Estate Planning and Probate Guidance for Menlo Park Residents

Start with the documents you already have

Estate planning can coordinate a will, one or more trusts, authority for financial matters and instructions for health-care decisions. These documents address different needs, so reviewing only one may leave an important part of the plan unclear. Gather the versions you currently use, along with any amendments, and note which assets or decisions each document appears to address.

A useful comparison asks: Who is named to act? What property or decisions does the document cover? Does it appear consistent with the other documents? Are there life changes or changed preferences to discuss? These are preparation questions, not a determination that a particular document must be changed.

• Will and any pour-over will
• Trust documents and amendments
• Financial power of attorney
• Advance health-care directive or living will, and health-care power of attorney

Separate planning during life from administration after death

Planning documents are intended to organize decisions and authority while you are alive and to state how your affairs should be handled later. Administration is a different question: after a death, the documents and ownership of assets help determine whether a trustee administers trust property or a formal probate process is involved. Having a trust does not by itself establish that every asset is held by it or that probate will never be needed.

For a practical review, list major assets and note how each is titled or otherwise held. Compare that list with the trust and will rather than assuming the documents alone show where every asset will go. The appropriate next step depends on the documents and ownership together.

Choose the question that matches your situation

If you are planning for your own future, focus first on whether your will, trust, financial authority and health-care decisions reflect your current wishes and fit together. If someone has died, identify whether the immediate question concerns administering trust property, a decedent’s estate, or both. Trust administration and formal probate are not interchangeable labels; documents and asset ownership matter to the distinction.

For San Mateo County matters, the Probate Division handles decedent estates and trusts. Use its current division and case instructions when a court-related matter is involved. Routine planning is not the same as a probate filing.

Explore the planning or administration issue you need

The related services below address distinct questions. They are options to compare, not a checklist every family must complete. For example, a person considering health-care decisions may want to focus on an advance directive or health-care power of attorney, while someone dealing with property after a death may need to distinguish probate administration from trust administration.

• Wills and pour-over wills
• Revocable living trusts, irrevocable trusts, asset protection trusts, charitable trusts, pet trusts and special needs trusts
• Financial power of attorney, advance health-care directives and living wills, and health-care power of attorney
• Business succession planning and gift tax planning
• Probate administration, trust administration, ancillary probate, and executor and trustee services

Prepare for a focused review

Bring together the documents listed above and a simple inventory of assets with their ownership or title information. Write down what prompted the review, what you want to accomplish, and any questions about who should act or what should happen to particular property. If the matter follows a death, note which documents and assets are already known and whether a court-related process is underway.

This preparation helps frame the decision without assuming that a document needs replacement. Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. can discuss estate planning and probate questions virtually throughout California or at its Novato office.