How To Leverage ProbateCash To Build Your Business Part Two

The webinar will be hosted by Marc Harris, our CEO, and Bill Gross, the LA Probate Expert and the host of the largest probate real estate podcast in the US, Probate Weekly. They’ll discuss how ProbateCash can be used to avoid lowball offers on real estate listings and help professionals like you attract more clients.

Key Takeaways

• ProbateCash advances money to beneficiaries (and sometimes intended personal representatives) who can’t access inheritance because probate takes time.
• These are not loans: non-recourse, no credit checks, no interest rate, no fixed repayment date.
• ProbateCash can fund:
  • Attorney retainer + filing costs to open probate
  • Property protection (fences, repairs, shutoffs)
  • Evictions / trespasser issues
  • Funeral expenses
  • General liquidity needs while waiting for distribution
• ProbateCash assumes the risk if an estate underperforms (claims, insolvency, lower sale price). Only fraud/non-payment after distribution triggers legal remedies.
• ProbateCash files an assignment with the probate court for transparency and repayment routing.
• Fees (example shared): 25% of the advance amount every 90 days, capped at 100% (example: $10k advance → up to $20k payoff after cap).
• Realtor angle: using this tool can help you win listings and prevent heirs from selling a $600k house for $350k due to panic.
• Marketing before probate is filed: focus on your existing network + consistent social content to get “problem calls,” then plug in ProbateCash + the right attorney.

Full Transcript

Molly Driscoll:
Welcome and thanks for joining today’s session, How to Leverage ProbateCash to Build Your Business, brought to you by Probate Cash. I’m your host, Molly Driscoll.

As a reminder, type your questions in the chat window. The presenters will address questions after the presentation. If your question is case specific or confidential, let us know and someone will respond separately.

Our presenters today are professionals with extensive experience in the probate field: Marc Harris, an attorney admitted to the Florida Bar and Southern District of Florida and a member of the Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section. Marc has worked in specialty finance for 25 years and purchased over $100 million in assets.

Also joining us is Bill Gross – aka the LA Probate Expert – specialist in probate real estate sales, based in Los Angeles.

Now, without further ado, let’s hear from Marc and Bill.

Marc Harris:
I’m now unmuted. People in my house prefer me on mute, but for the webinar it works better if you can hear me.

Thanks everybody for being here. We have close to a couple hundred people attending. Most of you are Realtors from around the country.

Probate Cash provides advances to beneficiaries of estates who are waiting for their inheritance and can’t access it because it’s tied up in probate.

A lot of you understand the situation: you’re getting calls from people who lost a loved one and want to sell the estate home, but they don’t have the legal authority. They’re trying to figure out probate, get letters, and move forward.

We work with personal representatives and beneficiaries to provide liquidity that otherwise isn’t available due to the long probate process.

Bill – Molly gave you a great introduction, but nobody can tell people about you better than you.

Bill Gross:
You’re going to make me talk about me. I hate that.

I’m a practitioner: real estate broker in Los Angeles focused on probate listings. I represent attorneys, estates, and families selling property in probate. I have a team nationwide.

I host the podcast Probate Weekly to interview practitioners, attorneys, and vendors across the country. I use this service all the time to help customers, so I feel qualified to speak on how it works in practice.

Marc Harris:
Because we have Realtors on this call: what are examples of how Probate Cash has helped you, and how can it help people here win listings and make deals smoother?

Bill Gross:
When I started building my probate business, there were a couple ways to go: buying probate filing data and cold calling or mailing – those people already filed probate.

The probate advance gives you a chance to help people before probate is even filed, because people reach out and don’t know what to do or where to start.

In the beginning, I would just refer them to an attorney. But there are different flavors of probate attorneys—different fits for different situations.

One of the criteria people use is: “How much does it cost me?”

A probate cash advance can take that objection off the table – so they can choose the right attorney, instead of choosing the cheapest attorney and getting stuck in prolonged litigation.

Even if an attorney doesn’t require a retainer, someone has to pay filing fees, publication, and misc costs. In LA County, you can easily be looking at $350 filing plus $350 publication and more.

Where does the money come from?

Most heirs can’t come up with $500. Many have never bought a house. They might be destitute, even though they’re about to inherit a $500k home.

The advance can provide cash to:

• put a fence around the property
• evict trespassers
• retain a great attorney
• pay fees up front
• give pocket cash to survive while waiting

It’s oil between the gears.

And there are other cases:
I had a client inheriting a $600,000 property free and clear, but she needed around $7,000 for funeral arrangements. She was in tears. Some people might judge that, but for her it mattered.

The inheritance was coming. It was just stuck in court for months.

So there are many applications. It’s about empowering people.

Marc Harris:
Exactly. Someone inheriting a $600,000 home can still have an immediate cash crunch.

When you don’t have money, you panic and make poor decisions. Without proper advice, someone knocks on the door and offers $350,000 cash for a $600,000 house.

We provide money so people can slow down, breathe, and make better decisions with the right advisors around them.

Bill Gross:
Yes—panic is real. I had a case where trespassers left water running, caused flooding, and the city red-tagged the property.

We shut off the water, fenced it, dealt with the damage – then marketed properly.

She made about $100,000 more because we didn’t take the first low cash offer.

Marc Harris:
We come to people through many channels – search, marketing, and referrals from Realtors and lawyers.

We have an application process and underwriting department. We review the filed case, confirm whether there is a will or intestate situation, and confirm the customer is truly a beneficiary.

Our advances are non-recourse. Not loans. No interest rate. No maturity date.

We usually get paid when assets are distributed. That can be 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, or longer.

We do charge fees. And we take risk:

• creditor claims wiping out inheritance
• Medicaid/health claims
• new will discovered
• lower sale price than expected

That’s on us.

The only time we pursue legal remedies is if the customer receives distribution and refuses to pay, or if there was fraud.

We file the beneficiary’s assignment with the probate court – transparency is key. We also try to speak with the estate attorney ahead of time.

California has a statute governing inheritance assignments. It’s the only state with one, but we follow that consumer-protection spirit nationwide and file our documents in court.

Q&A

Molly Driscoll:
We’re at the 15-minute mark. Keep typing questions in Q&A.

Q: How can you get a probate advance to pay for expenses before probate even starts?
Marc Harris:
That’s often when money is needed most. Some people don’t have funds to open probate or pay the attorney retainer.

In those cases, we can advance money specifically to pay the retainer, so probate can be opened and the process can start.

Q: What about wholesalers or investors?
Bill Gross:
I work with wholesalers and investors all the time.

Key question: does the property need to be publicly marketed?

In California, if there’s no contest and the petitioner has full authority, you can sell quickly to an investor. If you have limited authority, the court confirmation process can open bidding and add costs.

So investors/wholesalers benefit most from:

• choosing the right probate attorney
• structuring for full authority when possible
• using an advance to pay for fees and move fast

In other states, it’s similar: often the property can’t transfer because title is still in Grandpa/Grandma’s name. Probate is needed to clear title. You can pre-package the deal by bringing in the attorney + funding.

Marc Harris:
We also have networks of attorneys and Realtors and can make referrals across states.

For Realtors specifically: if you’re competing for listings, knowing this service exists can help you win. You can say:

“Even in a great market, selling takes months. But I can connect you with a source for upfront funds so you don’t panic-sell.”

Traditional financing is cheaper, but takes time. We typically fund in 1–2 business days.

Minimum advances are often around $3,000; maximum can exceed $500,000 depending on the estate.

Q: How fast can I get an advance, and how does ProbateCash make money if there’s no interest?
Marc Harris:
Our standard structure is 25% of the advance amount every 90 days, capped at 100%.

Example: $10,000 advance → $2,500 fee per 90 days, up to a maximum where payoff could reach $20,000 total depending on timing. Courts understand the risk model.

If someone has cheaper options, they should use them. We’re for people who need money now.

Q: When would you “ask for the advanced money back”?
Marc Harris:
There isn’t a repayment schedule like a loan. We generally get repaid when the estate distributes assets. If the estate is still open and there’s no fraud, we don’t call demanding repayment.

Fees are capped, and we wait for distribution. If there’s no inheritance due to estate circumstances, we may not get paid – that’s our risk.

Bill Gross (adds):
This is important for customer confidence: as long as they’re honest and cooperate, they aren’t “stuck” personally if the inheritance disappears. It’s our job to do diligence and take the risk.

Marc Harris:
Also: we pay referral fees. You help win listings, and we can pay you when we fund the beneficiary.

Q: How do you market yourself before a court case is filed?
Bill Gross:
Two things:

1. Your existing network
   The best probate business comes from people who already know, like, and trust you. Businesses aren’t built on cold calling strangers alone. Teach your network that you solve probate problems.
2. Consistent social content
   Post content that positions you as an expert. You don’t need to teach everything in the post – your goal is to get people to call you with the problem.

You can share ProbateCash content directly. Your objective is: “Call me.” Then you call Marc or you call me, and we help you serve your customer and make money.

Marc Harris:
This webinar will be posted on the site, so you can share it later.

If you don’t want to relive it, call or email me directly.

Molly Driscoll:
If you think of a question offline, call or email Marc or Bill.

• Marc Harris: 561-476-0018 | marc@probatecash.com
• Bill Gross: 310-210-0008 | bill@probateweekly.com | social: @billgrossprobate

Thank you for all the questions – it kept the discussion going.