FAQs

An estate plan is a set of legal documents that authorize people you trust to manage your finances, assets, and healthcare if you need help, and it establishes how you want to distribute your assets when you die.

Yes. If you are an adult human, you need an estate plan.

An estate plan solves two fundamental problems: 1) What happens if I need help managing my finances, assets and health care, and 2) what happens to my assets when I die.

A California Living Trust Estate Plan will include:

• Revocable Living Trust
• Trust Schedule and Assignment
• Certification of Trust
• Pour-Over Will
• Durable Power of Attorney
• Health Care Directive and HIPPA
• Trust Transfer Deed for your home

A basic California Estate Plan will include:

• Will
• Durable Power of Attorney
• Health Care directive and HIPPA

A Will is the document that states who you want to receive your assets (your beneficiaries), how you want your assets distributed, and who you want to administer your estate at your death (your executor). Estates wth a Will and not a Living Trust will often have to go through probate.

A living trust establishes how you want your trust assets managed if you become incapacitated, and how you want your trust assets distributed when you die. Your living trust names the people you choose to administer your trust (Successor Trustees). 

Yes. The full legal name of a living trust is a "revocable living trust." Revocable means you can change or amend it. You can amend a living trust as often as you want so long as you remain mentally competent to do so.

A Durable Power of Attorney authorizes people you have selected to manage your assets if you become incapacitated. If you have a living trust, your successor trustee will be authorized to manage your trust assets if you become incapacitated.

An Immediate Durable Power of Attorney is effective as soon as you sign it. It empowers the person you have chosen (the Agent) to manage your affairs immediately.

A Springing Durable Power of Attorney doesn't empower your Agent to act on your behalf until you are deemed incapacitated. Usually, it requires a doctor's written opinion.

An Advance Health Care Directive and HIPAA authorize people you choose (Agents) to talk to your medical providers to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to.

A Certification of Trust is a one- or two-page summary of your Living Trust that provides the information banks and financial institutions need to open trust accounts.

If you have a Living Trust, you still need a Will. The Will associated with a Living Trust is called a Pour-Over Will. When you establish a Living Trust, you need to transfer your assets that would go through probate to your Living Trust. Sometimes you may have small bank accounts and other low-value assets that don't need to be transferred to your Living Trust. The Pour-Over Will directs your Executor to transfer all assets that are not in your Living Trust to your Living Trust. 

A Trust Transfer Deed is a deed that transfers title of your home or other real property to your Living Trust. The title of your real property must be transferred to your Living Trust to avoid probate.

You name Guardians for your minor children in your Will. If you have a Living Trust, you name them in your Pour-Over Will.

If you have assets that will go through probate, you need a Living Trust to avoid probate. 

If you don't have a living trust, and you own a home or other real property, your estate will most likely go through probate. In addition, bank and investment accounts, collectively worth more than $184,500, will also trigger probate.

California probate is bad for three main reasons:

1. It's expensive.

The California statutory attorney + executor fees are based on the gross estate value:

$1,000,000 estate = $46,000

$2,000,000 estate = $66,000

$3,000,000 estate = $86,000

$5,000,000 estate = $126,000

$10,000,000 estate = $226,000

2. It is a complicated and lengthy court process. Most probates take at least one year to complete.

3. Your family and asset information becomes a public record.

You should update your estate plan when your family situation changes, when you need to change your Beneficiaries, when you need to change your Successor Trustees, Executors and Agents, and when you change your major assets, like your home, investment accounts, or business.

Life happens, and circumstances change. Most people update their estate plan several times to make sure it reflects their current wishes.