Estate

I'm sorry about your father's death. California law provides that if a person dies without a will and s/he is not married, the estate passes to the children in equal shares. So you and your brother would each receive 50% of the estate.

You can probate the estate by filing a Petition for Probate. You do not need to wait until your brother gets out of prison to begin this process. In California the cost depends on the value of the assets. If the assets were worth $110,000 then the lawyer is entitled to charge approximately $4,300. You are entitled to charge the same amount if you are the executor.

The other costs would be $320 to file the petition with the Probate Court, approximately $95 to $350 to publish a notice of Probate in the local newspaper (each newspaper can establish its own charge for this, this is the "usual" range of prices I've encountered), fees for the court-appointed appraiser of approximately $150, and some "miscellaneous" charges that shouldn't total more than $100 (for example, if you need to get certified copies of the "Letters of Administration" or certified copies of the court order distributing the property, etc.).

Unless your brother is willing to sign a "Waiver of Bond", you will also be required to post a "fidelity bond" (like an insurance policy against the possibility of your stealing from the estate). For an estate of this size, the bonding premium would probably be less than $300 per year. In order to get the bond, you will need to have good credit. If you don't and your brother won't sign a Waiver, then you'll need to "nominate" someone else to act as the executor.

California law prohibits lawyers and executors from collecting their fees until the probate is just about finished (and not until a Judge has said they can be collected). So your out of pocket expenses until the probate is over should be less than $1,000 (court fee plus newspaper fee plus appraiser's fee plus bond premium plus any miscellaneous costs).

I've handled probates as far north as Mendocino and as far south as San Diego. If you need assistance, please feel free to call my office.

This information is not intended to substitute for professional legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. You should accept legal advice only from a licensed legal professional with whom you have an attorney-client relationship.