Probate And Judgment Enforcement

I am not an attorney, I am a Judgment and Collection Agency Broker. This article is my opinion, from my California experiences, and laws are different in each state. If you want a strategy to use or legal advice, you should contact an attorney.

Probate is a court hearing and a process, to verify and oversee the ownership transition of a deceased's possessions.

Many people having assets believe that if they have completed a will, after they pass, everything automatically goes to the beneficiaries as they specified. If their estate is not substantial, this may happen.

If the value of an estate is not small, probate court is usually required, unless the deceased placed their assets with a living trust (or maybe another type of trust).

A correctly formed living trust may sidestep probate court, as trusts prove the ownership titles of the assets listed, so most times no probate court decision is required.

People that pass away with their assets in a correctly formed living trust, usually can keep the estate out of probate and the public's eye. The heirs might inherit assets without public disclosure of who got what.

When someone that owns assets (not in a trust) dies, with or without a legitimate will, the assets most often must go through probate court before anything is passed along to the intended heirs.

Just because the will reads that Bob gets the condo and Jenny gets the BMW, does not mean that the day after dad dies, Bob and Jenny immediately and automatically get the possessions listed in the will.

First, it must be proven in probate court, that the assets dad left the kids in the will is owned by father free and clear. The named executor in the will, administers the estate though probate court and beyond, until all liabilities, assets, and considerations have been taken care of.

If the executor named in the will isn't available or specified, the probate court appoints one. The probate court verifies that the known creditors have achance to be paid, and that the dead person really owns the assets listed in the will. Lastly, the assets get dispersed to the beneficiaries.

Records in probate courts are public records. Anyone can go into a probate court and view probate records for any dead person, including VIPs.

Even if the decedent's assets are small, sometimes probate proceedings occur when there is a dispute over something having little obvious value. Examples might be ashes of the deceased, sentimental items, how a retirement plan should be split, etc. Not every probate case involves significant assets. However, a creditor might be right to quickly determine the estate's value. The creditor should decide if there could be enough assets to at least partially pay the judgment. If there are, then a judgment creditor's claim should be filed immediately. (The executor usually has four months to deny or allow the claim.)

When there appears to be sufficient assets to pay your claim, ask the executor or representative to do it quickly. The reason to act quickly is because assets may disappear with family members, who have little interest in paying the debts of the decedent.

As a judgment creditor of the decedent, it's your right to request a listing of the estate's liabilities and assets, either from the probate court (if it was previously filed there) or the lawyer of the personal representative if it wasn't.

If your judgment creditor's claim get denied without a good reason, you could start an adversarial action in probate court. You should be sure about what you're doing if you appear there. Many judges in the probate courts have very little patience for non-related self-represented parties that do not know what they are doing.


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