Probate
When someone dies without a trust, or with assets a trust didn't cover, their estate usually has to pass through probate. It's a court-supervised process for validating the will, identifying assets, paying creditors, and distributing what remains to the heirs. In California it can be slower and more formal than families expect.
We guide executors and administrators through probate in Sacramento, Placer, and Yolo counties: opening the estate, marshaling and valuing assets, handling creditor claims, and closing the estate properly. Where an estate is small enough to avoid full probate, we’ll tell you, because there are simplified procedures that can save months, and using one when it applies is often the most valuable advice we can give.
Trust Administration
When a trust becomes irrevocable, usually on the death of the person who created it, the trustee takes on real legal duties: notifying beneficiaries, accounting for assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing what remains according to the trust's terms. Done correctly, administration is orderly. Done carelessly, it becomes the seed of litigation.
We advise trustees through each step — the notices the law requires, the accountings beneficiaries are entitled to, and the decisions that carry personal liability if handled wrong. We also advise beneficiaries who want to understand whether a trust is being administered properly, before a problem becomes a lawsuit.
Handling administration carefully at the outset is the best protection against a dispute later. If you've just been named trustee and aren't sure what you're obligated to do, that's exactly the moment to get advice.