What Assets Are Not Probable in California?

Will your whole estate, including all of your assets and things, be probated immediately after you die? Contrary to popular assumption, the answer is no. however, when someone dies, they left a number of assets behind but the all assets not belong to California’s probate laws.

The legal jurisdiction of the probate court is confined to distributing probate property, which is property owned only by the deceased individual. Some assets, such as jointly held property, are exempt from probate. Property that is not in probate can be transferred to someone else outside of probate court. If you want to avoid probate, an estate planning lawyer can explain your alternatives, which include creating a trust-based estate plan.

Assets Under the Jurisdiction of the California Probate Court

Any personal property or real estate owned by the decedent prior to their death is included in probate assets. A probate asset can be almost anything, including a house, automobile, vacation property, boat, artwork, furniture, or household goods.

Probate assets may also include stocks, money in a bank or savings account, corporation interest, and other such things. The assets listed below are typically considered to be part of the decedent's probate estate. Probate assets include intellectual property rights such as a copyright, trademark, or patent. As a result, in California, many types of assets are frequently subject to probate:

• When a property is identified as a "tenant in common" with other people, the decedent's part or portion of it.

• One-half of the decedent's communal property (usually obtained during the marriage), including assets held entirely in the decedent's name.

Certain Assets in California Are Exempt from Probate

By operation of law, property that a decedent does not personally own can be recognized as a non-probate asset. For example, real estate is a common non-probate asset. Real estate is typically held jointly with survivorship rights. In this system, when one owner dies, their stake automatically goes to the surviving owner or owners. This transfer of ownership takes place completely outside of the probate process.

So, when one partner dies, the other spouse will receive the share and becomes the sole owner. The surviving spouse is not subject to the probate process. When the other spouse dies, the house automatically passes to them. Aside from shared tenancy property, the following types of property will pass outside of probate:

• Life Estate: Any decedent's life estate interest will terminate at death and will not be probated. For example, if the decedent had a life estate in a family-owned property, he or she may live there until death. The ownership stake would expire upon their death and would not be distributed via the probate process.

• POD Accounts: POD accounts are assets that have a "pay on death" or POD classification. Because your property is held in trust, the probate court has no authority to administer or distribute it to your beneficiaries. Instead, you can designate how you want your things distributed after your death in the trust agreement.

• Trustee Accounts: If the deceased person was named as a trustee, guardian, or conservator for someone else, assets held in a bank or credit union may be exempt from probate.

• Retirement Accounts: A beneficiary designation is included in the majority of retirement accounts, such as 401ks and IRAs. You can name someone as the beneficiary when you open the account. When you die, the account's ownership is automatically transferred to your beneficiary. These types of retirement savings are not subject to probate. In addition to the primary beneficiary, we advise naming a secondary beneficiary.

Conclusion

This was a high-level overview of the distinctions between probated and non-probated assets. Every decedent’s case is different & there is no replacement for the advice of an Expert California Probate Lawyer.