California Probate Lawyer

What should one look for when selecting a probate attorney in California?

As in virtually all walks of life, and law is no exception, certain people do certain tasks better than other people. In law, there are all kinds of attorneys (personal injury; family law; bankruptcy; criminal defense; civil litigation; corporate; real estate; tax; business; landlord & tenant; labor; admiralty; lemon law; malpractice; environmental; and entertainment to name just a few).

When you have a probate, will or living trust matter or issue, it is reasonable to seek out someone who spends his time working on those type of matters because each area of the law has its own nuances. Probate certainly does. Selecting an attorney to probate an estate who does not do a lot of probate work, runs the real risk of the probate taking a significantly longer amount of time. Sometimes this may have an adverse effect on the estate, as the estate's assets may be in limbo.

In California, when the probate process is handled as efficiently as possible by both the attorney and the court, it legally has to take 6 months from beginning to end. Even if the attorney does everything perfectly, because of the way the courts are, it is likely that the probate will take close to 7 months. However, with a probate attorney who is not used to the ways of the probate court, a seemingly simple probate can easily take a year while a more complex probate can take much longer.

An attorney who understands the probate system is important for there to be an efficient probate. A probate law court is handled a little differently from "normal" civil court by the probate judges. It is important to select a lawyer who knows not only probate law, but has experience applying the law to the facts of the case if you want a probate to be done as efficiently as possible.