That nightmare week dealing with a probate mess in San Diego

Last spring I spent 5 days straight trying to help my aunt sort out her neighbor's estate after he passed with no will. The court wanted a bunch of forms filed in triplicate and we kept getting the wrong stamps from the clerk's office. I had to drive all the way downtown three times because we missed a signature on page 7 of the inventory list. It felt like every step cost an extra 2 hours in line. Has anyone else had the clerk reject paperwork for something tiny like a date format?

3 comments

3 Comments

stella_lane14d ago

Traffic court in my city uses the same system and honestly I think the clerk's office does it on purpose to filter out people who shouldn't be messing with legal paperwork. If you can't follow a date format or remember to sign page 7 then maybe probate isn't for you. The line thing is annoying but that's what happens when you show up at 11am instead of 8am like everyone with half a brain.

davis.adam14d ago

Ha, yeah the "showing up at 11am" thing got me the first time too. I showed up at like 10:30 once and the line was already wrapped around the building. What finally worked for me was getting there at like 7:45. I was the SECOND person in line. It was ridiculous but I was in and out in twenty minutes. Also I started bringing a binder with every single paper tabbed and color coded. Felt dumb doing it but the clerk actually complimented me. She said most people walk in with loose papers stuffed in an envelope. So yeah, early and organized is the way.

scott.drew14d ago

Man, you nailed it with the binder thing. I went one step further and color coded by urgency (red for deadlines, green for copies, blue for originals) and I swear the clerk almost smiled. She actually said "if everyone did this my job would be 90% easier." The early arrival is key too, but here's a pro tip for anyone reading this: bring a camp chair if you're getting there before 8am. I sat in line for 45 minutes once and my back was killing me. A cheap folding chair and a thermos of coffee makes the whole thing way less miserable.