Estate Planning and Probate Guidance for Fairfield Residents

Start with the decision in front of you

If you are planning while alive, the work may coordinate a will or trust with financial authority and health-care decisions. The right combination depends on what you want each document to address; not every person needs every planning tool.

If someone has died, the immediate question is not simply whether a will exists. Trust documents and the way each asset is owned also matter when determining whether administration through a trust or formal probate may apply.

Make the choice concrete with records

Before a planning discussion, gather any existing wills, trusts, financial powers of attorney and health-care documents. Add a working list of assets and note how each appears to be owned. These records help identify what is already addressed and where documents or ownership information may not line up.

When reviewing an estate after a death, collect the available will and trust papers, along with records showing how assets were titled. A useful question is: which assets appear to be held under a trust, and which may need a different administration route? This is a way to organize the discussion, not a conclusion about what procedure applies.

Choose a planning focus, not every available tool

The planning choices address different needs. A will can express instructions for property, while a trust may shape how assets are managed or administered. Financial authority and health-care documents address separate decision-making concerns. Documents should be considered together because the overall plan may coordinate them.

• For core planning, consider Wills, Revocable Living Trusts and Pour-Over Wills.
• For decisions during incapacity, consider Financial Power of Attorney and Advance Healthcare Directives and Living Wills, including Healthcare Power of Attorney.
• For a particular family or asset-planning concern, the available topics also include Business Succession Planning, Pet Trusts, Special Needs Trusts, Charitable Trusts, Irrevocable Trusts, Asset Protection Trusts and Gift Tax Planning.

After a death: trustee administration or probate

Trust administration and formal probate are distinct routes, and the documents and ownership of assets matter to the choice. Having a trust does not, by itself, establish that every asset is covered by it or determine the appropriate process. Review the relevant papers and asset records before treating either route as settled.

In Solano County, the Probate Department handles decedent estates and trusts. Its information identifies the Hall of Justice in Fairfield and provides pre-grant and clerk information. That is a county resource for probate-related matters, not a reason to assume every estate or trust requires a court proceeding.

• For a matter after death, relevant topics include Trust Administration, Probate Administration, Executor and Trustee Services, and Ancillary Probate.

A practical next step

Bring the documents you have and a list of questions about what you want to accomplish or what has happened since the death. For each asset, note the ownership information shown in the records. The discussion can then focus on the decision that remains: which planning documents to coordinate, or whether the available records point toward trust administration, probate or further review.