BB&L is Here to Help You With One of Life’s Most Difficult Tasks
Our trust and estate attorneys Brad N. Baker and Mary Korkodian have earned a reputation in the South Bay and the Los Angeles metropolitan area for their dedication to providing quality estate planning and estate administration guidance. While many firms prepare estate plans and trusts, fewer actually administer them. We are experts at guiding people through the estate planning process to help them maximize their goals and their peace of mind.
Attorneys at our firm believe that estate planning is only the first step in assisting our trust and estate clients. Our team is here for you to administer the estate when the time comes.
BB&L’s Trust & Probate Administration Expertise
When assisting clients in trust administration, our philosophy is to concentrate our efforts in areas that actually require legal assistance. We find that this keeps the legal fees down and also empowers the client at a time when clients often feel helpless after the loss of a loved one. The concept of “fiduciary duty” is the cornerstone of trust administration. Fiduciary duty is the highest duty we have under the law. Trustees owe a fiduciary duty to the trust beneficiaries. This relationship between trustee and beneficiary can lead to interesting situations, especially when a trustee is also a beneficiary.
A common concern for new fiduciaries, such as trustees, is if their intended actions will be considered appropriate in the eyes of the probate court system. Our decades of experience representing trustees means we can provide seasoned insight into what a local probate court is likely to consider prudent for a fiduciary.
Additionally, because our team is experienced in both estate planning, and trust administration as well as trust litigation we are aware of potential difficulties and can help avoid them through insightful drafting.
Probate Administration: How We Help Those who Did Not Create a Successful Living Trust
When are person dies without a trust, their assets subject to the plan that the State has which is known as the California laws of intestacy. This often necessitates frequent court involvement and many fees. When a person dies without a properly funded living trust, his or her estate must be cataloged and distributed amongst heirs and beneficiaries in a proceeding called a probate. A probate is a Superior Court action to wind up the decedent’s affairs. In most instances, probate administration takes 12-18 months.
In a probate, the court appoints someone who is responsible for the decedent’s estate. This person is called a probate executor or administrator, and their duties may include identifying and accounting for assets, identifying and paying all debts owed by the decedent, and identifying and paying all tax debt, including income and death taxes. Any lawsuits involving the decedent or the decedent’s estate also become the responsibility of this person. They may also prepare a final accounting to the probate court, all prior to the distribution of the estate assets. Assets are distributed according to the decedent’s will or, if there is no will, then according to California’s intestacy laws.
The expenses associated with probate administration are often substantially more than the expenses associated with the administration of a trust. The delay in distribution from a probate is also usually longer than from a trust.
If you need to probate an estate, Baker, Burton & Lundy offers decades of experience in handling the technically complex and time-sensitive aspects of a probate. We are efficient and do our best to limit costs that will be deducted from the estate. Often clients are willing and able to do some of the legwork for a probate administration, and we offer them guidance to fulfill the requirements themselves where they can, so they can save money on the process.
Choose an Expert Trust and Probate Administration Attorney at BB&L
At Baker, Burton & Lundy, our trust and probate administration attorneys have experience and expertise to help you with the responsibility of administering a will or trust. Brad Baker has been helping clients create and administer trusts for almost five decades and understands the complexity and sophistication needed for complex estates. Brad works closely with trust and estate attorney Mary Korkodian, honored as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers, who combines both legal knowledge and real estate experience as she advises clients and helps them through the ordeal of trust administration.
Results
Meet Our Trust & Estate Attorneys
Brad N. Baker
Trust & Estate Attorney
Mary Korkodian
Trust & Real Estate Attorney
Mary went above and beyond with her tenacity to achieve the results that were above and beyond my expectations. And also importantly, she is a very pleasant person that made the entire process easy to navigate. I appreciate her and her team at Baker, Burton and Lundy.