A common question I get is I still have not started probate is it too late? That is, it’s been a week, a month, a year, 5 years, or LONGER and they wonder if it’s too late to start the California probate process. Generally speaking there is not a deadline to start the process. I have seen probates started 15-20 years AFTER a person died. A year or two back I was talking to someone about a probate case where the person died around 1970 and the process had never been undertaken to clear title to the property. Typically, however, people do not wait 50 years to start the process! Typically, we see people starting probate 2-3 weeks after a person died. I like to encourage people to take care of the immediate situation such as getting their loved one a proper funeral and burial… and then let’s get the probate process started.

Don’t wait a few months though as the longer you wait to start the longer until you’ll be finished! As I have posted, many times in recent years, the time required to finish a California probate has continually gone up during the 30 years I have been an attorney. I used to say it was a 6 month process and now I say it’s an 18 month process. Yes, we do still get it done in under a year sometimes but that is less and less. This is 100% to do with the court system. That is, the inability to get good court dates and the time it takes to process paperwork. Yes, some counties are more efficient than others but 18 months is a good estimate at this time. We file probates in all counties in California and can explain the timeline to expect in each – just contact us today!

I should add that by California law the holder of the will is required to lodge it with the probate court for the county in which the person was a resident at the time of death. You can lodge the will and not start probate but the will is supposed to be lodged with the court according to the law. Is it too late if you don’t lodge the will within 30 days? No, generally not, but there is the potential that you could create a legal case against yourself by not lodging the will in a timely fashion. For example, what if a person starts probate, thinking there is no will, spends money, and then you show up months later with the will!? Don’t get in that position. If you have an original will in your possession and the person has died a resident of California you should lodge that will. If you aren’t sure what to do please contact an experienced California probate attorney to assist.

If you think you may need a California probate attorney reach out to us. You can reach us by text, phone or email and we tend to reply very quickly!

Best wishes!

-John Palley