Helping You Deal With Challenges To The Estate
The complexity of today’s family has complicated the legal procedures that follow a death in the family. Split and blended families, families involving remarriage or new relationships after 50, and long distance families are frequently confronted by conflict when a will or trust does not conform to beneficiaries’ expectations. Adult children may question why their elderly father’s estate was left entirely to his new girlfriend. Siblings may inquire about the unequal distribution of inheritance amongst each other. An entire family left out of a will may have reservations upon learning the estate was left to a caregiver.
Will and trust disputes following a death in the family can quickly compound the problematic relationships that have existed for years. The Orange County probate attorneys at the Walker Law Firm have the experience necessary to handle delicate issues between family members and other interested parties in disputes involving wills or trusts.
Understanding California Probate And Trust Administration
When a loved one dies, his or her assets are passed to beneficiaries as directed in a will, trust, or other estate planning instrument. When a loved one dies without any form of estate planning directions, property passes to heirs according to the state’s intestacy laws. However, before any assets are transferred to the beneficiaries, certain legal procedures must be followed. When the decedent’s assets are held in a living trust, the successor trustee administers the trust and distributes property to beneficiaries as directed by the trust instrument. Any assets not held in a trust sometimes must pass through probate prior to distribution to heirs.
Whether you have concerns about your inheritance, wish to contest a will or trust, or defending the validity of beneficiary designations in a will or trust dispute, the attorneys at The Walker Law Firm can assist you.