The legal process of estate administration, overseen by a court, becomes necessary when assets owned by a deceased individual need to be transferred to their rightful heirs or beneficiaries. This court-supervised procedure ensures the orderly distribution of property according to the decedent’s will, or, in the absence of a will, according to California’s laws of intestate succession. For instance, if a person dies owning real estate solely in their name, without any estate planning mechanism in place to avoid court intervention, this process will typically be initiated to transfer title to the property.
This mandated court oversight provides several benefits. It validates the will (if one exists), identifies and values the decedent’s assets, pays outstanding debts and taxes, and ultimately distributes the remaining assets to the appropriate parties. Historically, these procedures have been developed to protect the interests of both creditors and heirs, ensuring fairness and transparency in the transfer of wealth after death. The absence of such oversight could lead to disputes, fraud, and mismanagement of the deceased’s estate.
