TRUST ADMINISTRATION
EPL is happy to guide families as they navigate post-death administration and the disposition of family assets held in trust. Although having a trust is extremely beneficial to streamline the administration of a loved ones estate, there are still many tasks to complete before the trustee can access trust assets and make distributions to trust beneficiaries. In many instances, having the guidance of an attorney well-versed in California trust administrations will save the trustee valuable time. Using an attorney to assist in trust administrations ensures that third parties like financial institutions and the county assessor’s office, receive the correct forms within relevant deadlines.
PROBATE ADMINISTRATION
If your loved one passes in California without a trust, or their trust was never funded with the decedent’s assets, the heirs of the estate will mostly like have to open a probate case in the California Courts to access and distribute the deceased person’s assets. Even if your loved one has a valid and up-to-date Will, their estate will still likely require a full probate case to be opened and probate laws abided by before the beneficiaries of said Will inherit any assets. While an executor can represent the estate in probate court without representation of a probate attorney, the court requires strict adherence to various timelines, filing requirements and regular appearances before the probate court that a probate attorney can prepare and attend on the estate’s behalf.
TRUSTEE REPRESENTATION
If you are named as trustee of a trust and are interested in learning about about your role and fiduciary duty, EPL can outline the basics and provide you a checklist of tasks to complete and documents to gather prior to the death of your loved one or after. It is recommended to hire an attorney to assist in deciphering the trust, especially in the beginning stages of the administration as there are various deadlines to abide by and documents to produce in the early stages of the administration.
BENEFICIARY REPRESENTATION
If you find yourself receiving notice of a probate case involving and friend or loved one and have questions about any of the documents you are being mailed, EPL is happy to help. You may need to respond to the executor of the estate or to the court directly, which involves interpreting and signing various documents. It is always a good idea to have an experienced attorney assist in preparing any such responses.