Estate Planning and Probate Choices for San Bruno Families

Start with the decision your family needs to make

Planning while you are alive, administering a trust after a death, and handling a probate estate are different tasks. Estate planning can coordinate wills, trusts, financial authority and health-care decisions. After a death, the documents and ownership of assets help determine whether trust administration, formal probate, or another process is relevant.

Before relying on a document or beneficiary arrangement, clarify what it is intended to do, which assets it addresses, and who will need to act. A document may be part of a plan without covering every asset or decision. The practical question is whether the plan’s pieces work together for the circumstances you want to address.

• If the concern is who can make financial or health-care decisions during your lifetime, explore financial power of attorney or health-care planning.
• If the concern is what happens to property after death, consider whether a will, trust, or both fit the plan.
• If a death has already occurred, first identify how relevant assets are owned and what documents exist before assuming probate is required.

Planning while you are alive

A planning discussion can begin with the decisions you want covered: who may handle financial matters, who should make health-care decisions, and how you want property addressed at death. These goals may involve different documents; a will, for example, is not a substitute for a health-care decision-making arrangement.

To prepare, gather the documents you already have and make a simple list of major assets and how each is titled or designated. Note the people you are considering for decision-making roles and any questions about how those roles should work. These are useful discussion points, not a checklist of legal requirements. The aim is to identify gaps or inconsistencies before relying on the plan.

After a death: trust administration or probate?

A trust may call for administration by a trustee, while formal probate may be relevant for an estate that proceeds through the court. Which path applies depends on the documents and asset ownership; the presence of a will or trust alone does not answer every question. A pour-over will, for instance, is a planning topic to discuss alongside the trust and the property it is intended to address.

If the matter concerns a San Mateo County decedent estate or trust, the County Probate Division handles those matters. Use its current division and case instructions when determining court-related next steps. The applicable process depends on the situation, so avoid assuming that a trust means court proceedings are unnecessary or that every estate requires formal probate.

Choose only the planning topics that fit

The available topics range from core planning documents to specialized arrangements. A family focused on health-care choices might begin with advance health-care directives or a health-care power of attorney. Someone reviewing instructions for property at death might ask about wills, pour-over wills, or revocable living trusts. Families dealing with an existing trust or court process can explore trust administration or probate administration.

Other topics—including business succession, charitable or pet trusts, special needs trusts, asset protection trusts, gift tax planning, irrevocable trusts, ancillary probate, and executor and trustee services—may warrant separate discussion when circumstances make them relevant. They are not a required package. The next step is to identify the particular decision or event prompting the conversation, then focus on the documents, assets, and people connected to it.