Estate Planning and Probate Guidance for Colton Residents

Start with the stage you are facing

If you are planning ahead, consider which decisions need to be coordinated: what your will or trust says, who may act on financial matters, and who should communicate or make decisions about health care. These are related parts of a plan, but they serve different purposes.

If a death has occurred, begin with the documents and the assets involved. A person named in a document may have a role, but that does not by itself settle what authority is needed to deal with every asset. Trust administration and formal probate depend on both the documents and asset ownership.

Planning while you are alive

A practical starting point is to identify the decisions you want addressed, the people you may want to name, and the property or accounts that should be considered. Estate planning can coordinate wills, trusts, financial authority and health-care decisions; a document should be considered in relation to the rest of the plan.

The available services cover different needs rather than one required package. Wills and pour-over wills address distinct planning questions; revocable or irrevocable trusts, and more specialized trust options, may call for separate consideration. Financial power of attorney and health-care planning also concern different kinds of decisions.

• For health-care decision-making and treatment preferences, explore Advance Healthcare Directives and Living Wills or Healthcare Power of Attorney.
• For authority over financial matters, explore Financial Power of Attorney.
• For a will or trust-focused plan, explore Wills, Pour-Over Wills and Revocable Living Trusts.

After a death: trustee administration or probate?

A named trustee’s responsibilities are tied to the trust and the property held in it. A will, by contrast, does not answer on its own whether an asset is handled through a trust or requires formal probate. The documents and ownership of each relevant asset matter, so avoid assuming that one named person can handle every part of an estate without further authority.

If formal probate is needed, San Bernardino County publishes probate electronic-filing requirements, a FAQ and a list of documents that are ineligible for electronic filing. Its guidance distinguishes attorney filing requirements from options for people representing themselves. Check the current requirements and document eligibility when preparing a filing.

• For questions about a trustee’s role after a death, explore Trust Administration.
• For questions about the formal court process, explore Probate Administration.
• For a death involving property in more than one jurisdiction, Ancillary Probate may be relevant to discuss.

Choose the next question, not every service

You do not need to begin by choosing every possible planning service. First clarify whether you are planning for your own future, administering a trust after a death, or trying to determine whether probate is required. Then identify the document, asset or decision that raises the question. That helps focus a discussion on the relevant service instead of treating the full list as a checklist.

Discuss your situation with the firm

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one in-person office at 802 Grant Ave, Novato, California, and provides virtual services throughout California. Colton residents can organize the documents they have and note which assets or decisions are unclear before requesting a discussion.