A California estate is valued by completing the Inventory and Appraisal Form (Form DE-160/DE-161). A court-appointed probate referee will appraise the assets you are unable to value yourself. Probate Code §8800 requires that this form be filed within four months after Letters are first issued. This can be a complex process to handle on your…
AB 2016 changed who needs probate in California. As of April 1, 2025, most estates under $184,500 will still qualify as a “small estate” under Probate Code § 13100. This allows heirs to avoid many of the complexities of formal probate. With AB 2016, there is a new $750,000 probate threshold for the decedent’s primary…
Asset protection trusts can be incredibly powerful tools when used correctly. A California estate law attorney can help shield your wealth from lawsuits, business risks, and even creditors. Residents of the state can carefully structure trusts and utilize other strategies to legally protect much of your assets. Knowing how these trusts work, and how they’re…
If you are the beneficiary of a trust, it is important to understand what rights you actually have. California law sets certain guarantees to protect transparency and provide remedies if your rights are negatively impacted. Whether the trust is just being formed, or a life event is triggering the trust in some way, you need…
California probate will usually take between 9 to 18 months. However, the actual timeline will depend on a lot of factors. This might include the court backlog, any creditor claims, the complexity of your estate, and much more. Even with simple estates, cases rarely move quickly because of mandatory waiting periods and busy courts. At…
California probate can be incredibly expensive, even as compared to other states. The law sets attorney and executor compensation based on a fee schedule. That fee schedule is based upon the value of your estate, not how complex the work is. Understanding these costs is essential to knowing what to expect. At Filippi Law Firm,…
If you’re wondering about the differences between a conservatorship and guardianship in California, you’re not alone. Many people even use the terms interchangeably, but they are two different and distinct legal processes. Choosing the right option that fits your situation is important. This can be confusing on your own, but an attorney can help. At…
You’ve likely heard of HIPAA if you’ve been to the doctor’s office but you may not know how important it is to your California estate plan. This helps determine who can access you medical information in moments where you need it the most. Without the HIPAA release, people that need access to your medical information…
When a loved one passes away, grief is difficult enough. Families do not want to go through a long and public court process to access the assets that their relative worked hard to accumulate. However, this is exactly what probate requires. In a community like Granite Bay, where property values are high and estates can…
Most people have heard of the power of attorney, but few are familiar with springing power of attorneys – a distinct variation that combines personal autonomy and protective planning. If you are creating an estate plan in California and wish to control when and how your authority will be transferred to another person, it is…
