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A Will takes effect after you pass away. Generally speaking, if your estate is valued at over $150,000 or you own real estate in California and you have only a Will, your estate will to go through Probate. A Living Trust is the type of Trust that most people have. A Living Trust is created during the lifetime of […]

Probate is the court proceeding to administer an estate when one passes away.  There are several steps to the probate process, which causes the length and cost of an otherwise avoidable ordeal.  First, the court appoints a person to be in charge of the decedent’s estate.  This person is called the personal representative.  The personal representative

You do—whether your estate is large or small. Either way, you should designate someone to manage your assets and make health care and personal care decisions for you if you ever become unable to do so for yourself. If your estate is small, you may simply focus on who will receive your assets after your death,

Whether you are young or old, rich or poor, married or single, if you own real estate or have assets in your estate valued over $150,000 and want your loved ones to avoid court interference at your death or incapacity, you should have a Living Trust. A Living Trust allows you to bring all of your

A Living Trust is an agreement with three parties: the Trust-makers, the Trustees (or Trust Managers), and the Trust Beneficiaries. For example, a husband and wife typically name themselves all three parties to create their trust, manage all the assets transferred to the trust, and have full use and enjoyment of all the trust assets during their

Absolutely not. You keep full control. As trustee of your Living Trust, you can do everything and anything you could before including buying, selling, investing, gifting, etc. Nothing changes but the name on title to the assets of the Living Trust as they would be retitled in name of the Trust-creator as Trustee of the

Yes. Your Living Trust plan should include a pour-over Will, which acts as a kind of safety net. When you die, the pour-over Will “catches” any forgotten assets and sends them to your Living Trust. The assets may require court involvement as part of your overall estate plan. Also, if you have minor children, a

If you do not already have Durable Powers of Attorney, you need them now. Durable Powers of Attorney allow you to appoint someone you know and trust to make your health care and financial decisions in the event you are incapable of making those decisions. If you become incapacitated without these legal documents in place, then you

A Will is a document that a person signs to provide for the orderly disposition of assets after death. Wills do not avoid probate. Wills have no legal authority until the Will-maker dies and the original will is delivered to the Probate Court. Still, everyone with minor children, at the very least, needs a Will. The

Once a Living Trust is created, you must ensure that your assets are either owned by you as trustee of your trust (real estate, mutual funds, savings accounts, etc.) or name the trust as a primary or contingent beneficiary (life insurance, retirement funds, etc.). That means that you must transfer all your assets, like the