Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

I filed a spousal property petition in California and the probate notes brought up the disposition of creditor claims that were filed. I was surprised that any claims were even filed as I did not give creditors notice as it is not a full probate but some came in none the less. Do I need to pay these? Or can I say in the supplement that the petitioner will pay them "outside" proceedings in order to get the petition approved? There are no assets subject to probate except for one investment property that is the subject of the petition (community property). It probably only has $20-30k in equity before commissions to sell. There are no assets to pay the claim. What can I tell the examiner to push the petition through?


Asked on 6/06/15, 1:38 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Len Tillem Tillem McNichol & Brown

Understand that the creditors are supposed to be paid from the estate. A spousal property petition is a summary procedure to get assets to the surviving spouse without administration. However, when this happens, the surviving spouse becomes responsible for the debts of the deceased spouse up to the value of the assets transferred by the spousal property order.

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Answered on 6/08/15, 9:08 am


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