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Los Angeles Probate Attorney – Required Documents

 

Los Angeles Probate Attorney on Required Documents for Probate Proceedings and Assets Included and Excluded From Probate

In the event of a person’s death, which gives rise to probate proceedings, it becomes necessary that you present certain documents about the deceased and the assets to be distributed. The presentation of these documents will aid the legal proceeding, making it smooth for you and Los Angeles Probate Attorney.

In this article, you will discover assets not included in probate and a list of some documents which you may need to dig out and present to the courts. In any case, you may not find all the documents but you do not have to worry as Probate Attorney will do whatever is necessary within the law to ensure the probate proceedings go well.

Documents for Probate Proceedings

Some of the documents are: original will, codicils, trusts and amendments; death certificate; bank statements of every bank account; deposits certificates, brokerage statements, certificate of shares and stocks; Bonds, Treasury bills or money; Copies of the following: mutual funds account, IRA, Pension, annuity plans, real estate’s deeds, mortgages, credit cards statements, certificate of ownership of vehicles.

Others according to Probate Attorney include the name, telephone number and address of deceased’s accountant, a list of all pending lawsuits involving the deceased whether as a plaintiff or defendant, names and addresses of all children, siblings and sibling’s children if the sibling is deceased; and any other relevant documents showing the assets and liabilities of the deceased.

Assets Included in a Probate

Los Angeles Probate Attorney always tells his client that not all the assets a person has are necessarily covered by a Probate. However, the following are usually covered:

  1. All assets which were held in the deceased’s name alone.
  2. Assets such as artwork, furniture and jewelries not registered.
  3. Part (Half) of every asset registered with the deceased’s spouse as community property.
  4. The fraction of asset belonging to a deceased and which was held as a registered tenant in common with other people.

Assets not Included in Probate

In the same way some assets are included in a probate, others are not. Some of such assets not included in a probate are listed below:

  1. Assets held in joint tenancy.
  2. Life insurance policies or other assets which already named a beneficiary.
  3. Assets listed in a living trust
  4. Bank or credit union assets which has the deceased as a trustee for another person.
  5. Such assets that were registered in the deceased’s name and “payable on death” or “transfer on death” to another person
  6. Any asset registered by a married couple as community property with the right of survivorship
  7. Assets that have been reassigned to a surviving spouse, including such asset owned by the deceased in his or her name only but which ownership now belongs to the living spouse.

This article has made an attempt to explain the required documents for probate proceedings and assets included and excluded in probate. Be free to contact Los Angeles Probate Attorney for a more detailed professional discussion.