Why can an estate which doesn involve probate be closed immediately?
As stated above, there are always loose ends to tie up. I have heard speakers (although not attorneys) say that they typically settle an estate where a Living Trust was used in 30 minutes. That sounds great but it just doesn’t make sense. First, in California, by statute, there is a four month settlement period during which the estate has to be held open. This allows time for any disgruntled heirs to challenge the Trust on the basis of fraud or whatever other grounds might be available. Now, you may not agree with the rationale for this but our system of justice is based on giving everyone an opportunity to state their case and bring in the court to make a ruling. From that perspective, allowing a four month period for people to take that action makes sense. Second, where estate or income taxes are due, one would want to pay these as late as possible so they can retain the money for as long as possible. Both of these points argue against settling all but the most minimal estates in 30
