What happens if I die without a will?

Everyone can benefit from having a proper estate plan. You have worked hard to provide for your family, invest in real estate, and to help your children with college and future expenses. You may have aging parents or are concerned about planning for your own long-term care. There is an old cliché’, “If you don’t have a plan in place, the California Probate Court has a plan for you!”

If you die intestate (without a will), California’s laws of descent and distribution will determine who receives your property by default. Typically the distribution would be to your spouse and children, or if none, to other family members. A state’s plan often reflects the legislature’s guess as to how most people would dispose of their estates and builds in protections for certain beneficiaries, particularly minor children. That plan may or may not reflect your actual wishes, and some of the built-in protections may not be necessary in a harmonious family setting. A will allows you to alter the state’s default plan to suit your personal preferences. It also permits you to exercise control over a myriad of personal decisions that broad and general state default provisions cannot address.

Probate is the court-supervised process by which a decedent’s estate is transferred to the heirs. It is a common misperception that if you have a Will, you don’t need to go to probate. This is simply not true. Estates in excess of $166,250, including any real property, may end up in probate and subject to expensive fees and long delays. By way of example, a $1,000,000 estate can be subject to fees and court authorized compensation in excess of $46,000. These fees and expenses are drawn from your estate before your beneficiaries receive their distribution.

If you or a loved one needs help with the probate process, please contact us. We can help!