduciaries seek legal counsel. Good legal advice and guidance can expedite the probate process, prevent costly errors, and protect against the fiduciary being sued.
When judge tells you that you need an attorney... you need an attorney.
The San Bernardino County Superior Court has announced the closing of the Redlands Probate Court. The closing is related to the state's fiscal crisis and the need to cut costs wherever possible. The probate court building will close on October 12, 2009 and move to San Bernardino in the civil court building.
The closing is particularly distressing because the Redlands Probate Court was an example of government working well to serve the citizens. Under the current set up two probate court judges and their staffs occupied the building. Parking was usually ample. Other than probate cases, the court heard some traffic matters. The physical set up provided for a more relaxed atmosphere than found in most courthouses.
With the court moving back to downtown San Bernardino, parties and their lawyers will be thrown into the scramble for parking. It is expected the two judges assigned to probate cases will keep those cases but it is unknown if they will be assigned other cases as well. Let's hope not. The probate case load is large and continues to grow. Saddling this court with other assignments will only impair access to probate court parties.
Riverside probate lawyer releases free California probate book and DVD.Riverside probate lawyer Scott Grossman has released a book and DVD on California probate and trust administration. His book, The Insider’s Guide to California Probate and Trust Administration as well as the DVD Probating a Will or Administering a Trust After the Death of a Loved One are available to anyone seeking a probate lawyer or with questions about California probate and trust administration including executors, administrators and beneficiaries of California probate estates as well as trustees and beneficiaries of California trusts.The book and DVD can be ordered by calling (866) 540-0000 or by clicking here.
Foreclosure and probate are no strangers to each other in California. In our badly depressed real estate market many homes are worth less than the mortgages on them. Unfortunately, the obligation to make timely mortgage payments doesn't stop, or even pause, when your loved one dies. Some people think there is some type of grace period in which the mortgage payments temporarily cease while the probate process gets under way. This simply isn't so.
If you are an executor and become aware the probate estate is facing foreclosure on a piece of real estate then you must act quickly. Inform your probate attorney the foreclosure process has begun.
If there is equity in the property so it is worth saving then your probate lawyer will probably do one of two things. First, contact the lender and see if the loan can be brought current. If the probate estate has enough cash available then this is the fastest, simplest way to save the property. You will be able to use that cash to save the property if your letters testamentary or letters of administration have already issued.
Your second option for saving a property in foreclosure is to have your probate lawyer obtain a temporary restraining order to prevent the lender from foreclosing on the property. This is definitely not your best option. As you might imagine, judges are well aware of how these prejudice a lender who is trying to collect a legitimate debt. If the property is not sold during the period of the first order the judge will probably allow the lender to foreclose when the order expires.
If you are nominated as the executor of a probate estate or want to serve as administrator of an intestate estate then choosing your California probate lawyer is one of the most important decisions you will make. Finding a qualified probate lawyer in California requires some time and effort. Put it in and you will be rewarded with a skillful guide who will help you navigate the probate process.
It is common to find lawyers advertising they do probate in addition to two, three or four different other practice areas. Almost always these practice areas have nothing at all to do with probate. Don't choose a lawyer who does probate as a sideline. When a problem comes up during your case these lawyers often lock up or blunder forward causing real problems for their client. Their cases often take longer than those handled by experienced California probate lawyers. Knowing how to address difficult situations only comes from the experience gained by having dealt with them before and the willingness to go to court when necessary.
If a problem comes up during the probate of a will or intestate estate then you want an lawyer who will go to court to make the plan work; not one who will abandon you in the middle of a case. Too many lawyers only dabble in probate and probate litigation. Having a lawyer who actively litigates protects you from the beginning of your case. That's because any probate can unexpectedly turned nasty and degenerate into litigation. If your lawyer doesn't do litigation then you're going to have to change your lawyer midway through your probate.
San Diego probate lawyer releases free California probate book and DVD. San Diego probate lawyer Scott Grossman has released a book and DVD on California probate and trust administration. His book, The Insider's Guide to California Probate and Trust Administration as well as the DVD Probating a Will or Administering a Trust After the Death of a Loved One are available to anyone seeking a probate lawyer or with questions about California probate and trust administration including executors, administrators and beneficiaries of California probate estates as well as trustees and beneficiaries of California trusts. The book and DVD can be ordered by calling (866) 540-0000 or by clicking here.
The Riverside County Superior Court recently proposed a change to its local rules which assign cases originating in Banning to the Desert District. The new rule, when approved, will move cases from Banning, Beaumont, and the surrounding area to the Riverside District. This means probate cases in which the decedent lived in Banning or Beaumont or the surrounding will be heard in the Riverside probate court once the proposed rule is enacted. Currently these cases are heard in the Palm Springs probate court.
Nominated executors and administrators filing a new probate petition in Riverside County beware of the court's unpublished venue rules. My firm recently filed a new probate petition for a decedent who resided in Banning at the time of his death. The probate petition we drafted for our client stated the case would be heard in the Riverside probate court. To our surprise the case was assigned to the Palm Springs probate court.
We followed up with the clerk's office believing a mistake had been made. A check of the court's local rules revealed there is no guidance on which court is the proper venue for filings in the mid-county region which roughly covers the area between Temecula, Hemet and Banning. The clerk's office recently circulated a non-public memo assigning cases originating out of Banning and Beaumont to the Palm Springs probate court.
As Riverside and Palm Springs probate lawyers this a circumstance we can readily address for our client by amending the probate petition, giving new notice of the hearing and publishing notice. For those who chose to try a California probate on their own this sort of change can cause confusion and delays. More importantly, we have published laws and local rules so that all participants in the court system know what to expect and what standards must be met. Unpublished rules severely undermine this principal.
San Diego County has two probate courts that serve different regions in San Diego County. The North County (Vista) Probate serves most of North County San Diego. Generally speaking, North County starts at Escondido and extends north to the Riverside County line. The downtown San Deigo probate court serves the rest of San Diego County.
The Riverside County Superior Court has three locations for probate court. The probate courts are located in Hemet, Riverside, and Indio. The Indio probate court has relocated to Palm Springs, California. The new Palm Springs probate court is on Tahquitz Way. The Palm Springs probate court will continue to hear all manner of probate cases (i.e. probate, trust administration, will contests, probate litigation, and will contests) at its new location. Judge Cox continues to sit as the probate court judge and the operation of the probate court should continue pretty much as it had before.
Not so long ago finding the San Bernardino County Probate Court was quite a trick. The court was divided among the various San Bernardino County Superior Courts in Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, Victorville, Yucca Valley,etc. San Bernardino County has since consolidated the San Bernardino County Probate Court. The San Bernardino County Probate Court now sits in Redlands. Two judges are permanently assigned to the court and they hear all the cases assigned for probate.
San Bernardino is, geographically, a very large county. So whether the decedent (i.e. the person who died) lived in Ontario, Apple Valley, Redlands, Yucca Valley, Yucaipa or San Bernardino, the probate case will be heard in Redlands
Many executors are worried about what to do with the real estate they control in probate estates. The fears of holding on to residential real estate in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego Counties is well justified. A recent newspaper article says we are in for another one to two years of declining real estate values. That article can be viewed here http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/07/01/business/z82ae2726b0f49f7a882574790075 c6b6.txt.
In the real estate market we have now executors are well advised to either sell their real estate at auction or use a real estate agent who is both well aware of current market prices and will recommend the price be reduced as needed to keep pace with a declining market. An auction has the benefit of finality and the likelihood of bringing a true market price for the property. A good auctioneer will advertise the upcoming sale for weeks before the scheduled auction. When auction day arrives the executor (and beneficiaries) can be confident the best possible price for the property will be obtained. Some recent auctions in southwest Riverside County have resulted in overbids because the properties were aggressively priced and the bidders then bid up the prices.
Using a traditional real estate agent can also work but the agent needs to be realistic with the executor. Everyone wants to hear they will get the price they want for their property. That’s not helpful in today’s real estate market. The executor should challenge the real estate agent to provide a realistic price based on current sales of comparable properties. With those prices in mind a sales price should be set with the realization that price may need to be reduced if the house does not sell quickly.
Parents who have used a will to pass their estate to their children want the best for their disabled (adult) child but often have not fully thought through how to protect the inheritance for their child. My firm recently helped a family through probate in which the main beneficiary was the developmentally disabled 50 year old son. The father had drafted the will himself and made a passing reference to his son being disabled and the need to protect his benefits.
If nothing more was done, the disabled son would have received his inheritance and then been kicked off of public benefits (SSI and Medi-Cal in this case) because he would have been "overresourced." Rather than let this happen, the probate court was petitioned to create a special needs trust to hold the inheritance. This would allow the money to be spent on the disabled son while allowing him to keep his public benefits. The court found there was an intention by the father to do this and approved the creation of the special needs trust. Because this trust is treated as being created by the father is a "third party" special needs trust and no payback to the state will be required when the disabled son dies.
If our petition was denied then the son, through his legal representative, would have had to petition the probate court for the creation of a "first party" special needs trust. Under this scenario, the disabled son would keep his public benefits. However, when he dies the state will be able to assert a claim for the money they spent on his care.
For anyone who has a probate in Riverside County, California it is not immediately obvious where to file for probate. There are three different probate courts in Riverside County. The one in the City of Riverside serves nearly all of the western part of Riverside County between the area bounded by Corona, Temecula, and Banning. The probate court in Hemet serves cases that came from someone who lived in or left real estate in Hemet or San Jacinto. Finally there is the probate court in Indio. The Indio probate court serves the eastern two thirds of Riverside County from Whitewater through the desert region (Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells, and Indio) all the way to Blythe.
Riverside County’s Superior Courts permit filing of any court document at any courthouse. That means you file for probate any at any of the courts. That doesn’t relieve anyone filing for probate to get their case assigned to the correct probate court. It is not uncommon for me to see a case get called for its first hearing in the wrong court. This can lead to the case being delayed for one to two months.
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