1. Locating and authenticating a will
2. Identifying heirs and creditors
3. Inventorying property and assets
4. Transferring property and bank accounts to the administrator or representative.
5. Filing state, federal and estate tax returns
6. Defending the will against contests
7. Paying the estate’s debts and creditor claims
8. Distributing assets as required by the will or by intestate succession 

From Sebastopol, the Law Offices of Graden Tapley represents clients throughout Sonoma County, including Santa Rosa, Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, and Windsor.

• Four percent of the first one hundred thousand dollars.
• Three percent of the next one hundred thousand dollars.
• Two percent of the next eight hundred thousand dollars.
• One percent on the next nine million dollars.
• One-half percent on the next fifteen million dollars.
• For all amounts above twenty-five millions dollars the court will give a “reasonable amount.”

Who determines what the value of the estate is? The court appoints a referee (an appraiser) to provide the fair market value of the estate as of the time of the decedent’s death. Any liens or encumbrances (such as mortgages) are not a factor in determining the fees.

The personal representative (executor or administrator) is also entitled to a fee for their services. His or her fee follows the same schedule as the attorney’s fees.

Where there is a will and the decedent provided how much the attorney and executor are to be paid then this amount will take precedence over the schedule. If the fee set out in the will is too small the personal representative may petition the court to raise fees to the statutory amount.

There may be other attorney fees in addition to the fees described above. The above schedule only applies for and “ordinary” probate proceeding. Other extraordinary attorney fees may apply as well. If the attorney was required to oversee a sale of a property or mortgage the property, conduct the decedent’s business, defend a will contest, or defend the personal representative’s accountings additional fees may be granted.

An attorney may enter into a “contingency agreement” with the personal representative. This means that if there is no recovery from the estate at the conclusion of probate then the attorney goes unpaid after all his hard work. The agreement must be in writing and approved by the court as to the percentage. The court must find that the arrangement is in the estate’s best interest. If the estate is “ordinary” and there are no unusual difficulties presented to the court it might not allow fees greater than the statutory amounts.

The personal representative and/or probate attorney is allowed to hire an independent tax attorney and/or accountants for preparation of the estate’s tax return. This cost is paid out of the estate, not the probate attorney’s fees.

Also be prepared to pay the referee for the appraisal and for any other experts that are necessary to manage the estate during the probate. If there is a will contest then there may be court-reporter’s fees and other expert witness fees, such as physicians that are subpoenaed to testify as to the decedent’s state of mind when he signed the will.

From Sebastopol, the Law Offices of Graden Tapley represents clients throughout Sonoma County, including Santa Rosa, Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, and Windsor.

Probate with a will
If there is a will but it does not name an executor the person given the first right is the person entitled to the greatest share of the estate. However, the will does not always determine who gets the greatest share. Even if the will gives everything to one person there may be someone else who has a higher entitlement to the estate. For example, a surviving spouse may have survivor’s rights to the entire estate, or a creditor may be entitled to the biggest portion.

Probate without a will
If there is no will or the will does not name an executor the court will accept petitions from persons interested in the estate who want to be appointed as administrator. The petition must be supported by good reasons why that person should be appointed instead of another. The reasons need only be good enough to win against the competition. If there is no competition or objections the court will generally grant the petition

If there is no will an administrator will be chosen from a list of priorities set out in the Probate Code.  The list reflects an order of typical “closeness” of family relations. The order on the list will apply even if in real life the deceased was not at all close to the person with the highest priority.

Priority of Administrator
The list gives first priority to the spouse or registered domestic partner. If there is no spouse or partner next in line are children. If no children then grandchildren, then “other issue,” parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, grandparents, and so on. After relatives comes public administrators and creditors.

Within the priority schedule any person who is under 18, not a US resident, or incapable of executing the administrator’s duties is ineligible to be an administrator. There are also certain objections that may be raised to a particular administrator that will prevent him or her from being appointed, such as a conflict of interest, or a history of fraud, or embezzlement.

Choosing an administrator
It is important that a responsible and trustworthy person be appointed administrator. The administrator is in charge of gathering together all of the assets of the estate and making an accounting. You do not want someone who might leave certain valuable assets unreported and keep them for herself/himself. A security bond can be required of an administrator but if an asset disappears and is never reported then the bond is no help. Sometimes the bond requirement is waived because beneficiaries trust the administrator will do the right thing. If they find out later that the administrator was dishonest it may be too late to recover money already spent.

Removing a probate administrator
It is possible to remove an administrator after he or she is appointed. The court will require a petition showing good reasons. Good reasons include neglect, fraud, mismanagement, or protection of the estate. The administrator may also be removed on the grounds that there is someone else having a higher priority in the list mentioned above. But, the court may refuse to remove an administrator if the petitioner had an opportunity to contest the appointment in the first place and made no objection.

From Sebastopol, the Law Offices of Graden Tapley represents clients throughout Sonoma County, including Santa Rosa, Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, and Windsor.