Simple and Cheap Probate
Did you know you don’t have to hire an attorney to represent you in a Probate case?
Let’s back up…what even is Probate? According to The CA Court website, probate is defined as: “Probate is the legal process that you must follow to transfer or inherit property after the person who owned the property has passed away. All of the property legally owned by the deceased person is called the person’s “estate.” If you need to go to court, this is commonly called "going through probate." A person's estate may need to go through probate even if they had a will.”
Sure, it’s definitely easier to avoid Probate all together by creating a Trust, but what if your loved one died without a Trust? Well, if they owned an asset worth over $184,500, that asset needs to go through Probate.
That’s where I come in! I have supported attorneys through many probate cases, and to be honest, us Paralegals do the bulk of the work. The attorneys usually just show up for the 2 hearings. If you have a more complicated estate to administer, definitely hire an attorney. I have a bunch I could refer you to.
Here’s the fees due to an attorney for Probate:
4% on the first $100,000
3% on the next $100,000
2% on the next $800,000
1% on the next $9,000,000
0.5% on the next $15,000,000
Keep in mind the court doesn't consider the estate's debts when calculating the gross valuation, and yes that includes the mortgage. So, if your dad owned a home worth $750,000 and had a retirement account with $30,000, you’re looking at attorneys’ fees around $11,600. You as the administrator can get that same amount as well, but you have to account for it as income on your taxes.
OR you can take time out of your schedule to appear at the hearings by zoom (ideally there are only 2, but it’s Probate so nothing is a guarantee), and let me complete and file all your forms. You will still have the same tasks as Administrator, regardless if you hire me or an attorney, such as: opening an estate bank account, collecting and liquidating assets, not comingling any estate money with your own, signing endless amounts of forms, fielding phone calls from angry relatives, etc etc.
Here’s my fee structure:
$4,000 fixed rate to support you as Administrator
$1,500 is due up front so I can pay all the initial filing and publishing fees. You can pay by credit card, venmo or zelle. Once you have liquid estate funds in the estate account you can reimburse yourself if you had to pay out of pocket.
The remaining balance of $2,500 is due within thirty (30) days of you receiving your filed Letters of Administration, which is usually obtained within a couple weeks after your first hearing.
If the person who died didn’t have a Will, I can be nominated as Administrator and will handle the Probate independently through the Court (of course providing regular updates to you as my Clients). Total fixed rate is $7,000 with $2,000 due up front.
Ready to get started? Fill out my contact form or schedule a free intro call!