My husband just died and has a will leaving everything to me and I am co-owner with him on everything. Do I need a probate lawyer?
Hello and thank you for the opportunity to assist you. There may be a slight delay between your follow ups and my replies as I am typing out my answer. Please remember that this is general information only, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is formed.I am very sorry for your loss. Can you please tell me:-is there any titled property that you and him own jointly?-do you anticipate any contest in the estate, or no?This not an answer, but an Information Request. I need this information to answer your question. Please reply, so I can answer your question. I look forward to helping you.
We own our home together as well as a joint bank and savings account..
Thank you, Norma. Apologies for the wait - I am working on your question now.
When someone passes away, their name has to be taken off titled property. If it is not, then transferring/gifting/otherwise giving the property to someone else in the future would prove very hard to do since his name would still be on the property at the time.In order to take his name off titled property, one needs Letters of Testamentary, which the probate Court provides. So you would need to file a probate matter to take care of this. While an attorney is not mandated, one is recommended if you do not have much experience with the Courts.If the estate is rather small, it may be transferred via administration, which is simplified probate process. See here:http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/probate/pdf/transferform.pdfTo find an attorney in CA, see here:http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Public/LawyerReferralServicesLRS.aspxIn times like these, many choose to have counsel take care of the details so you can focus more on remembrance.Again, I am very sorry for your loss.I hope this finds you well. Please click Reply to Expert to keep talking, or rate my answer when we are finished. Kindly rate my answer as one of the top three faces because this is how I get credit for my time with you. I work very hard to formulate an informative answer for you; please reciprocate my good faith. Otherwise, reply to chat more until we are finished and you are ready to rate. (You may always ask follow ups free after rating.)