Legal Guidance, Lasting Peace.

At The Ashcraft Firm, our purpose is to create peace, not just peace of mind - actual tangible peace through the legal system. Our team is devoted to creating an experience that lets our clients breathe a sigh of relief and creates a lasting difference in their lives and the lives of their loved ones.

Learn more about our peaceful trust administration and probate processes by interacting with the sliders below.

Peaceful Trust Administration Process

  • Peaceful Trust Administration Process

  • Peaceful TA Step One

    STEP ONE:
    Notify Everyone

    About 2 Weeks
    • Prepare initial documents for you to sign.
    • Send out notification packets to heirs and beneficiaries.
    • Send notice to credit bureaus and any known creditors.
    • Lodge original will with the court.

  • Peaceful TA Step Two

    STEP TWO:
    Gain Control

    About 1 Month
    • Get tax ID number for trust.
    • Sign documents in our office that get you in control of the assets.
    • You open a trust account.
    • Transfer funds from financial institutions to the new trust account*.

    *The length of time this takes is largely dependent on you and the beneficiaries. Other things that may delay your trust administration: uncooperative financial institutions, sale of real property taking longer than anticipated, delay in getting documents and information, objections by beneficiaries, and waiting for signed receipts from beneficiaries.

  • Peaceful TA Step Three

    STEP THREE:
    PREPARE FOR DISTRIBUTION

    About 3 - 4 Months
    • Notify beneficiaries regarding sale of property.
    • Sell all property that needs to be sold.
    • Contact CPA regarding final taxes, if any.
    • Satisfy all legitimate creditors’ claims.
    • Gather information and documents to prepare an accounting if one is requested by a beneficiary.
    • If an accounting is necessary, it is prepared by our in-house accountant and sent to the beneficiaries.

  • Peaceful TA Step Four

    STEP FOUR:
    Distribute Assets

    About 1 - 2 Months
    • Send out informal/formal accounting to beneficiaries.
    • Write out checks to beneficiaries, transfer assets to continuing trusts for beneficiaries (if applicable), and deed/give property to beneficiaries.
    • Prepare receipts for beneficiaries to sign.
    • Prepare and send waivers to beneficiaries saying you did your job correctly.

  • Peaceful TA Step Five

    STEP FIVE:
    Distribute Any Reserve and Close File

    About 1 Month
    • Receive signed receipts for distribution and waivers back from the beneficiaries.*
    • Pay any closing cost with reserve, if any.
    • Distribute any remaining reserve to the beneficiaries with receipts, if any.
    • Receive signed receipts for reserve.*
    • Close the trust administration.

    *The length of time this takes is largely dependent on you and the beneficiaries. Other things that may delay your trust administration: uncooperative financial institutions, sale of real property taking longer than anticipated, delay in getting documents and information, objections by beneficiaries, and waiting for signed receipts from beneficiaries.

  • Peaceful TA Step Six

    BONUS STEP:
    Create Your Own Estate Plan So It Is as Painless as Possible for Your Loved Ones

Peaceful Probate Process

  • Peaceful Probate

  • Peaceful Probate Step One

    STEP ONE:
    Petition the Court

    About 2 Weeks
    • Prepare a draft petition and related documents for you to sign.
    • Obtain other heirs’/beneficiaries’ signatures if waiving bond and/or accounting.*
    • File petition with court.

  • Peaceful Probate Step Two

    STEP TWO:
    Initial Court Date

    About 2 - 4 Months
    • Notice published in newspaper and mail notice to heirs/beneficiaries.
    • Monitor court docket and possibly file supplement.*
    • The goal at court is to get letters and an Order for Probate signed, putting you in charge.

  • Peaceful Probate Step Three

    STEP THREE:
    After Order for Probate

    About 4 Months
    • Get certified copies of letters and tax ID number for the estate. Open an estate account and gain control of estate assets.
    • We will send out notice to creditors.
    • You will get information and documents to prepare the inventory and appraisal.
    • Probate Ref. appraises the property and then we file it with the court.
    • We send Notice of Proposed Action, if needed.
    • Wait for the creditor claim deadline to pass (120 days after notice to creditors).
    • Satisfy all legitimate creditors’ claims.

  • Peaceful Probate Step Four

    STEP FOUR:
    Final Petition / Accounting

    About 1 - 2 Months
    • Gather information and documents to prepare final petition and accounting.
    • Prepare final petition and accounting.
    • You sign the final petition and accounting; we file it with the court.

  • Peaceful Probate Step Five

    STEP FIVE:
    Final Petition Hearing

    About 2 - 4 Months
    • The court will set a hearing date (approximately 2-4 months out from the time of filing the final petition).
    • Monitor court docket and possibly file supplement.*
    • The goal is for the court to approve all actions the administrator took while administering the estate and to sign the order for final distribution.

    *The length of time this takes is largely dependent on you or the heirs. Other things that may delay your case include: receiving last minute notes from the court, if you delay in getting us documents or information, objections by heirs, or a judge’s calendar being full.

  • Peaceful Probate Step Six

    STEP SIX:
    Closing the Estate

  • Peaceful Probate Step Seven

    BONUS STEP:
    Create Your Own Estate Plan So Your Loved Ones Don’t Have to Go Through This Process

Contact Us at Our Murrieta or San Diego Office for Help With Probate

Dealing with the death of a loved one is difficult enough already; no one would want to add the stress of taking on a difficult court process while dealing with the loved one's finances. That’s why at The Ashcraft Firm, we are committed to creating peace through the use of the law, helping people through this emotional time. We do so with love, compassion, and understanding.

When you call our office in San Diego, CA or Murrieta, CA, you’ll see that we have caring staff and attorneys. For no obligation, we’ll schedule a consultation so that you’ll know exactly what to expect when dealing with your loved one’s estate. Also, we take our statutory fees at the end of the case (in the Step 6: Distribute phase), so you do not have to pay attorney’s fees up front.

For help with probate in Murrieta, CA; Temecula, CA; Menifee, CA; Hemet, CA; Lake Elsinore, CA; Moreno Valley, CA; Palm Springs, CA; Perris, CA; Poway, CA; Riverside, CA; Rancho Bernardo, CA; San Diego, CA; or the surrounding areas, put your trust in the team at The Ashcraft Firm.