Here are a few common questions about notaries:

Where Can I Find a Notary Public? Can I Notarize My Documents Online? Can a Notary Public Come to Me? Can a Notary Public Witness My Will?

This blog post addresses 5 topics: Definition of Successor Trustee; Role of a Successor Trustee; Importance of a Successor Trustee; Possible choices of Successor Trustees; and Examples.

Many laws go into effect on January 1 every year. Although many new laws went into effect at the beginning of this year, not many of the new laws affect your estate planning.

1.  Not Making an Estate Plan. If you have not created an estate plan, the State of California has one for you. It’s called intestacy, and it may not reflect your wishes and will require your loved ones to open a probate case in court.

Most people want to take care of their loved ones regardless of how much money they may have. Those who are wealthier than others often use Trusts to distribute money to their loved ones in a way that:

1. Avoids the expense, hassle and time of probate;
2. Maintains their privacy; and
3. Helps them avoid paying certain taxes.

No. The term “Trust Fund” is found more often on celebrity pages than in estate planning. Let me explain.

A Trust is an agreement between at least two people concerning certain assets. You need three things to set up a Trust:

1. A person who creates the Trust (the “Trustor” or “Settlor”);
2. An asset that the Trust controls (often referred to as a “Trust asset” or less commonly the “Trust res”);
3. A Beneficiary—the person who will receive the Trust asset.

Estate planning is all about being prepared, and at California Trusts Online, we talk a lot about preparing for our own and our loved ones’ deaths and incapacity, but there are other things we should be ready for. Preparing for any type of emergency is important—not just a health emergency. In California, we are particularly at risk for wildfires and earthquakes.

Gone are the days when remains could only be buried; now there are many creative options on the market. If one of these options piques your interest, please proceed with caution—we have not checked to see if the services are legitimate. We do not endorse these products and websites and we are not affiliated with any of these businesses. While we are not sure if they are legitimate, they are definitely interesting and are a testament to human creativity!

If I tear up, burn, shred or otherwise destroy my Will, is it revoked? It depends...

In California if you burn, tear, cancel, obliterate or destroy your own Will with the intent and for the purpose of revoking it, it is revoked. Note that you have to both 1) destroy it and 2) have the intent to revoke it.