Top Probate Lawyers in Saint Helena | 1 available

1 Probate lawyers are available in Saint Helena, California, including Katherine Zelazny. These lawyers are rated between 3.7/5 to 4.1/5 and 54% provide free consultation.

Katherine Zela

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Katherine Zelazny

Firm: The Law Offices of Kathy Zelazny

Po Box 820 , Saint Helena , California 94574

Practice Areas: Business & Commercial, Estate Planning, Probate , Real Estate , Estate Planning, Estate Planning, Estate Planning, Estate Planning, Estate Planning, Estate Planning

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Recent Q&As in California (Probate)

California probate — minor child denied family allowance despite Estate of Jameson; looking for insight on whether ruling is legally supportable | Aug 22, 2026 | Sourced from Reddit
Location: California I’m involved in a contested probate matter involving a minor child of the decedent. I was appointed Guardian ad Litem for the minor. I am not an attorney, but the probate court allowed me to appear in pro per as GAL, file pleadings, and argue the minor’s family allowance request. I have since learned there may be a separate issue about whether a non-attorney GAL can properly represent a minor in litigation without counsel, so that is now something we are also trying to sort out. The immediate issue is a family allowance under California Probate Code § 6540. Before the father’s death, the household had approximately $13,790/month in resources from both parents’ employment income plus $1,000/month rental income. When he died, his income and the rental income stopped being available to the household, which was a loss of more than 52% of the household’s pre-death resources. The child remained in the same home with substantially the same housing and maintenance expenses. She later began receiving approximately $1,693/month in Social Security survivor benefits. I recommended a $2,750/month family allowance after considering the child’s circumstances, the surviving parent’s continuing income, Social Security, the estate’s solvency, pre- and post-death household resources, and recurring expenses. I expressly did not claim that there was a mathematical formula for arriving at $2,750. The estate administrator opposed the amount and argued, among other things, that the minor’s directly attributable expenses were less than her Social Security benefit. Their calculation assigned no meaningful amount to…

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California Statutes — Probate

Probate Code: governs wills, trusts, estates, and conservatorships.

Browse the full California Probate Code →

Official government statute text, reproduced for reference — not legal advice. For your situation, consult a licensed attorney.

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