Estate Planning and Probate Guidance for Burlingame

Start with the decision in front of you

If you are planning ahead, the focus is on coordinating instructions for your assets, financial authority and health-care decisions. If someone has died, the immediate question is different: do the documents and asset ownership point toward trust administration, formal probate, or a need to examine both?

These are related parts of estate planning, but they are not interchangeable. A will, trust, financial authority document and health-care direction serve different purposes. The right path depends on the documents in place and how property is owned—not simply on whether a family has a will or trust.

Planning while you are alive

Planning can coordinate a will or trust with documents addressing financial authority and health-care decisions. Consider which decisions you want addressed, who you want to have authority, and whether the documents work together with the way your assets are held.

A useful starting point is to gather existing planning documents and make a private list of accounts, property and other significant assets, including how each is owned. That information helps frame the planning questions; it does not, by itself, determine which documents are appropriate.

After a death: compare trust administration and probate

Trust administration and formal probate are distinct routes, and the documents and asset ownership matter to the choice. A trust in the paperwork does not, on its own, settle what process applies to every asset. Start by locating the will and trust documents, then identify the assets and their ownership as accurately as you can.

For a San Mateo County matter, the Probate Division handles decedent estates and trusts. Its current division and case instructions are the relevant resource for court-related questions. Confirm those instructions for the matter at hand rather than relying on assumptions about where a case is assigned.

Choose a focused planning or administration topic

Not every family needs every kind of planning. The useful question is which authority, ownership or family concern needs attention now. The related topics below provide distinct starting points rather than a checklist of documents every person must have.

• Health-care choices and decision-makers: Advance Healthcare Directives and Living Wills; Healthcare Power of Attorney.
• Financial authority: Financial Power of Attorney.
• Wills and trusts: Wills; Pour-Over Wills; Revocable Living Trusts; Irrevocable Trusts; Asset Protection Trusts; Charitable Trusts; Pet Trusts; Special Needs Trusts.
• Planning for particular interests: Business Succession Planning; Gift Tax Planning.
• Responsibilities and administration after death: Executor and Trustee Services; Probate Administration; Trust Administration; Ancillary Probate.

Prepare for a productive conversation

Before discussing next steps, collect the documents you can locate and note what remains unknown. For an existing estate, include any available will or trust, a basic asset list and information about how assets are titled. For planning ahead, write down the decisions you want addressed and the people you are considering for financial or health-care authority.

Bring forward the question that could change the route: who has authority, how an asset is owned, or whether a court process is involved. Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. can discuss estate planning and probate questions virtually with clients throughout California.