A probate attorney assists the executor or administrator of their family member’s estate during the probate process. The probate process will be different depending on whether or not the deceased had a Will. If they had a Will, then they are said to have died “testate.” If they did not have a Will, then they are said to have died “intestate.”  It is important to know whether or not the deceased had a Will because the Probate process will be very different.  We will handle this for you.

If a person has a Will (testate): Probate is the legal process whereby a person’s Will is “proved” in probate court and accepted as a valid public document as the deceased’s true last testament. Once the Will is accepted by the court, then the person’s estate is distributed according to their wishes as stated in the Will. This is not as easy as it seems. In order to comply with the court in a Probate proceeding, Hoffman Law, Inc. may provide the following services, among others: 1) Review the Will; 2) Advise the executor of the Will as to the proper steps to take in order to manage the estate for court purposes; 3) Assist in locating the estate’s assets; 4) Prepare and file documents as required by Probate court; 5) Attend court appearances; and 6) Distribute the estate assets as ordered by the court.

If a person did not have a Will (intestate): When a person dies without a Will, then their estate assets are distributed according to California’s intestate laws. In this situation, Hoffman Law would assist the administrator of the estate in the following, among others: 1) Collect (also called “marshalling”) the estate’s assets; 2) Prepare and file documents as required by Probate court; 3) Open the estate bank account; 4) Attend court appearances; and 5) Distribute the estate assets as ordered by the court.