Probate & Trust Administration
Postdeath trust administration, probate, and fiduciary accountings — for executors, trustees, and the beneficiaries who depend on them.
When a person dies, the law requires a final accounting. Doing it correctly protects fiduciaries and beneficiaries alike.
When a person dies, the law mandates a 'final' accounting — in Probate Court, or through a postdeath trust administration (PDTA). Both have the same primary purpose: the decedent's assets pass to the proper beneficiaries, all taxes (income and estate) are paid, and all creditors are satisfied.
We represent both fiduciaries and beneficiaries. For fiduciaries, we guide the executor or trustee through every legal duty — pay taxes, pay creditors, prepare a subtrust asset accounting, prepare a final accounting, and distribute correctly. For beneficiaries, we carefully review the fiduciary's accountings to make certain no assets 'went missing' and that the right dollars flow to the right subtrusts and people.
A common misconception: a Probate Court order approving a final distribution does not, in fact, confirm the accuracy of the accounting. The court typically performs a cash-in/cash-out review, not a forensic check on whether subtrusts were properly funded or whether 'income' versus 'principal' was correctly characterized — and those distinctions can move very large dollars.
Cases We Take On
Probate
Court-supervised estate administration.
Court-supervised estate administration. Our attorneys have decades of experience with these matters and pursue every available remedy — from pre-suit negotiation through trial — to protect your rights and maximize your outcome.
Discuss your caseTrust Administration
Postdeath trust administration outside court.
Postdeath trust administration outside court. Our attorneys have decades of experience with these matters and pursue every available remedy — from pre-suit negotiation through trial — to protect your rights and maximize your outcome.
Discuss your caseFiduciary Accountings
Prepare, review, or challenge accountings.
Prepare, review, or challenge accountings. Our attorneys have decades of experience with these matters and pursue every available remedy — from pre-suit negotiation through trial — to protect your rights and maximize your outcome.
Discuss your caseBeneficiary Representation
Protect your inheritance from a conflicted fiduciary.
Protect your inheritance from a conflicted fiduciary. Our attorneys have decades of experience with these matters and pursue every available remedy — from pre-suit negotiation through trial — to protect your rights and maximize your outcome.
Discuss your caseTrustee Counsel
Guidance for executors and trustees discharging duties.
Guidance for executors and trustees discharging duties. Our attorneys have decades of experience with these matters and pursue every available remedy — from pre-suit negotiation through trial — to protect your rights and maximize your outcome.
Discuss your caseTrust Litigation
Removal, surcharge, and accounting petitions.
Removal, surcharge, and accounting petitions. Our attorneys have decades of experience with these matters and pursue every available remedy — from pre-suit negotiation through trial — to protect your rights and maximize your outcome.
Discuss your caseHow It Works
A clear, four-step path from your first call to the resolution you deserve.
Engagement & Conflict Check
We confirm we can represent you cleanly — fiduciary or beneficiary, not both.
Inventory & Records
We assemble the full asset, debt, and tax picture as of death.
Administer or Audit
Run the administration correctly — or audit the one already underway.
Final Accounting & Distribution
Close the estate or trust with documents that hold up under scrutiny.
An Advocate Who Treats Your Case Like It's Their Own
Decades of focused experience, transparent communication, and a track record built one client at a time.
Fiduciary Duty Counsel
We protect executors and trustees from personal liability through correct procedure and clean documentation.
Beneficiary Advocacy
We review accountings line-by-line — especially in blended-family situations where conflicts of interest are built in.
Probate Code Fluency
The Probate Code (and the Principal and Income Act) is detailed. We've worked it for decades.
Conflict-Aware Engagements
We never represent fiduciary and beneficiary in the same matter — and we tell you up front when we can't.
Steady in Family Conflict
Postdeath disputes are emotional. We bring calm structure and a clear path forward.
Tax-Aware Administration
Final 1040s, 1041s, 706s, and basis decisions handled with our tax-attorney background.
What Postdeath Work Actually Involves
Whether you serve as fiduciary or stand to inherit, these are the moving parts of a properly run administration.
Letters testamentary, inventory and appraisal, creditor claims, court-supervised distribution.
Trustee acceptance, notifications, subtrust funding, and distributions outside court.
Probate Code-compliant accountings — prepared, reviewed, or challenged.
A/B/C and Survivor/Marital/Bypass funding done with basis and tax consequences in mind.
Proper characterization under the Principal and Income Act — critical when income and remainder beneficiaries differ.
Petitions to compel accountings, surcharge claims, and trustee removal where warranted.
Why a Court-Approved Accounting Isn't Always 'Approved'
Probate Court orders confirm process. They rarely confirm whether the right dollars went to the right people.
Without the Right Counsel
- Subtrusts funded with the wrong assets — locking in the wrong basis
- 'Income' and 'principal' miscategorized between life and remainder beneficiaries
- Decedent's assets that quietly never made the inventory
- Stale accountings that bury years of issues
- Conflicted fiduciaries whose interests differ from beneficiaries' interests
With Us in Your Corner
- Independent forensic review of the fiduciary's accounting
- Petitions to compel accounting where the trustee won't deliver one
- Surcharge actions to recover misapplied or misappropriated funds
- Removal petitions where the fiduciary cannot serve impartially
- Clean, defensible accountings that close the matter for good
For executors and trustees.
- Discharge your duties without exposing yourself personally.
- Tax filings — 1040, 1041, 706 — coordinated correctly.
- Subtrust funding and basis decisions documented.
For beneficiaries.
- Independent review of every accounting.
- Petitions to compel where the trustee delays.
- Surcharge and removal actions when warranted.
Common Questions
Straight answers to what clients ask most. Don't see your question? Reach out — we respond within 24 hours.
Generally no for assets titled in the trust. But assets outside the trust often still require probate or a Heggstad petition. We assess what each asset needs.
A clean PDTA can wrap in 6–18 months; complex estates with businesses, real estate in multiple states, or disputes can take much longer.
A formal report — in the format prescribed by the Probate Code — showing receipts, disbursements, gains, losses, distributions, and proposed distributions. The rules are detailed and unforgiving.
Yes — and you should, before the court approves it. We file objections, conduct discovery, and litigate when needed.
California beneficiaries generally have a statutory right to information and an accounting. We file petitions to compel — and pursue removal when refusal is willful.
No. The interests can diverge — even when everyone is friendly today. We represent one side and tell you up front.
California's rules for characterizing trust receipts and disbursements as 'income' or 'principal.' It matters most when those categories go to different people (e.g., a surviving spouse vs. children of a prior marriage).
A final personal 1040, fiduciary 1041s for the estate or trust, and possibly a 706 for estate tax. Our tax background means these are handled — not punted to a separate firm.
Talk to an attorney — free consultation, no obligation.
Howard's tenacious attention to detail caught issues with our family's trust accounting that nobody else had. We finally had clarity.
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