What is a probate dispute in California?

A contested issue within estate administration: the validity of the will, who should serve as personal representative, who the heirs are, whether estate property was properly handled, or whether the accounting is accurate.

Is probate the same as a trust dispute?

No. Probate governs estates passing under a will or intestacy; a trust is administered outside probate. The deadlines and procedures differ, and many families have both running at once.

Probate Disputes in California

Probate is the court process for administering an estate that is not held in trust. Disputes arise over who serves as personal representative, whether the will is valid, who the heirs are, and how estate property is handled. A petition to revoke probate of a will must generally be filed within 120 days of admission.

Granite steps and columns of a classical California courthouse in early light, one small figure ascending. — Probate is public. Every filing in a contested estate is a record anyone can read, which changes how these matters are fought and settled.

What gets fought over

Contested probate in California tends to concentrate on four things. The first is the validity of the will itself: a petition to revoke probate of a will must generally be filed within 120 days after the will is admitted to probate, and that window closes quickly on anyone waiting to see how administration unfolds. The second is who administers the estate — appointment, suspension, or removal of the personal representative, and surcharge where their conduct has caused loss. The third is what belongs to the estate at all: where property is held by one party but claimed by another, a petition under Probate Code section 850 asks the court to determine title and order conveyance. The fourth is disclosure and accounting, the estate analogue of the beneficiary’s right to compel a trustee to account under section 17200 in trust administration.

Sources: Probate Code s.8270 - Petition to revoke probate of will · Probate Code s.850 - Petition to determine title and order conveyance · Probate Code s.17200 - Petitions concerning internal affairs of trust · Verified 2026-08-03.

Probate or trust? They are not the same case

	Probate estate	Trust
Court supervision	Yes, throughout	Only if someone petitions
Public record	Yes — filings are readable by anyone	Largely private unless litigated
Clock to challenge	Generally 120 days from admission of the will	Generally 120 days from the trustee’s notice
Who you sue	Personal representative / the estate	The trustee

Many families have both at once: a trust holding the house, and a probate estate for whatever was never transferred into it. That second category is more common than people expect, and it is often where the real dispute lives — see recovering property.

What to do in the first fortnight

Get the case number. Probate files are public. The petition, the will as lodged, and the notices are all readable.
Diarise the 120 days from admission of the will, not from the date you found out.
Preserve what you have — texts, emails, the envelope the notice came in. Dates of service decide cases.
Do not sign a waiver of account or of notice because you were told it speeds things up.

Need help with legal fees?

We litigate select cases on contingency, with no upfront fees.

Costs are separate from the fee, and whether you are responsible for them is set out in the written agreement before you sign anything.

You pay no fee unless there is a recoveryThe firm carries the risk of the case. If nothing is recovered, no fee is owed.

The rate is negotiable, and must say soCalifornia requires the written agreement to state that the fee is not set by law.

Costs are separate, and disclosed up frontThe agreement must state how costs affect the fee before you sign it.

How contingency fees work in California

A contingency fee means the attorney is paid from what is recovered rather than by the hour, so a beneficiary who cannot fund litigation out of pocket can still bring a claim. California regulates these agreements closely. Under Business and Professions Code section 6147, the agreement must be in writing and the attorney must give the client a duplicate copy, signed by both, when the contract is made. It must state the agreed contingency rate; how disbursements and costs incurred in prosecuting or settling the claim will affect that fee; and to what extent the client could be required to pay for related matters. Unless the matter falls under section 6146, the agreement must also state that the fee is not set by law and is negotiable. These are not formalities: failure to comply with any provision of section 6147 makes the agreement voidable at the client’s option, leaving the attorney entitled only to a reasonable fee.

Sources: Business and Professions Code s.6147 - Contingency fee contracts · Verified 2026-08-03.

Not every matter suits a contingency arrangement, and the firm does not take every case on one. Whether yours qualifies depends on the facts, the likely recovery, and the assets actually available to satisfy a judgment. Ask when you call.

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