Estate Planning and Probate for Hayward Residents

Start with the timing and the task

If you are planning for your own future, consider which decisions should be addressed in advance: distribution of property, financial authority, and health-care decisions. These topics can be coordinated through different planning documents; one document does not necessarily address every concern.

If someone has died, the immediate question is different: what documents exist, how are the relevant assets owned, and what process applies? Trust administration and formal probate depend on the documents and asset ownership. A document naming a person to take a role should be considered alongside those details, rather than treated as the answer to every administration question.

Planning while you are alive

For planning, first separate your goals into categories: who should receive property, who may handle financial matters, and how health-care decisions should be addressed. Then consider which documents and arrangements are relevant to those goals. Estate planning may coordinate wills, trusts, financial authority, and health-care decisions.

The service areas below cover different needs, not a checklist every person must complete. A will, a trust, and authority for financial or health-care decisions serve distinct planning purposes. If your concerns involve a particular asset, family responsibility, or future decision, use that concern to guide which topic you explore first.

After a death: trust administration or probate

Do not choose a process based only on a family member’s title or the presence of a will. Review the relevant documents and asset ownership together. Those facts affect whether trust administration, formal probate, or further steps may be involved.

A practical first step is to gather the will or trust documents you can locate and make an inventory of the assets and how they are titled. This helps frame the questions to discuss: which document applies to each asset, what responsibilities it assigns, and whether formal court proceedings may be needed.

Choose the topic that matches your need

The firm’s planning and administration topics include:

• Planning documents and authority: Wills; Pour-Over Wills; Revocable Living Trusts; Financial Power of Attorney; Advance Healthcare Directives and Living Wills; Healthcare Power of Attorney.
• Trusts for particular purposes: Asset Protection Trusts; Charitable Trusts; Irrevocable Trusts; Pet Trusts; Special Needs Trusts; Gift Tax Planning; Business Succession Planning.
• After-death responsibilities and processes: Executor and Trustee Services; Trust Administration; Probate Administration; Ancillary Probate.

Service for Hayward residents

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one in-person office at 802 Grant Ave, Novato, California, and provides virtual services statewide. Hayward residents can use the statewide virtual service for estate-planning and probate guidance.

Alameda County probate resources

For a matter involving probate in Alameda County, the Superior Court’s probate page provides access to local probate rules and forms, examiner notes, and probate calendars through the eCourt Public Portal. Filing information and court-location information are distinct; confirm the department and instructions for the particular case.