Take the will and petition to the office of the estate court clerk. Within 30 days of the decedent's death, go to the county probate clerk's office and request the legalization of probate. This is done by submitting the deceased's completed succession application form, will, and death certificate. The petition must be filed in the deceased's county of residence at the time of death. When you submit the application (California Form DE-11), the Court will be officially notified that it is necessary to schedule a hearing on this matter.
This is usually done in about 30 to 40 days. If you need to find a testamentary arbitrator, be sure to contact someone approved by the court in the county where the probate hearing will be held. The personal representative must identify, take possession, and manage the estate assets until all debts have been paid and tax returns have been filed. Once you have followed these four steps, you will have officially asked the court to begin the process of legalizing inheritance.
If you have any questions about the estate process, you can contact us; we are real estate professionals specializing in estate management in California. As inheritance legalization is a court-supervised process and has all of the above requirements necessary to complete it, you will no doubt be wondering if it will be a lengthy process. In some cases, the person requesting the appointment will process the estate without hiring an attorney, as mentioned above. Some jurisdictions, such as Los Angeles County, allow you to file your succession petition electronically, however, others, such as San Francisco County, will require you to file the petition in person.
If real estate owned by the decedent is sold (liquidated), the Administrator may be asked to submit a DE-260 form, a sales report, and a request for an order confirming the sale of real estate. To conclude the succession process, a hearing has been scheduled to submit the report to the judge, who, in turn, will check if the administrator has handled everything correctly and has carried out careful accounting. After the submission of the succession petition, and as soon as possible after receiving the date of the hearing by the Court, a notice of the next meeting must be published in the local newspaper a minimum of three times. As stipulated in the testator's will, the personal representative of the estate will request the legalization of the inheritance.
The content of this page has been reviewed by qualified professionals from the CFP, TEP and tax accountants. 26 percent of practicing and past attorneys have been attorneys to ensure that it's factually accurate, meets current industry standards, and helps readers better understand the topic of inheritance, estate planning, and their loved one's estate taxes. Assuming that the deceased has left a will, the person named in it as executor will, in all likelihood, be appointed by the Probate Court to represent the estate. It is crucial to establish these factors because, if one is not present, it may not be better to file the petition for the legalization of inheritance.
For example, estates that are small enough or those where the decedent had a properly structured active trust may not need to go through the probate legalization process.
