I decided to post this question as it’s been too long since I posted something new on here. I had been waiting to post Fixing or amending a California probate court order part 2 but that case is on the slow track due to the courts being so impacted because of Covid (or whatever their reason is). So, I decided to answer the question that most clients want to know. How long does a California probate take in 2022?

Let’s back up to when I was a brand new attorney back in the mid-90’s. I used to say that probate could be done, in California, in about 6 months. The basic timeline was:

– Initial court date within 30 days;
– Four month creditor period;
– Final court date within 30 days.

Then, as the years went on I started to say 7 months as the timeline started to look something like this in most courts:

– Initial court date within 45 days;
– Four month creditor period;
– Final court date within 45 days.

Then it started to be 7-8 months, 7-9 months, 7-10 months, etc… as the disparity in different counties widened. There are still some counties of California where you can get a probate done in 7 months but only a few and it takes the right attorney. You need an attorney that has done this hundreds and hundreds… and HUNDREDS more times! I have done approximately 2,000 probate estate cases in California. I have a highly efficient system. My system is designed to cut through the court redtape and get your case done as quickly as possible.

So, with all that said, how long does it take to complete the AVERAGE probate in California in 2022? Here’s a very rough sketch and I stress this is really an average. Some courts are better and some are MUCH worse.

– Initial court date within APPROXIMATELY 60 days;
– Four month creditor period;
– Final court date within APPROXIMATELY 60 days.

These dates and times really does vary around the state though. There really are still some counties where a 7-8 month probate is LIKELY and there are others where an 18 month probate is likely. That’s just the reality of the system based on the court dates being given by the courts in 2022.

If you want to maximize the chances that your probate case get filed and completed in the shortest possible time please reach out by email, text or the old fashion way… by picking up the phone!

-John