Straight answers to the questions we hear every week.

A will speaks at death, names guardians for minor children, and for most California homeowners still leads to probate. A living trust holds your assets during life and passes them directly to beneficiaries, privately and without court involvement. Many families need both: a trust to avoid probate, plus a pour-over will as a safety net. We tell you plainly which your situation calls for.

A flat fee, quoted in writing at the first meeting before any drafting begins. The amount depends on what your plan actually needs, such as a trust, a will, powers of attorney, and a health care directive, not on how many hours we log. For perspective, a complete trust-based plan typically costs a small fraction of one year of probate.

Most plans are signed within two to four weeks of the first meeting. We draft, you review at home at your own pace, we revise, and then we meet to sign with witnesses and a notary. When there is real urgency, such as a scheduled surgery or a diagnosis, we compress the timeline to days.

A rough list of what you own: the deed or address of any real estate, recent statements for bank, brokerage, and retirement accounts, life insurance information, and any existing wills or trusts. Also bring names and birthdates for the people in your plan. Do not worry about being complete. The conversation matters more than the paperwork.

After any major life event: marriage, divorce, a new child or grandchild, a death in the family, buying or selling real estate, or moving into or out of California. Law changes matter too. Proposition 19 sharply limited the parent-child property tax exclusion in 2021, and plans written before it often deserve a fresh look. A review every three to five years is a sound habit.

The intestacy statutes, Probate Code sections 6400 to 6414, decide for you. Community property passes to your surviving spouse. Separate property is divided between your spouse and children by formula. Unmarried partners and stepchildren generally receive nothing, and a court chooses who administers the estate and who raises minor children. The defaults know nothing about your wishes.

The main tool is a funded living trust: assets titled in the trust pass outside probate entirely. Smaller estates can skip probate too, since full administration is generally required only above $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025. Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance also bypass probate. The common failure is a trust that was signed but never funded.

Statutory fees under Probate Code 10810 run 4 percent of the first $100,000, 3 percent of the next $100,000, 2 percent of the next $800,000, and so on, calculated on the gross estate, once for the attorney and once for the personal representative. A typical Los Angeles County administration at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse takes nine to eighteen months.

Open the probate case, give notice to heirs and creditors, marshal and inventory the assets with the probate referee's appraisal, pay valid debts and taxes, keep detailed records, and distribute only after court approval. Executors are fiduciaries and are personally accountable for mistakes. Most of our executor clients have never done any of it before. That is normal, and it is what we are for.

The process of carrying out a trust after the person who made it dies. The successor trustee sends the notice required by Probate Code 16061.7, which starts a 120 day contest window, then inventories assets, obtains appraisals, pays debts and expenses, files final tax returns, and distributes to beneficiaries. No court supervises it, which is the advantage, but the trustee's duties are real and enforceable.

Yes, on grounds such as lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud, or improper execution, but the windows are short. For a trust, recipients of the Probate Code 16061.7 notice generally have 120 days to contest. Well-drafted plans reduce the risk: clean execution, medical documentation when capacity might be questioned, and honest conversations with family before anyone is surprised.