When a decedent leaves behind unpaid debts, creditors have certain rights when it comes to reclaiming those debts. However, a creditor’s ability to enforce their rights could be significantly limited if they fail to enter their claim within the appropriate time frame. A creditor who enters a claim too late may lose the opportunity to […]

The holiday season is often a time of great joy and the chance to gather with loved ones.  Yet for many families, it can also be a time of loss.  In our years of practice, we’ve found that more people pass away during the holidays than at any other time of the year.  Losing a […]

The process of settling an estate can take months to years, and the length of time for probate in Santa Clara County can vary drastically, depending on factors such as whether a will is in place and the complexity of the estate. Sometimes the probate process takes only nine months or so, but some cases […]

Dying intestate, or without a will, is unfortunately very common. If you die without a will, your property will go through a court process called probate and will ultimately be distributed according to California’s intestacy laws. Here are some common events that may happen if you die intestate: Your immediate next of kin, whoever they […]

As a Santa Clara County probate lawyer, I commonly say, “If you don’t create your own will while you’re alive, the state will give you one when you’re gone.” What that means is that if a person dies without a will (called “intestate”) their estate will be administered according to state law. Likewise, the heirs […]

In a perfect world, the executor of a Last Will and Testament will have all the information and resources they need to administer an estate quickly and efficiently. In the real world, however, many people don’t even know that they’ve been named the executor of an estate until after a person dies and they’ve read […]

Santa Clara County probate lawyers hear quite regularly from heirs who are shocked to learn that the property they inherited from a loved one comes with a mortgage. Now what? It’s important to know that a mortgage does not die when the owner does. How that mortgage is dealt with depends on a variety of […]

As we continue on in this time of social distancing and, in some communities, shelter-in-place, more and more people are faced with a difficult situation: handling out-of-state probate proceedings after the death of a loved one. Many seniors today are “snowbirds” who spend their winters in warmer states like Florida while keeping their actual residency […]

There are several strategies available that Bay Area estate planning lawyers use to help seniors and their families avoid lengthy and costly probate proceedings, including adding other people as joint owners on their accounts or making beneficiary designations on accounts and policies. However, these strategies should only be done under the supervision of an experienced […]

When a loved one passes away, the grief is often overwhelming and exhausting. Your emotional state may make it nearly impossible to carry on basic functions like sleeping or eating. Silicon Valley probate lawyers understand that the last things you’ll feel like tackling are the legal or financial tasks that must be handled after an […]