Home / Estate planning
Estate planning attorney · Southern CaliforniaEstate planning that keeps your family out of court
A clear plan lets the people you trust step in if you become ill and settle your affairs after you are gone, without a conservatorship or probate case.
What an estate plan does
An estate plan answers two questions. Who will make decisions for you if you can't make them yourself? And who receives what you own when you die? Without a plan, California law answers those questions for you, often through a conservatorship while you are living and a probate case after your death.
Because this practice handles conservatorships and probate every week, we draft plans with a clear view of what happens when those documents are missing or out of date.
Documents we prepare
- Revocable living trust. Holds your home and other assets so your successor trustee can manage them if you are incapacitated and distribute them after your death without probate.
- Pour-over will. Sends any assets left outside the trust into it and, for parents, nominates a guardian for minor children.
- Durable power of attorney for finances. Lets a trusted person handle banking, bills, taxes, and property if you cannot.
- Advance health care directive. Names who makes medical decisions for you and records your wishes about treatment and end-of-life care.
- HIPAA authorization. Allows family members to speak with your doctors and receive medical information.
- Certification of trust. A short summary banks and title companies accept in place of the full trust.
- Nomination of conservator. If a conservatorship is ever needed, your choice of who should serve carries weight with the court.
Funding the trust
A trust only avoids probate for assets it actually owns. We prepare the deed transferring your home to the trust and give you clear instructions for retitling accounts and updating beneficiary designations. Property left out of a trust is one of the most common reasons families end up in probate court.
Plans for families with special circumstances
- A child or grandchild with a disability. Their share can pass to a special needs trust so an inheritance does not affect SSI or Medi-Cal.
- Aging parents. Updated powers of attorney and health care directives can make a conservatorship unnecessary if memory or health declines.
- Blended families. A trust can provide for a surviving spouse while protecting what passes to children from an earlier marriage.
- Existing trusts. We review, amend, or restate older trusts so they reflect current law, current property, and current wishes.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?
A will alone usually means a probate case if your assets exceed California's small estate limit, and most homes in Southern California exceed it. A living trust avoids probate for the assets it holds. We explain which approach fits your situation.
How often should I update my plan?
Review it after a marriage, divorce, birth, death, move, or major change in assets, and at least every few years so the people you named are still the right choices.
What happens if I become incapacitated without a plan?
Your family may need to ask the probate court to appoint a conservator to manage your finances and health care. Powers of attorney, a health care directive, and a funded trust usually avoid that.
Can you meet with my parents in Russian or Spanish?
Yes. The firm offers services in English, Spanish, and Russian.