FINE POINT LAW


Our Condolences


SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION

Our initial consultation includes a thorough review of the will, trust, and other relevant documents, as well as clear guidance on your legal role and responsibilities. The $950.00 initial fee is credited toward any additional legal services you may need.


Supporting You After a Loss

If you’ve recently lost a loved one or are assisting someone who is incapacitated, we want to start by expressing our sincere sympathies. We know how overwhelming the legal and financial details can be during a time like this. Our goal is to simplify the process and help lift the burden.


Trust Administration & Probate Guidance

Whether you’re locating assets, paying bills, or ensuring that your loved one’s estate is distributed properly, we’re here to guide you—without unnecessary court involvement or conflict. If your loved one had a trust, we can assist with administering trust assets entirely outside of court. If a court process is required, we’ll help you navigate it with as little stress and expense as possible.


Who We Help

We work closely with family members, heirs, Trustees, executors, and your trusted financial and tax advisors to ensure assets are located, debts are paid, taxes are minimized, and distributions are handled properly—with clarity and compassion.


When You're Not Sure What’s Needed

It’s common to feel uncertain at first. A loved one may have created a trust, but still owned assets outside of it that require probate. Others may have accounts with pay-on-death designations or jointly owned property. We're here to help you sort through it all.


What You Can Expect

Our initial consultation process is designed to get you organized and give you confidence in your next steps. After meeting with us, you'll have a clear understanding of your responsibilities and a roadmap for moving forward. We bring deep experience in real estate, tax matters, and estate administration to help you minimize costs and taxes while honoring your loved one’s wishes.

BOOK NOW



Schedule an Estate Administration Consultation


Thank​ you for being here. We know you have a lot of options when it comes to ​choosing the right attorney for you. ​We are here to support you however we can during ​any time of burden or loss.


Unfortunately, there are a lot of legal landmines when you are helping administer a loved one's estate and, if done improperly, the explosions can affect relationships for generations.


The good news is that there is an opportunity to maximize distributions with proper tax & legal strategy. We have created organized systems for our clients so you know you are in full compliance with the law and the wishes of your dearly departed or incapacitated person.


Initial consultation includes our review of the will, trust, and other documents, plus education about your role and responsibilities. $950.00. This fee is applied toward any further services needed.


SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION

WHAT IF MY LOVED ONE DIDN'T HAVE A TRUST?



Your loved one's estate may have to go through Probate. We are here to help.


Click through this slideshow to learn more about your options.



What is Probate?



Probate is a public court process to ensure the legal transfer of assets from the deceased’s name to the names of the deceased’s legal heirs or beneficiaries.


Probate is generally also necessary to prove the validity of a Will, appoint an executor to manage the estate, appraise estate property, pay the deceased’s debts and taxes, and distribute the estate property as directed by the Will (or by state law if there is no Will).



What is the executor of an estate responsible for?



Being an executor is a big responsibility, especially because probate can get very complicated very quickly. Instead of following the guidelines of a Living Trust with the help of an attorney in the privacy of their office*, executors must abide by a state's probate code.


For example, California's Probate Code contains pages upon pages of complex legal rules and procedures that an executor must follow during the probate process. In addition, there are certain deadlines that an executor must meet in filing papers with the court and providing notice to interested parties. If an executor does not comply with any of these rules, they can be held personally liable for any losses to the estate.


*Not all Trusts are created equal. If a Trust is outdated at the time of death, or if there are assets that were not properly transferred to the Trust, probate may be necessary. Unfortunately, not all Trust attorneys ensure that assets are properly owned, beneficiaries are properly designated, and the Trust is updated with the current law.



I was named as the executor of an estate/the trustee of a Trust; what should I do?



The best way to ensure your probate proceeding is handled properly and quickly is to hire an experienced attorney. Ideally, your attorney's practice should focus on estate, probate, and property law, and they should be extremely knowledgeable about how each area of law can interact with each other. If there was a Will or Trust in place, you are not required to hire the attorney who drafted those documents.


If you are ready to get started with the probate process after the passing of a loved one, please contact us and we will help determine your next best steps. We are here in service to making this as easy as possible on you, and we look forward to relieving any administrative or legal burdens you may face during this time of loss.


Initial consultation includes our review of the will, trust, and other documents, plus education about your role and responsibilities. $950.00. This fee is applied toward any further services needed.


Schedule an Estate Administration Consultation