Sonoma County, for the first time, has a dedicated probate court division to resolve conflicts over wills, trusts, estates, conservatorships, guardianships and other end-of-life financial matters.
“We’re really excited about it,” said local attorney Kristen Ingersoll, who chairs the Sonoma County Bar Association’s Trust and Estate Section. “We’ve been asking and pushing and begging for years wanting more resources because our clients — the public— need more resources to have their matters heard that much sooner and have them resolved that much sooner.”
Before the new year, the court’s probate department had a hybrid model, with probate matters split up among judges handling other civil cases.
“Over the years, we’ve had different judges handling different pieces of the probate pie, which is problematic because there is no consistency,” said Judge Larry Ornell, who now serves as the court’s dedicated probate judicial officer.
Now, one judge with a team of probate-specific staff will work full-time on the administering of Sonoma County residents’ wills and estates after they die.
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Sonoma County’s first dedicated probate court hears cases over trusts, estates, other end-of-life matters
