In California, a small estate is defined by a monetary value of less than $150,000. All forms of property that are held only in the decedent’s name must fall under this value of $150,000. The estate can include real property, but there are special rules for real property.

Many of my clients are concerned about what happens if there is no will or trust when a family member passes away. In fact, a few of them are afraid if there is no will or trust that the State, in this case California, will “take everything.” No state takes everything if there is no will or trust, but every state has a series of laws that dictate who will receive a person’s property if that person died without a will or a trust. These laws are generally known as the laws of intestacy because “in” means “without,” and “testacy” means a written document.

Probateco serves all cities and counties in California like cities of Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, Modesto, El Sobrante, San Bernardino, Vallejo, San Jose, El Cerrito, Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco to name a few. We have worked extensively with people who live out of state, but where the probate is pending in a city or county in California.

There are many ways to avoid probate. There is a lot of confusion about how to avoid probate court because the process was built over time via various procedures, state laws, and the initiative by major financial institutions to protect their own interests, not necessarily the interests of their customers, who they claim to serve.

Here are some of the many tools that are used, but note that none of them are perfect for avoiding probate court:

• Payable on death clauses. This is a form which allows the owner of an asset to designate who receives the asset after the owner dies.
• Beneficiary designations. As with a payable on death clause, this is a form which allows the owner of an asset to designate who receives the asset after the owner dies.
• Jointly held property with rights of survivorship. This typically applies to real property, whereby the commonly held property goes to the survivor upon the death of the other co-owner.
• Living trust. This is a document that allows the person who sets up the trust to transfer property after his or her death based on that person’s written instructions.

In California, both probate fees and probate costs are highly regulated. It is part of the larger effort to protect beneficiaries of an estate.

Probate Costs
The probate costs are separate from and in addition to the fees to Probateco and/or the personal representative. In California, the costs of probate are dictated by a variety of mechanisms that are designed to protect the beneficiaries of an estate.

The probate requirements that figure into the total cost are the:

1. publication of notice of the proceedings
2. payment of a probate referee to appraise the property in the estate
3. probate court fees – filing fee obtain a court hearing
4. probate bond cost

These costs vary from county to county and they tend to increase over time. To give some kind of idea of the total amount in question, here is an example. A small estate in California, with a value of less than $500,000, costs approximately $1,000 in 2014, not including the bond premium. However, probate costs, like the probate fees, also increase with the value of the estate.