The Probate Process from Pasadena Estate Planning

When a person dies, someone must step in to wind up the deceased person's affairs. Bills must be paid, property must be accounted for, and items must be passed on to the deceased person's next of kin.

In California, if the decedent's total assets are valued at $100,000 or more and there is no will or trust, the entire estate must enter Probate Court proceedings.

If you have an estate valued at $100,000 or more, (mortgages and debts do NOT detract from asset value for Probate purposes), then your heirs will need to start a Probate proceeding to administer your estate.

Probate Court is a Court of General Jurisdiction which includes, but is not limited to the following proceedings; decedents' estates, trust proceedings, guardianship proceedings, conservatorship proceedings and minor's compromises.

If the estate is required to be handled through probate court proceedings, the process can take many months and can be very costly. Often, the cost of the probate itself will cause the asset to be lost to the state.

If, however, before his or her death the deceased person took steps to avoid probate, the whole process will be quicker, easier and much less costly.

Because probate is time-consuming, very expensive and usually unnecessary, many people plan in advance to avoid it. There are a number of ways to pass property to your inheritors without probate. Some of these probate-avoidance methods are quite simple to set up; others take more time and effort.

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Estimated Probate
Time Line

The Probate process takes
9-18 months

Probate		Timeline
Prepare & file Petition for Probate		1-2 Months
Hearing on Petition for Probate Issue Letters of Administration, Orders For Probate and Duties & Liabilities. Issue Bond (if ordered)		2-3 Months
Notice to Creditors		2-4 Months
Notice to Dept. of Health Services Inventory & Appraisement		4-8 Months
Pay State/Fed Taxes, Allow or reject creditor claims Possible Preliminary Distributions Notice to Dept. of Health Services Notice to Franchise Tax Board if Heir is out of state		6-12 Months
Claim of Exemption (if assets Transfer to a minor)		6-15 Months
Receive final tax letter from State & Federal		6-18 Months
File Petition for Final Distribution and Accounting Hearing on Petition for Final Distribution and Accounting Order approving Final Distribution and Accounting		8-16 Months
Distribution of Assets to Heirs		9-17 Months
Final Discharge Order		9-18 Months
Final Distribution of Funds		9-18 Months
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Cost of Probate

Don't Throw Your Money Away in Probate ! When talk turns to taxes, most people think of income taxes. Yet for many, estate taxes will be the largest single tax expense they'll ever face. With estate tax rates currently running as high as 55%, the value of your estate left for your heirs could be worth less than half of what you think. To put it another way, without proper planning, you could lose more than half of what you've spent a lifetime building to estate taxes. And with the recent tax law changes, there are some new wrinkles in those planning strategies.

Question: What Does Probate cost?

Answer: The AARP did a national survey some years ago and determined that probate costs run on average 2 to 10% of a person’s estate. But on a $300,000 estate, that can still cost $6,000 to $12,000. And in some cases, the costs can go much higher.

Question: So two to four percent;
Is that the real cost of probate?

Answer: That’s the monetary costs, but that’s not the only costs. Probate generally takes at least 9 months to a year. There can be lots of hassles, lots of disappointments, lots of worry and difficulty, lots of energy.

These non-monetary costs can be high. When you combine the monetary and personal costs, that’s the real cost of probate.

California Probate Code section 10810 sets the maximum statutory fees that attorneys can charge for a probate

Estate Value	Statutory Fee
$100,000	$4,000
$200,000	$7,000
$300,000	$9,000
$400,000	$11,000
$500,000	$13,000
$600,000	$15,000
$700,000	$17,000
$800,000	$19,000
$900,000	$21,000
$1,000,000	$23,000
$1,500,000	$28,000
$2,000,000	$33,000
$3,000,000	$43,000
$4,000,000	$53,000
$5,000,000	$63,000
$6,000,000	$73,000
$7,000,000	$83,000
$8,000,000	$93,000
$9,000,000	$103,000
$10,000,000	$113,000
$15,000,000	$138,000
$20,000,000	$163,000

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