Q:

How do I protect a California probate estate from creditors?

A: The executor or administrator of a California probate estate has a duty to protect and preserve estate assets.  Part of this duty involves deny or approving claims in the creditors claim procedure.  This procedure requires creditors of the probate estate, that is anyone who claims the decedent owed them money before they died, to submit a claim by filing it with the California probate court in which the probate is being heard and mailing a copy of the claim to the executor of administrator.  The failure to file a claim is a fatal defect if the creditor later files a lawsuit to recover its money.  When a claim is filed the executor or administrator must approve the claim, deny the claim, or approve it in part and deny it in part.  Of course, the claim should be shown to your probate lawyer so he can review it with you and help you decide how the claim should be treated.

A claim should be denied if it is unfounded or if the creditor fails to provide any support for the claim.  The California Probate Code requires the creditor to provide support or substantiation for the claim.  A claim should be approved if the executor or administrator believes the claim is meritorious.  It would be a waste of trust assets to use them to defend a lawsuit when it is obvious the creditor has a valid claim.  Some claims are neither obviously valid or clearly bogus.  If a creditor files a claim that appears partly valid and partly questionable then the executor should approve the claim in part and deny the claim in part.

The Grossman Law Firm, A.P.C. are Palm Springs, California probate lawyers.  We help probate estates in Riverside County, California.  We appear in the Palm Springs probate court for cases from Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Indian Wells, Indio, Banning and Beaumont California. We appear in the Riverside probate court for cases in the area bounded by Temecula, Corona, and Hemet, California.  If you  would like more information on probate and trust administration then order our free book The Insider's Guide to California Probate and Trust Administration as well as our free DVD Probate a Will or Administer a Trust After the Death of a Loved One.