Stocks, investments or bank accounts usually have a beneficiary listed on the accounts.  If a beneficiary is listed, then the balances in these accounts would go to the person or persons listed.  In this case, there would be no need to put these into a Probate. There are times when the beneficiary is not listed or is deceased and no other person is listed.  When this happens, the balances of these accounts would have to be probated if the value is over $100,000 in California.  If the value is under $100,000 and there is no real estate, then the transfer of the assets can be completed by a Probate Code Declaration.

Legal Action Workshop offers probate assistance in Los Angeles.