Reliable As clients of Ayoub & Dodson LLP are aware, Alexandra M. Ayoub advises them on estate planning, wealth transfer, and practical administration. By appointment only, Ms. Ayoub practices with two assistants at 1511 N. Main Street, Walnut Creek, California. The practice of Ms. Ayoub is designed to deliver practical, thoughtful, and accessible advice for clients' estate planning, trust/estate management, and probate needs. She has represented clients from almost all Bay Area counties. Ms. Ayoub is the Chair of Estate Planning and Administration for East Bay Trusts & Estates Lawyers. From Lafayette, California, Ms. Ayoub attended the University of California Berkeley for her BA 2005, where she graduated with high distinction. From the University of California Davis School of Law, she earned her law degree. Probate Part 1: The Procedure The court oversees the administration of an estate through probate. The process involves appointing an executor, coordinating assets, notifying the parties entitled to receive notice, paying creditors, accounting for expenses, and finally distributing or closing out the estate. The probate process serves several goals, such as preventing fraud, notifying the right parties, making assets available for distribution, and beneficiaries and heirs are informed of their rights (California Probate Code 11620). If an individual dies with assets in her name greater than a specified amount and those assets are not passed by operation of law or beneficiary designation (such as property held in joint tenancy or pay-on-death accounts), the California estate will have to go through probate. Probate can last years, but it usually takes at least six months.
