When you are a parent of young children, it can be hard to set aside time to plan for their future. At California Trusts Online, we try to make estate planning convenient and affordable so that parents of young children can focus on their children’s daily needs and their long-term needs.

The two most pressing questions that parents face are

            1. Who will take care of my children if I cannot?

            2. Where will my money (and other assets) go if I die?

In California, you are free to give your estate to whomever you want to, but how do you set up your distribution plan if you do not have any children? The choice of who inherits from you is very personal and should reflect your values. Here are some options to consider.

Why do many people resist estate planning? I think that there are several reasons:

1.  Estate planning forces us to confront our own mortality.

2.  Some people are uncomfortable talking about their private lives with attorneys.

3.  Indecision and overwhelm.

4.  Expense and reluctance to deal with attorneys.

However, if you let these emotional hurdles stop you from creating an estate plan, you may miss out on the emotional benefits of estate planning.

With the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last week, many people are concerned that other fundamental privacy rights are in jeopardy. If you are in a same-sex marriage and you are worried about the Supreme Court overturning Obergefell v. Hodges, or if your spouse is a different color than you and you are concerned about the Supreme Court overturning Loving v. Virginia, you may not be able to protect all of your marital rights through the use of estate planning documents, but you can protect some of them.

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.

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.

You purchased a new house, and you want to make sure that it goes to your loved ones instead of “to the state” when you die. What is the best way to do that?

Do you know what happens to your possessions after your death when you do not have a valid estate plan? If you don’t have an estate plan when you die, the State of California has one for you. It’s called intestacy, and it is governed by a series of laws in the California Probate Code.

As with most adventures in life, we rarely plan for the end while we’re at the beginning, but every parent (new or seasoned) has the responsibility to choose someone to care for their minor children if they are no longer able to do it themselves. In California, this person is called a Guardian, and the nomination of a Guardian is appropriately included in your Will.

When planning your estate, there are several costs to consider. These costs include the dollar cost that you pay for your estate planning, the dollar cost that your Beneficiaries will pay on your death, the time your Beneficiaries will have to wait to receive their inheritance and the degree of control you have over what happens with your estate (who will manage the process and who will receive the benefit.)

This article examines the cost of estate planning for an estate of $500,000.