Choosing Your Probate Lawyer

If you are nominated as the executor of a probate estate or want to serve as administrator of an intestate estate, then choosing your probate lawyer is one of the most important decisions you will make.  Finding a qualified probate lawyer in California requires some time and effort.  Put it in and you will be rewarded with a skillful guide who will help you navigate the probate process.

Why Should you be Careful when Choosing a Probate Lawyer

It’s common to find lawyers advertising they do probate in addition to two, three or four other practice areas. Almost always these practice areas have nothing at all to do with probate. Don’t choose a lawyer who does probate as a sideline. When a problem comes up during your case these lawyers often lock up or blunder forward causing real problems for their client. Their cases often take longer than those handled by experienced California probate lawyers. Knowing how to address difficult situations only comes from the experience gained by having dealt with them before.

If a problem comes up during the probate of a will or intestate estate, you want an lawyer who will go to court to make the plan work; not one who will abandon you in the middle of a case. Too many lawyers only dabble in probate and probate litigation. Having a lawyer who actively litigates protects you from the beginning of your case. That’s because any probate can unexpectedly turned nasty and degenerate into litigation. If your lawyer doesn’t do litigation then you’re going to have to change your lawyer midway through your probate.