Estate Planning and Probate Services in Inverness, Marin County

Start with the change, not a new document by default

A change in family circumstances, responsibilities, or property may be a reason to review an existing plan. It does not automatically mean every document needs replacing. Estate planning can coordinate wills, trusts, financial authority, and health-care decisions, so a change affecting one part of your situation may raise questions about how the other parts fit together.

Before deciding what to revise, write down what has changed, what outcome you want, and which people or responsibilities are affected. For example, if someone named to act for you is no longer an appropriate choice, that is a specific issue to discuss. By itself, it does not establish that every other part of the plan is unsuitable.

Bring the documents and ownership picture together

Gather the estate documents you have, such as a will, trust, financial-authority document, or health-care directive. Note when each was prepared or changed, if known, and list anything you cannot locate. This gives a discussion a practical starting point: whether the documents still reflect your wishes and how they relate to one another.

Make a separate inventory of assets and how each is titled or held. Do not assume that a will or trust controls every asset. The documents and asset ownership both matter when determining whether post-death administration may proceed through a trust or formal probate.

Questions to prepare might include whether property has been acquired, sold, or retitled; whether the people named are still your choices; and whether the instructions still express your priorities. These are useful discussion prompts, not legal requirements.

Separate living-plan review from post-death administration

If the person whose plan is being reviewed is living, the immediate question is whether the existing documents and ownership arrangements still fit the person’s circumstances and wishes. Routine estate planning does not itself require court approval.

If someone has died, the question shifts to administration. Trust administration and formal probate are distinct paths; which may apply depends on the documents and asset ownership. A will alone does not resolve every administration question.

For formal probate, residence and property location matter; a mailing address alone does not assign a particular case. Inverness is an unincorporated community in Marin County, not a separate firm office. The Marin County Superior Court provides a general probate resource, but it does not determine venue or provide instructions for a particular matter.

Prepare for a focused next step

Organize the documents, ownership notes, and questions before seeking guidance. For a living person’s plan, identify the change you want the plan to address and the choices that may need reconsideration. After a death, note the available estate documents, the assets and how they are held, and the deceased person’s residence and property locations.

This preparation can help frame whether the discussion concerns updating a plan, trust administration, or possible formal probate without assuming the answer in advance. Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. offers virtual services throughout California and has a physical office in Novato. The appropriate path for a particular situation depends on its documents and circumstances.