Trusts and Estates
Ca. Trs. & Estates Quarterly Volume 15, Issue 3, Fall 2009
Content
- Avoiding the Witness Stand: Practices and Strategies To Protect Estate Plans and Estate Planners
- Got Premium? Costanza V. Commissioner and the Tax Treatment of Scins Cancelled By Death
- Over the River and Through the Woods: Creative Estate Planning Ideas For Grandchildren
- Property Tax Reporting Requirements and the Consequences of Not Complying
- Sparse Pickings In 2009 Legislative Session
- A Legislative Proposal For Elective Administration
A LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR ELECTIVE ADMINISTRATION
By John A. Hartog*
The Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the State Bar of California has adopted a legislative proposal to permit eligible estates an alternative to formal probate administration. This proposal will be submitted to the Board of Governors for its approval. If the BOG approves this proposal, the Section will seek legislative sponsorship in the 2011 session.
INTRODUCTION
This proposal, called "elective administration," would allow a personal representative to administer a probate estate with a minimum of court supervision. The purpose of this procedure would be to allow beneficiaries to use a summary proceeding without regard to the form of the testamentary document and when those beneficiaries are cooperative. Elective Administration would be an alternative to the current system for administering probate estates. The current system would remain intact and would be utilized for most estates.