California Estate Planning Guide

You’ve heard about “Wills” and “Trusts” but maybe you don’t quite know what they are. The dramatic reading of the Will by a crusty old attorney in a wood-paneled darkened law office with the family gathered around an antique mahogany conference table is the stuff of novels and movies. Wills and Trusts are good fodder for stories, but do you need one?

The short answer is “Yes, you do.”

What is a California Estate Plan?

Wills and Trusts are the primary documents in an Estate Plan. Both documents state your wishes about who you want to manage and receive your assets when you pass away.

A typical California Estate Plan also includes:

Durable Power of Attorney: authorizes someone you trust to pay your bills if you can’t.

Advance Health Care Directive: authorizes someone you trust to make healthcare decisions for you if you can’t.

What if You Die Without a Will or Trust?

If you die without a Will or Trust, who gets your assets?

If you die without a Will or Trust, then your estate is “intestate” and it will have to be distributed according to the California Probate Code - California's default distribution scheme. Click here for more on what California’s intestacy distribution looks like.

Do You Need a Will or Trust?

Unless you want to rely on California’s distribution scheme, you will need a Will or a Trust. If you don’t own many assets and you rent your home, a Will might be good enough. But, if you have assets that would go through probate, then you need a Revocable Living Trust.

What Goes Through Probate in California?

In California, real property worth more than $69,625 and combined bank and investment accounts worth more than $208,850 will go through probate. In California, probate is bad. It's an expensive court process that exposes your assets, debts and family to the public record and usually takes a year or longer.

With a revocable living trust, your estate can avoid probate. If you have a revocable living trust and transfer ownership of your probate assets to the trust, your family can avoid probate and avoid the expense and hassles of probate.

I Get It, I Need an Estate Plan. How Do I Get One?

There are essentially two ways to set up your Estate Plan. You can do it yourself with DIY websites such as Legal Zoom, Wills & Trusts, or Nolo Press, or you can work with an attorney.

Using Legal Zoom, Wills & Trusts, or Nolo Press

The big problem with DIY estate planning is you don't know if the documents will work. Often with the DIY websites, there is little or no interaction with an estate planning attorney. Are you willing to risk your family and fortune on the bet that you clicked the right buttons and made the right choices on the webform?

The thing about estate planning documents is that you don’t know if the documents will work until it’s too late, which means it’s important to have confidence that your estate planning documents will do what you want them to do.

I’ll grant you, just because an attorney drafts and reviews the documents is no guarantee the attorney will do a good job. In many cases, general practice attorneys draft documents without really knowing what they are doing. But there is a much better chance that attorney-drafted estate planning documents, especially documents drafted by an estate planning attorney, will work better than DIY documents.

Another disadvantage of using DIY websites is that you won’t create a working relationship with an attorney. What if you have questions? What if you need to update your estate planning documents because you have another child, need to change trustees or guardians, need to change beneficiaries or you buy a new home?

Estate planning is not a static one-time event. Your life, your family, your assets and the tax laws change, and your estate plan must be updated to keep up with those changes. Otherwise, it won't work.

Pros of DIY Estate Planning

• Cheap: (But be sure to calculate the notary fee. You will have to get your own notary to sign the documents.)
  
  
• Convenient: You are using online software to create your DIY documents, so you can do it on your computer from the convenience of your home.

Cons of DIY Estate Planning

• Uncertainty: When you create a DIY estate plan, you will make choices on the DIY website. Will you do it right? Will you create the documents correctly? And will you create the documents you need? The main problem is that you won't know if your DIY estate plan will work until it's too late.
  
  
• No Working Relationship with an Attorney: Who do you call if you have questions or if you need to review or update your estate plan to make sure it will work?
  

Using An Attorney to Prepare Your Estate Plan

Attorneys should know what they are doing and should be able to prepare more customized and effective estate planning documents than a DIY estate planning website. But the reality is that some attorneys are better than others. If you are going to use an attorney to prepare your estate planning documents, here are some things to consider:

Estate Planning Focus

Working with a dedicated estate planning attorney will increase the likelihood of getting an estate plan that will actually work. Attorneys, like doctors, can be general practitioners or have a specific focus. A real estate attorney, family law divorce attorney, personal injury attorney, or litigation attorney probably does not have the expertise and experience to advise you and to prepare an effective estate plan for you. Just like you wouldn’t go to an ear, nose, and throat doctor for back pain, you shouldn't go to a litigator for your estate planning.

Complicated or Easy

For most people, estate planning does not have to be complicated, but attorneys have a reputation for making things complicated. But not all attorneys make it complicated. We have simplified the estate planning process and have created a simple and effective approach that makes planning easy. If the process is simple, you are more likely to see it through and complete your estate plan.

Meetings

How many meetings are required? Do you have to drive to the attorney’s office for each meeting? Our attorneys can work with you in person in one of our California offices or virtually. If you can work from home, why can’t you meet with your attorney from home? Meeting with your attorney virtually from the convenience of your home makes the estate planning process comfortable and easy.

Attorney Interaction

Many attorneys have their staff handle most of the client communications. This could be okay if the staff is personable, knowledgeable, and responsive. But nothing is worse than emailing or calling your attorney and not getting a timely response. Our attorneys will communicate with you directly and respond to your questions right away.

Billing and Price

Many attorneys bill by the hour. Open-ended hourly billing does not make for a comfortable attorney-client working relationship. If you need to ask your attorney a question, will you hesitate to call because you’re afraid of being on the clock?

Billable hours inevitably create an adversarial relationship. Fixed fees remove that conflict and put you and your attorney on the same team. We use fixed fees and never charge for questions. You can email or call us without worrying about getting a bill.

How Long Does It Take?

Most good attorneys are busy. But when you are working with an attorney, the attorney’s focus should be on you and getting your estate plan done. We have an efficient process that allows us to get your customized estate plan done in two weeks. Estate planning should not take months. We focus on you and get it done.

Bottom Line

If you have a very simple estate, the DIY estate planning websites may work. If not, you may want to use an attorney. And when looking for any attorney, find one that you can trust and who makes the process easy.

COMPARE US WITH OTHER ATTORNEYS AND DIY ESTATE PLANNING

Estate planning doesn't have to be difficult. At Clark Allison, you will work exclusively with one of our smart, kind and responsive attorneys. The process typically takes two attorney meetings and can be completed in two weeks. We can work with you virtually from your home or in person in our offices in El Dorado Hills, Roseville, Camarillo, San Luis Obispo, or San Diego.