Estate = your body + your stuff

Estate Planning = instructions for your body + your stuff

Why Important = without your own instructions, California default instructions are probate court.

Main Tools = Living Trust, Pour-over Will, Powers of Attorney for Financial and Healthcare Decisions.

Maybe.

An estate plan with our firm can be expensive, but no plan or bad planning costs much more. We do our work on a flat-fee basis and happy to learn about your situation and provide a no-obligation quote.

Yes, just know you are buying documents from the internet. With us, you're buying expert legal advice and planning to further your goals. This planning is amongst the most important tools to build and retain wealth for self, family, business.

On the spectrum of Estate Planning, a will-based plan is better than no plan at all.  But in California, the Probate Court is generally involved - even if there’s a will - when it comes to transferring property from a deceased person to the people named in a Will.  Probate can be a lengthy and expensive process that typically involves an actual court case, lawyer fees set by law, notice to family/heirs/creditors, a waiting period, and a ruling as to whether the Will’s provisions are valid.  Probate is often rife with family in-fighting and issues too numerous to list in this answer.