Beneficiary Rights in CA

Beneficiary rights take effect when someone passes away and leaves his property and assets to various heirs. Although it can take some time before beneficiaries end up receiving the inherited property, particularly if the probate proceedings are complicated or contentious, these beneficiaries should know that:

• They have rights.
• As an experienced California probate attorney at the Law Offices of Darrell C. Harriman, I will aggressively defend their beneficiary rights in probate or in any legal setting.

An Overview of Beneficiary Rights in California Probate

During probate proceedings, some of the beneficiary rights that can come into play include (but are by no means limited to):

• The right to an accounting of all of an estate’s activities – When beneficiaries want to be updated about an estate’s activities, including any payments made or monies collected on behalf of an estate, beneficiaries have the right to request and promptly receive this information from the personal representative handling the estate in probate.
• The right to challenge a will – When beneficiaries have reason to believe that a will or parts of it are not valid, they have the right to challenge the validity of wills as part of the probate proceedings.
• The right to seek relief from a personal representative – Should beneficiaries feel that a personal representative is not a good fit for the estate, they have the right to seek relief from that personal representative (though it will be up to the court to make the final decision regarding this manner).
• The right to sue for breach of fiduciary duties – In the event that beneficiaries believe that personal representatives have misused the funds of the estate or have otherwise breached their fiduciary duties, beneficiaries have the right to sue the personal representatives.
• The right to have an attorney represent them – This is perhaps the most important beneficiary right people need to remember, as having an experienced attorney represent them can ensure that all of their rights are protected throughout probate.