Probate and Trust Administration Attorneys Santa Cruz County
At Dawson, Passafuime, Bowden & Martinez, our Probate and Trust attorney have vast experience helping people in Santa Cruz County who have to be the administrator, executor, or trustee of a family member’s estate after they pass away. Our attorneys represent the client through all phases of the Estate Administration
During a Probate Administration, the administrator or executor is tasked with the following:
- >Identifying, accountings, and organizing all the decedent’s assets.
- >Identifying and settling all the decedent’s outstanding debts.
- >Paying all taxes associated with the estate.
- >Distributing the remaining assets in the estate to beneficiaries.
- >Preparing a final accounting of the assets, debs, taxes, and distributions.
Probate can be a costly and lengthy process. The cost of Probate is determined by a number of factors including the value of the estate and the complexity of the assets and liabilities of the Probate Estate.
In contrast, a trust is designed to avoid the costs of Probate. Trust Administration is done with minimal court oversight and is governed by what is written in a decadent’s (the person who passed away) Trust document.
At Dawson, Passafuime, Bowden & Martinez, our attorneys have extensive experience administering Trusts and probating estates. Our Probate lawyers can also assist a beneficiary in the event of fraud, undue influence, or theft of estate property, as well as deal with any issues of testamentary capacity. We also have extensive experience in filing a will or trust contest or compel an accounting by a trustee.