Estate Planning and Probate Options for Maywood Residents

Begin with the decisions and property involved

Estate planning may coordinate wills, trusts, financial authority and health-care decisions. These are related areas, but they address different questions. Start by identifying what you want planned: how property should be addressed, who may handle financial matters, and which health-care decisions you want to discuss.

For a planning conversation, you may find it useful to gather any existing planning documents and make a general list of assets and how they are owned. Note the people you are considering for decision-making roles and any questions about who should receive property. This is optional preparation, not a legal requirement.

• For property planning, consider whether a will, trust or both are topics to discuss.
• For financial authority and health-care decisions, identify the questions you want addressed rather than assuming one document covers every purpose.

Choose planning topics that match your situation

A service list is not a checklist every family needs to complete. The useful starting point is the decision you are trying to make and the documents or assets connected to it. A will, a revocable living trust and a pour-over will are distinct topics to discuss in relation to your property and existing plan. How assets are owned matters when determining what documents may apply to them.

Health-care directives, living wills and health-care powers of attorney may be topics to raise when discussing health-care decisions. A financial power of attorney is another topic for a conversation about financial authority. The relevant questions are what decisions you want addressed and who you want involved; the names of possible documents alone do not settle those questions.

Other available topics include business succession planning, charitable trusts, pet trusts, special needs trusts, asset protection trusts, irrevocable trusts and gift tax planning. Their presence on a list does not mean they are appropriate for a particular person. Ask which, if any, relates to your goals and circumstances.

After a death, distinguish trust administration from probate

Trust administration and formal probate are different routes, and the documents and ownership of the assets help determine which may apply. Some property may be addressed through trust administration while other property may be subject to formal probate. Having a trust does not by itself establish that all property will be handled through the trust or that probate will not be needed.

If you are dealing with a death, gather the available will and trust documents and a general inventory showing how property is owned. The practical question is whether a document applies to the particular assets at issue. That information can help frame a discussion about trust administration, probate administration, or whether both need consideration.

For formal probate, California Courts directs that the case be opened in the county where the decedent lived. If the decedent lived outside California but owned property in California, its overview directs filing in the California county where that property is located. A mailing address alone does not assign a personal case.

Narrow the next conversation

Executor and trustee services, trust administration and probate administration concern matters after a death; they are separate from planning documents prepared while alive. If you are planning, bring the decisions and property questions you want addressed. If you are responding to a death, focus on the documents available and the ownership of the property involved. These details help keep the discussion centered on the relevant path rather than assuming every service is needed.

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one in-person office at 802 Grant Ave, Novato, California, and provides virtual services throughout California, including for Maywood residents. You may organize your documents and questions before reaching out; no particular preparation is required.