Estate planning is about planning for your family — and for making sure that you, and they, are cared for at a time of incapacity or at the time of death. Estate planning can involve a will, trust, power of attorney, healthcare directive, or other documents.

If you die without a will in California, then the state decides who gets your stuff and things. There’s an order of preference depending on who survives you, but it can take a long time to get there!

Trust administration is when you follow the terms of the trust, usually at the time someone dies or becomes incapacitated

An Executor is when there’s a will; an Administrator is when there’s no will; a Successor Trustee is when there’s a trust. Executors and Administrators are subject to Probate Court; the Successor trustee is not.

Telling your attorney what your wishes are is not equivalent to signing your estate planning documents. If you know what you want to happen, tell your attorney AND schedule the signing appointment.

A will and a trust are part of a comprehensive estate plan in California; the will helps with three aspects of your plan.

You should review your estate plan every 3-5 years, but how often you need to update it will depend on changes in circumstances and people.

Emailing your “will” is unlikely to be valid in California; there are other ways to make your wishes known.

There is no time by which you must have created an estate plan, but there are several factors that usually lead someone to create one.

How you administer a trust depends on exactly what the trust says at the time it needs to be carried out.

Pets are a part of your family, and there are different ways to ensure they are cared for in your estate plan.

A brief review of California estate planning….

What is an estate planning lawyer? Someone who helps guide you through the complex decisions involving your kids, your family, your loved ones, and your belongings.

Estate planning involves making decisions about what happens to you, your things, and your kids while you are able to do so.

Who should I pick as my trustee? Or successor trustee? There are some things you should consider when deciding.