Estate Planning and Probate Guidance for Tiburon
A useful starting point is to separate decisions made during your life from the work required after a death. Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one in-person office in Novato and provides virtual services statewide. For Tiburon families, the documents and ownership of assets—not a single planning document in isolation—help frame what to consider next.
Start with the decision in front of you
If you are planning for your own future, compare documents that address different needs: a will or trust for instructions about property, financial authority documents for help managing finances, and health-care documents for medical decisions. These tools can be coordinated, but they do not all serve the same purpose.
If someone has died, the immediate question is different: are assets handled through a trust, or does the estate require formal probate? Trust administration and probate depend on the governing documents and how assets are owned. Reviewing those facts before deciding what to change or what process to begin can prevent treating every estate as though it follows the same route.
- Planning during life: review property instructions, financial authority and health-care decisions together.
- After a death: identify the relevant documents and asset ownership before weighing trust administration against probate.
Compare the documents before making changes
Gather the current will, any trust, financial power of attorney, and health-care directive or related health-care authority document. Then compare the people named to act, the decisions each document addresses, and whether the documents appear to reflect your current wishes. A mismatch is a reason to discuss coordination; it does not by itself establish which document or change is appropriate.
For example, if a person named to manage finances has changed but the will and trust have not, bring the documents together for review rather than assuming that revising one document resolves every planning issue. This is a practical comparison, not a conclusion about any individual’s legal rights.
- Bring available copies of the relevant documents and a short list of questions or changes you are considering.
- Note who owns major assets and whether any are associated with a trust, so the discussion can distinguish document instructions from asset ownership.
Choose a focused planning path
The planning options span several distinct needs. Wills and pour-over wills address instructions at death; revocable living trusts and other trust planning are separate topics to evaluate in context. Financial power of attorney concerns financial authority, while health-care directives and health-care power of attorney concern health-care decisions. These categories are not interchangeable, and a person may need to discuss more than one.
Other services address narrower circumstances or goals, including business succession, pet or charitable trusts, special needs planning, asset protection, irrevocable trusts and gift tax planning. Their presence as options does not mean each is suitable or necessary. A focused conversation can identify the concern first, then determine which subject deserves closer attention.
If a death has occurred, distinguish administration from probate
Trust administration and formal probate are different processes, and the documents and ownership of assets matter when determining which may apply. Avoid assuming that a trust automatically resolves every asset or that every estate must go through probate. The right next step is to assemble the available trust and will documents and information about how property is held, then discuss the applicable route.
For a decedent estate proceeding in Marin County, the Probate Examiner/Research Attorney reviews estate documents for procedural correctness before hearings. The examiner does not provide legal advice or advisory opinions. That court function is relevant to probate proceedings, not routine preparation of health-care or financial-planning documents.
Bring the comparison to a conversation
Before meeting, write down whether your main concern is planning your own affairs, updating existing documents, or handling matters after a death. Bring the documents you have and identify unanswered questions, such as whether an asset is held individually or in a trust. The aim is to clarify the decision and its practical implications—not to assume that a standard package of documents fits every family.
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
Should I start with a will or a trust?
There is no one answer for every person. Compare the documents already in place, your instructions about property, and how assets are owned. Wills, trusts, financial authority and health-care decisions address different parts of planning, so the useful first step is to identify the need you want to address and review the relevant documents together.
Does every estate need formal probate?
Not necessarily. Whether trust administration or formal probate applies depends on the documents and asset ownership. Gather the will, any trust and available ownership information before drawing a conclusion about the process.
Official resources
- California planning and administration resource
- California planning and administration resource
- Official Marin 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.
