La Jolla Probate Attorney
5.0 Google-Rated Probate Experts
Most La Jolla families we speak to already have a living trust, and they set it up precisely so that nobody would have to deal with probate. The problem is almost never the trust itself. It is the one asset that never made it in. There is a targeted way to fix that without opening a full probate, and the first call will tell you whether it applies to you.
Why Choose Harbor Probate for Your La Jolla Case?
Where a La Jolla case is heard
San Diego County hears all probate in one place. The court’s Probate Business Office sits in the Central Courthouse in downtown San Diego, so that is where a La Jolla estate is filed and heard. There is no separate venue to work out, which is not true of every California county.
The situation we see most often in La Jolla
La Jolla has a high concentration of families who did the right thing and set up a living trust, specifically so their children would not have to go through probate.
Then someone dies and it turns out one asset never made it into the trust. A rental property bought after the trust was signed. A brokerage account opened later. Sometimes the family home itself, because the deed was never actually transferred even though the trust document lists it.
The trust does not automatically capture those assets. Without a court order they sit outside it, which is exactly the outcome the trust was created to prevent.
Fixing it without a full probate: the section 850 petition
There is a targeted remedy for this, and it has a statutory home. California Probate Code section 850 lets a trustee, or any interested person, ask the court for an order about property whose ownership is in question. Two of its grounds cover this situation directly: where the person who died held title to property that is claimed to belong to someone else, at section 850(a)(2)(C), and where a trustee has a claim to property that someone else holds title to, at section 850(a)(3)(B).
You will hear this called a Heggstad petition, and it is worth knowing the term, because that is what most lawyers and most search results will call it. At the end of the day though it is a section 850 petition. That is the statute the filing is brought under and the statute the order comes from. Heggstad did not create the remedy. What it did was widen how the intention to put an asset into the trust can be proved and pleaded, so that a schedule of assets or a declaration of trust can carry that burden rather than requiring a separately signed deed for every single asset.
It is a focused petition rather than a full administration, and where it succeeds it avoids probate entirely for that asset. It turns on evidence of intent, which is why the trust paperwork, the schedule of assets, the timing of the purchase and any written instructions matter so much.
Not every case qualifies. Where intent cannot be shown, the asset goes through probate, and we would rather tell you that at the outset than after the filing fee.
Why value changes the mechanics
La Jolla property values affect a probate case in ways that are easy to underestimate. Statutory attorney and executor fees are calculated as a percentage of the estate, so they scale with the property. A bond may be required, and the bond premium scales too. Real property has to be appraised by a court appointed probate referee rather than by an agent estimate.
None of this is unusual. It does mean the numbers on a La Jolla estate look different from the numbers on an estate of the same complexity elsewhere in the county. Our probate fee calculator will give you the statutory figure for an estate of a given size.
The property tax question that runs on its own clock
Whether the low Proposition 13 assessed value survives the transfer is decided by the county assessor, not the probate court, and it runs on deadlines that do not wait for the probate to finish. On a La Jolla property the gap between the inherited assessment and a market reassessment is frequently tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Our Prop 19 calculator will show you the figures for a specific property. We handle the whole thing: we raise it at the start of every case involving a house, we work out whether the property qualifies, and where it is eligible we prepare and file everything with the assessor for you.
What we handle in La Jolla
Section 850 petitions to confirm trust assets. Full probate administration where it is required. Trust administration where there is no court case at all. Disputes between beneficiaries, and cases where a will or trust amendment is being questioned. If you are not sure which of those you are dealing with, our overview of California probate is a reasonable place to start.
How we work from Solana Beach
Harbor Probate practises probate only, from an office in Solana Beach. Tomer Gutman is a State Bar certified specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law, a credential most firms handling probate do not hold.
Talk to a La Jolla probate attorney
If a trust has turned out not to cover everything, or you are not sure whether probate applies at all, a short call will usually settle it. There is no charge. You can schedule a free call whenever suits you.