What to do after a loved one dies in California?

Written By Peter Vittas

HOW TO LEGALLY TRANSFER A DECEDENT’S ASSETS TO HIS/HER HEIRS
 

FIRST STEPS:

  • Find the testamentary document (i.e. a will or a trust)

    • If none, the estate will pass via intestate succession laws through probate

  • Notify Social Security Administration and any other government agencies from which Decedent receives payment or benefits

  • Find, inventory, and secure assets

    • Jewelry and other valuables, bank accounts, stock accounts, IRAs, life insurance, annuities, safe deposit boxes, etc.

    • Determine beneficiaries (e.g. life insurance or IRAs may already have a beneficiary designated to receive the proceeds upon death)

  • Notify creditors and pay/cancel bills and unnecessary utilities (credit cards, phone bill, etc)

  • File final tax returns

WHAT TO DO IF THERE IS A TRUST:

  • Determine who is the successor trustee and who are the beneficiaries (this information will be written in the Trust document)

  • Provide proper Probate Code §16061.7 notice to heirs and beneficiaries

  • Determine if the Trust is funded – i.e. if the proper assets have been placed into the Trust

    • If not, a “Heggstad” Petition may be necessary to place the assets into the Trust to avoid a full probate

  • For real property, prepare and record the proper documents with the County Recorder’s Office (Affidavit of Death of Trustee, Claim for Reassessment Exclusion for parent-child or grandparent-grandchild transfers)

WHAT TO DO IF THERE IS A WILL:

  • Secure the original copy to be admitted to probate (yes, a will goes through probate – only a Trust avoids probate)

  • Probate overview (if there is a will or if Decedent died “intestate”)

    • Definition: Probate is a court-supervised process of winding up a person’s affairs, gathering and inventorying assets, paying off debts, and distributing remaining assets among proper heirs

    • Duration – usually 9-15 months

    • Costs (filing fees, bond, publication, appraisal, etc) – usually approximately $2,000

    • Fees for attorney and personal representative set by law (Probate Code §10800, 10810)

ALTERNATIVES TO PROBATE:

  • Spousal petition (community property), small estate affidavit (estate under $150,000), Petition to Determine Succession to Real Property (real property under $150,000)

QUESTIONS? CALL VITTAS LAW FOR A FREE CONSULTATION! 424.276.6091

Peter Vittas
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