Estate Planning and Probate Guidance for Atherton, California
Estate planning addresses decisions made while you are alive; after a death, the documents and ownership of assets help determine whether trust administration, formal probate, or another process applies. Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one in-person office in Novato and provides virtual services statewide, including in Atherton.
Start with the decision you need to make
If you are planning for your own future, consider how your documents should address financial authority, health-care decisions, and what happens to property after death. These subjects can be coordinated, but they serve different purposes. A will or trust addresses estate planning, while financial and health-care documents address decisions during life.
If someone has died, the first question is not simply whether the person had a will. The documents in place and how assets are owned help determine whether the next step is trust administration or formal probate. A will alone does not tell you, from its name, which process applies to every asset.
Planning while you are alive
Estate planning can bring together a will, a trust, financial authority, and health-care decisions. The useful plan depends on which decisions you want covered and how your property is held; having a long list of documents is not itself a measure of whether the plan fits.
The available planning topics include wills, pour-over wills, revocable living trusts, financial powers of attorney, advance health-care directives and living wills, and health-care powers of attorney. Other topics—such as business succession, charitable, pet, special needs, asset protection, and irrevocable trusts, as well as gift tax planning—may warrant discussion when relevant to your circumstances. These are distinct planning subjects, not a checklist every family must complete.
After a death: trust administration or probate
Trust administration and formal probate are different paths, and documents and asset ownership matter in deciding which applies. A trust does not, by itself, establish that every asset is handled through trust administration. Review the relevant documents and identify how the assets were owned before assuming a particular process will cover the estate.
Probate administration and trust administration are separate service areas. The San Mateo County Probate Division handles decedent estates and trusts; if a court matter is involved, use the division’s current instructions for the matter. That county resource does not determine which process applies to a particular person’s assets.
Prepare for a focused conversation
For planning, gather any existing wills, trusts, and financial or health-care documents, then note the decisions you want them to address. For an administration question, collect the available estate-planning documents and make a basic list of assets and how each is owned. These steps can help frame the discussion; they are not a determination of which legal process applies.
A practical next step is to identify whether you are planning for your own future or responding to a death, and bring the documents or questions connected to that situation. That distinction helps focus the conversation on planning, trust administration, or probate rather than treating all three as interchangeable.
Explore the service you need
- Advance Healthcare Directives and Living Wills
- Ancillary Probate
- Asset Protection Trusts
- Business Succession Planning
- Charitable Trusts
- Executor and Trustee Services
- Financial Power of Attorney
- Gift Tax Planning
- Healthcare Power of Attorney
- Irrevocable Trusts
- Pet Trusts
- Pour-Over Wills
- Probate Administration
- Revocable Living Trusts
- Special Needs Trusts
- Trust Administration
- Wills
Questions to discuss
Does having a trust mean formal probate will never be needed?
No such conclusion follows from the existence of a trust alone. The documents and ownership of assets help determine whether trust administration or formal probate applies, so the relevant assets and records need to be considered.
Where should I look for San Mateo County probate instructions?
The San Mateo County Probate Division handles decedent estates and trusts. For a court matter, consult the division’s current division and case instructions rather than assuming a particular courthouse assignment.
Official resources
- California planning and administration resource
- California planning and administration resource
- Official San Mateo County court resource
General information, not an assessment of your documents or circumstances. Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one office at 802 Grant Ave, Novato, CA 94945, and offers virtual services across California. A remote consultation does not itself authorize remote signing or a remote court appearance.
