Southern California Probate and Trust Administration

Sophisticated Legal Services for California Probate and Trust Administration

Estate planning is the first step to ensuring that your loved ones receive the assets and property that you wish them to receive. Upon death, your estate plan will be put into action. The attorneys of Kenneth E. Devore & Associates can assist you with this task as well. With professional guidance from an experienced probate lawyer, you can feel confident that the details of probate are being handled correctly and the chances for later conflicts are minimized.

Contact our law office in Westlake Village for prompt and personalized service from a team of skilled legal professionals who can guide you through your duties in probate, estate, and trust administration.

Probate in California

Probate is the legal process of validating a will, paying the estate's debts and taxes, and distributing property to heirs and beneficiaries. This task is usually undertaken by a person designated in the will as the "executor." This is often a person who has no experience probating an estate.

Working with an attorney who understands California probate law can give you peace of mind that the details have been handled properly and that deadlines have been met. It also reduces the chance that an heir or beneficiary will have reason to dispute how the estate was handled.

You will need to probate any estate in which the deceased did not have all of their property in a trust or other non-probate assets. Probate will occur if there is a will, if there was no will, or if some assets were left out of the trust (and that amount could be considerable).

Allow us to advise and guide you through the probate process. Contact our office today.

California Trust Administration

The law office of Kenneth E. Devore & Associates concentrates our practice only on estate planning, trusts, and probate. Attorney Kenneth Devore is certified as a specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization and has an advanced law degree (LL.M.) in Taxation. We are well prepared to assist clients with sophisticated needs.

We serve as legal advisors for trustees, offering guidance on such issues as successor trusteeship, investment options, standards of distribution, fiduciary responsibilities, titling of assets, estate tax planning, and income tax and property tax issues.

California Probate and Trust Litigation

We represent trustees and beneficiaries who are bringing legal claims regarding the proper handling of probate or by an executor, in cases involving contested wills, and when the accounting, reporting or management of a trustee is in question.

If you believe there has been wrongdoing or mismanagement of an estate planning or probate process, or in the administration of a trust to which you are a beneficiary, contact our Westlake Village law office for a consultation.

Kenneth E. Devore & Associates  31355 Oak Crest Drive, Suite 250 Westlake Village, CA Telephone: (818) 338-3252 ● Fax: (818) 338-3287 Map and Directions

From offices located in Westlake Village, the estate planning and probate lawyers of Kenneth E. Devore & Associates serve clients in Southern California's California's Ventura County, Los Angeles County, including the Conejo Valley, San Fernando Valley, in communities such as Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks, Lake Sherwood, Simi Valley, Oak Park, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Woodland Hills, Malibu, Santa Monica, and Glendale.