TRUST ADMINISTRATION & PROBATE

TRUST ADMINISTRATION & PROBATE

Trust Administration

Managing a Trust Estate with numerous assets and beneficiaries can be overwhelming. As a Trustee you have a fiduciary duty to administer the estate properly and in a timely manner. Kimera Law Firm has found the best way to avoid disputes and keep everyone fully informed. Our aim is to keep your trust administration costs to a minimum and one way to do this is to keep you out of Probate Court.

Probate

As a personal representative you have a fiduciary duty to administer the probate estate properly and timely and can, under certain circumstances, be surcharged for missteps. Beneficiaries can be very demanding often creating a stressful process.

As a personal representative you will be required to oversee and manage the entire probate process, gathering the probate assets, have the probate assets appraised, seek prior court approval for certain actions, formally notify creditors of the probate administration, file the descendant’s final income tax returns, file estate tax returns and prepare a formal accounting of the probate estate’s assets and expenses.

Kimera Law Firm has experience with the California Probate courts and can expertly guide you through the probate process. There are qualified to provide legal assistance throughout the State of California.

About the Probate Process:

A Probate is necessary when a decedent dies testate (with a Will) or intestate (without a Will). If the decedent had a formal Trust then Probate will not be necessary, as long as the decedent’s assets are held by the Trust.

A formal Petition to Administrator the probate estate is filed in Probate Court and a personal representative of the decedent’s estate is appointed by the Court to administer the decedent's estate. A personal representative can have various names (Executor, Administrator, etc.), depending on the type of probate estate.

Usually, in a Will, the decedent names an "Executor" to act as the estate’s personal

representative. If there is no Will or decedent failed to name an Executor, the court will appoint a personal representative called an “Administrator.” The personal representative can be any interested person, including a family member, friend or creditor of the decedent.

As a personal representative you will be responsible for:

• Cataloging all property of the decedent (including real property and personal property);
• Paying any debts, claims or taxes that are due.
• Collecting rights to any income (royalties, stock dividends, etc.) to which the deceased was entitled.
• Settling financial and property disputes
• Filing the decedent’s final income tax return.
• Filing the estate tax return, if needed.
• Preparing an accounting of estate assets and expenses.
• Litigating creditor’s claims; and
• Distributing or transferring the remaining property to heirs.
• Estate Planning Services:
• A comprehensive Estate is one that personalizes every aspect of planning for the disposition of your assets, your desires, your family situation and your needs.
• A comprehensive must include:
• A review of the character of your property, is it community or separate property, in addition to existing property agreements for example prenups or postnups if any.
• Discussions about how you wish to structure your estate plan and dispose of your property.
• Advice on how to minimize the impact of taxes.
• Recommendations for alternative estate planning techniques.
• Preparation of the documents necessary to carry out your chosen estate plan; and
• Analysis of the tax impact of your proposed estate plan.