Our office conducts probates throughout the state of California.  Many are of the garden variety type – everything is to be distributed equally to the children and the children get along fine.

However, and maybe this is because we are in California, a high percentage of the probates we handle are not like the above.  This can even happen when there is a Will that says everything equally to the children and it names one of the children as the Executor.  Here is where it becomes more complicated – the child named as Executor fails to start the probate proceedings.  In California, as in virtually all of the states, the Executor has a duty to lodge the Will with the probate court and begin the probate proceedings.  This is actually normally done by hiring a probate attorney – probate lawyer.  The probate attorney will prepare the petition for probate for the Executor to review and sign.  After it is signed by the Executor, the probate lawyer will file the petition and lodge the original Will with the court.  In California we file it in the appropriate county.

When the Executor fails to do this, problems may arise.  For example, a sibling may petition the court to be named Executor/Administrator because the person so named has refused to lodge the Will.  Usually this awakens the person who has been named as Executor in the Will and ultimately that person will be named as Executor unless he/she has other problems.

The lesson to be learned is upon the death of the person who made the Will, the Executor should contact a probate attorney – probate lawyer and initiate the proceedings.  In the event that the person died in California, you will want to contact a California probate lawyer – probate attorney.