How Probate Law In Sacramento Works? All You Need To Know

Posted by loren wilson on February 20th, 2017

Probate process is commonly seen as tiring and cumbersome process to complete. However, there are some ways in which one can execute the probate process without disputes and hassles.

What Is Probate Process?

It is a court supervised process which ensures payment of debt and taxes of the deceased person by collecting the assets. The amount left after making the required payment is distributed among the inheritors.

In case, deceased wrote a will before death to probate the owned property, the process starts when the nominated executor by the decedent presents the bill in the court for probate process. And in the absence of any will, the relative of the decedent is required to request the court to appoint him or her as the administrator of decedent’s estate. The person becomes the legal administrator or representative of the estate.

As per the probate law in Sacramento, here are the required tasks you need to undertake for swift transfer and distribution of the decedent’s property.

File A Petition And Inform All The Stakeholders

By filing the petition at the probate court one either needs to admit the terms of will and request to appoint an executor, or in case there is no will the court is requested to appoint the executor. It is also essential to inform all the heirs and beneficiaries of the decedent’s property through the court’s notice of hearing date and time. In majority of the cases, notice is also published in local newspapers to ensure all the creditors of the decedent are informed about the proceedings.

Inventory And Valuation Of The Property

An exhaustive inventory of all the movables and immovable properties of the decedent including stocks, real estate properties, businesses and other assets is carried out. In some cases, valuation is also done to identify the exact value of the property.

Payment Of Expenses, Debt And Taxes

All the expenses including the funeral expenses, existing debt and pending tax payment is done through decedent’s assets. The personal representative has to ensure about the authenticity of creditor’s claim to make the final payments.

Transfer Of Legal Title

After the waiting period to file claims by the creditors is over and payment of all the obligations; personal representative can petition the court to transfer the rest of the assets in beneficiaries names as mentioned in the will or as per state’s intestate succession laws; in the absence of any will.

Following these processes makes the entire procedure more transparent and dispute free.