Wills & Trusts

Intestate probate is the process that an estate has to go through when a person dies without leaving a valid will or living trust behind. After gathering the assets and paying the debts of the estate, the administrator will distribute the remaining assets according to the rules of intestate succession in California.

Often, the assets get distributed in a way the decedent might not have wanted. If you do not want this type of outcome for your estate, you will want to prepare a Read more . . .

A handwritten will can be a valid document as long as the paperwork meets California’s requirements for validity, but you might wonder whether you can handwrite a living trust and whether it would hold up in court. You could technically create an oral trust, but that would create more problems than it is worth.

There is a common assumption that people who inherit through a trust do not have to pay any taxes, but that is not always correct. Because trust beneficiaries do have to pay taxes in certain situations, you will want to think about how to minimize the tax consequences for the beneficiaries of your trust.

A California estate planning attorney can help you explore your options for beneficiary income

California law contains time limits to contest a will or object to the appointment of a personal representative, as well as many other aspects of the administration of an estate. You need to know these deadlines if you plan to take any of these actions so that you do not lose the legal right to do so.

Contesting a will and challenging a personal representative are challenging tasks. Rather than trying to handle these situations by yourself like a DIY project, you might want to talk to a California estate planning attorney about acting on your behalf.

The Deadline to Object to a Will

You could file a will contest at any moment after the first will gets filed with the court but before the judge admits the first filed will to probate.

There is so much misinformation going around about trusts and other estate planning topics that we thought we would clear up a few things. You do not want to rely on what your friend’s uncle’s brother’s neighbor’s coworker’s golf buddy supposedly said about California trusts.

There’s no doubt that having kids can be financially taxing. However, it’s important to note that not all children cost you the same amount of money. When you have multiple children, you likely want to ensure that your kids feel as though they are treated fairly and equally. For that reason, you may be thinking about splitting your property to be divided equally among them. But as mentioned, different children have different financial needs at different points in time.

If your loved one died and named you as the Successor Trustee of a living trust, you will have a great deal of work to do while dealing with your grief and loss. The good news is that because your loved one left a living trust, usually you will not have to go to probate court. The downside is that, even though there are far fewer steps to go through than with a will or a situation of intestacy, serving as the trustee of an estate can take a year or more.

You do not have to go through all of this process alone. A California estate planning attorney can work with you and do much of the heavy lifting on your behalf.

You might decide sometime after making a will that you want to change some of the terms of the document. Perhaps one of the beneficiaries is now deceased, or you no longer own an item you gave away in the will.
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You just got your living trust set up, and you are feeling relieved about the future for yourself and your loved ones. If you become disabled, your successor trustee can manage your financial matters. When you die, your estate will not have to go through probate court. But not so fast. Your trust is only a piece of paper until you transfer your assets into the ownership of the trust.
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Even siblings who got along during your lifetime might become estranged from each other if they fight over their inheritance. With a little guidance, you can avoid situations in which your children become enemies for life. A Read more . . .

Trust agreements are used in estate plans. These flexible estate planning tools allow you to customize your estate plan to meet your needs and goals. With many different types of trusts, it is important to understand the differences before choosing the type of trust for your estate plan. A Read more . . .