Q:

My husband (or wife) recently died.  Do I have to do a  California probate of their estate?

A: Whether or not you have to do a probate of your late spouse's estate will depend on how title to your spouse's property was held.  If you and your spouse put all your property into a trust then you won't have to do probate but some form of trust administration will probably be necessary.  If you and your spouse held all your property as joint tenants then no probate is necessary. 

If this was second marriage or there was a prenuptial agreement that kept some or all of our spouse's property as their separate property then probate will be necessary.  Probate may also be necessary if your spouse held a deferred compensation plan (e.g. a 401(k) plan) or IRA and did not designate a beneficiary.  If your spouse had a life insurance policy without a designated beneficiary then you will need to do probate.  The reason for this is deferred compensation plans,  IRAs, and life insurance policies default to a person's probate estate if they don't name someone (i.e. designate a beneficiary) to inherit the deferred compensation plan, IRA, or life insurance policy.