Estate Planning and Probate for Palos Verdes Estates

Start with the situation you need to address

If you are planning while alive, consider how your wishes and responsibilities should be addressed through documents such as a will, trust, financial authority and health-care decisions. These documents serve different purposes; the right combination depends on what you want to plan for and how your assets are arranged.

If a person has died, the central question shifts to administration: what documents govern the assets, and how are those assets owned? Trust administration and formal probate are different processes, and the documents and asset ownership help determine which is relevant.

• Planning for yourself: identify the decisions you want to address and the people involved.
• Handling a death: gather the estate documents and a current picture of asset ownership before deciding which administration path to explore.

Make the choice concrete with records

Before discussing options, gather any existing wills, trust documents and records showing how significant assets are titled. Add a brief list of financial accounts, property and other assets, noting what you know about their ownership. For planning, also write down the people you are considering for financial and health-care responsibilities and the decisions you want those documents to address.

For administration after a death, gather the same kinds of documents and ownership records, along with any information that helps identify which assets were held in a trust or otherwise. This preparation is a way to make the discussion specific; it does not by itself determine whether probate is required.

Understand the post-death paths

Trust administration and formal probate should not be treated as interchangeable labels. The documents and asset ownership matter to the distinction. A will or trust document alone, without understanding which assets it relates to and how they are titled, may not answer the practical question of what administration is needed.

If you are dealing with a death, the useful next step is to review the available documents alongside an asset-ownership list and clarify which assets need attention. Avoid assuming that a trust means every asset is handled in the same way or that probate is automatically necessary.

Choose a focused planning topic

Estate planning can involve several related but distinct decisions. Use the topic that matches the question you are trying to resolve, rather than assuming every family needs every planning tool. Available service topics include:

• Wills and Pour-Over Wills
• Revocable Living Trusts, Irrevocable Trusts, Asset Protection Trusts and Charitable Trusts
• Advance Healthcare Directives and Living Wills, Healthcare Power of Attorney and Financial Power of Attorney
• Business Succession Planning, Gift Tax Planning, Pet Trusts and Special Needs Trusts
• Executor and Trustee Services, Trust Administration, Probate Administration and Ancillary Probate

A useful next step

Bring the records that match your situation and state the decision you want to make first: planning for your own affairs, understanding a trust’s administration, or determining whether probate may apply. Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. serves Palos Verdes Estates virtually from its statewide California practice, with an in-person office in Novato.