Estate Planning and Probate Choices for Corte Madera

Identify which decision you are facing

If you are planning ahead, start with the decisions you want addressed: how your wishes should be documented, who may handle financial matters, and how health-care decisions should be approached. Estate planning may coordinate wills, trusts, financial authority, and health-care decisions. These are related but distinct subjects, so it is useful to consider what each document or arrangement is meant to address rather than assume one item covers everything.

If someone has died, the central question changes. The documents in place and how the assets are owned help determine whether trust administration, formal probate, or both are relevant. The label on a document—or the fact that a trust exists—does not settle the process for every asset.

Planning during life: choose by purpose

A will, a trust, financial authority, and health-care planning address different aspects of an overall plan. A useful discussion begins with the decisions you want covered and how the parts should fit together. Consider whether your main concern is recording directions in a will, considering a trust, arranging for financial decision-making, or documenting health-care wishes and decision-making.

A pour-over will, revocable living trust, and will are distinct planning topics rather than an automatic package. Likewise, financial power of attorney and health-care planning concern different kinds of decisions. The right combination depends on your circumstances and goals; a list of possible documents is not a checklist that every person must complete.

• For health-care planning, consider whom you would want involved in decisions and which treatment preferences you want to discuss.
• For financial planning, note the kinds of financial matters that might need attention and what authority you want to consider.
• If a trust is part of the discussion, ask how a will is intended to relate to it.

After a death: compare trust administration and probate

Trust administration and formal probate are different processes, and the documents and ownership of the assets matter in deciding what may apply. A trust may be part of the plan for handling assets, but its existence alone does not establish that every asset is covered or that probate will never be needed. Reviewing the available documents alongside information about ownership can help frame the next question.

Formal probate is a court process. California Courts directs that probate generally be opened in the county where the decedent lived. If the person lived outside California but owned property in California, the courts’ overview directs filing in the California county where that property is located. A mailing address alone does not assign a case to a particular county.

For formal probate administration, the personal representative generally needs to contact a probate referee to value non-cash estate assets. These steps concern probate administration; they should not be confused with routine lifetime planning.

Use the related topics as a map, not a checklist

The related subject areas span advance health-care directives and living wills, health-care powers of attorney, financial powers of attorney, wills, pour-over wills, and revocable living trusts. Administration-related topics include trust administration, probate administration, executor and trustee matters, and ancillary probate. Other distinct planning subjects include asset-protection trusts, irrevocable trusts, charitable trusts, pet trusts, special-needs trusts, business succession planning, and gift-tax planning.

These names identify separate questions to explore; they do not mean that every person needs every arrangement or that every topic is relevant to a particular estate. Begin with the decision you are trying to make, then narrow the discussion to the documents, assets, or responsibilities connected to it.

Prepare for a focused conversation

If you are planning ahead, you may find it helpful to gather any documents you already have and jot down the decisions you want to address. You can also note the people you are considering for financial or health-care roles and the questions you have about how the documents might work together.

If you are dealing with a death, you may gather available wills or trust documents and information about how assets are owned. These are optional preparation steps, not a requirement to begin a discussion. A useful next step is to identify whether you are creating or updating a plan, trying to understand trust administration, or assessing whether probate may be involved. The firm serves Corte Madera clients virtually throughout California and from its Novato office.