Estate Planning
Services
Introduction to Estate Planning
Estate planning is for everyone and everyone's circumstance is unique. Plan for the unpredictable events that can happen unexpectedly that affect you and everyone close to you. Examine the options available and let us help you decide the best course. We use some or all of the tools we have listed below in assisting our clients, but it is the process we employ in doing so that makes your plan truly unique.
Important tips - It is advisable to create the important documents below when you are in a normal relaxed frame of mind, rather than when you are ill or under pressure to do so. We often receive requests from relatives to create a Power of Attorney for their elderly relative. These documents are not valid if created at the request of the relative. The proper procedure is for the person who needs the document(s) to contact us and instruct us directly of their wishes.
Wills
Wills are simple instruments that outline the intention of the decedent on how his/her assets are distributed at death. It can be a form Will that requires two witnesses, or it can be a holographic Will written and signed by you that does not require any witness. Both of these types of Wills are valid. However, a Will MUST go through probate at the death of the deceased person if the gross value of the assets is valued at $208,850 or more.
Trusts
We assist you in creating your trust, give you the opportunity to review it extensively to ensure that it conveys your intent so as to minimize any chances of a later challenge. After it is all done, we scan and give you a paper original and an electronic copy for safekeeping. Additionally we keep a scanned electronic copy in case it is misplaced.
Revocable Living Trust - This type of trust, also known as a Living Trust, is an instrument that expresses the intent of the deceased person on how his/her assets will be distributed at the time of death. This can also be used for multi-generational planning by securing the assets for the beneficiaries over a long period of time. It may also protect the assets in the trust from potential creditors’ claims.
Irrevocable Trust - Are used for complex estate planning that is intended to reduce or eliminate estate taxes and for asset protection.
Probate and Trust Administration Overview
Probate is the court-supervised process of transferring the assets of a deceased person to his/her beneficiaries, regardless of the size of the estate. We are experienced in probate and have represented many families and estates in the greater Bay Area and throughout California. Trust administration is similar to probate and is used to transfer assets of a deceased person who has a trust to their beneficiaries. The major difference between trust administration and probate is court supervision requirements. Probate is supervised by the courts, but in most cases, trust administration involves no court supervision. Probate and trust administration can be complicated processes; contact us and put our experience to work for you.
Summary Probate Procedure for a Primary Residence Valued at $750,000 or Less:
New Probate rules that became effective on April 1, 2025, seem to lessen the burden of going through a formal full probate process by making summary administration procedures available to a broader range of beneficiaries and heirs of decedents who died without a revocable living trust when the major asset of the estate is the decedent’s primary residence. The fair market value threshold for a decedent’s primary residence that is eligible for the simplified probate process has increased from $184,500 to $750,000.
This simplified probate process is applicable only if the:
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Decedent died on or after April 1, 2025;
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The property in questions is decedent’s primary residence;
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Said primary residence is valued at $750,000 or less;
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40 days have elapsed since the death of the property owner.
The $750,000 value above refers to the real property’s gross fair market value. Therefore, debts or other mortgages on the property are not taken into consideration when determining whether a decedent’s primary residence qualifies for the simplified probate process.
Summary Administration Procedure: Affidavit of Small Estate for Recovery of Personal Property:
The Affidavit of Small Estate is used for recovery of personal property, including money or other financial accounts. The total value of personal property for which this Affidavit may be used increased for decedents who died on or after April 1, 2025. The current and historic maximum threshold values for the use of this Affidavit are as follows:
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$166,250 for deaths that happened before April 1, 2022.
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$184,500 for deaths that happened between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2025.
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$208,850 for deaths that happened on or after April 1, 2025.
The small estate affidavit may not be necessary in the following situations:
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The decedent’s personal property is in the name of their living Will
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The personal property was jointly held; or
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The personal property has a named beneficiary.
If the total value of decedent’s personal property exceeds the small estate affidavit threshold, the decedent also owned real property, or if the rightful legal beneficiaries cannot be readily determined, consulting a qualified attorney is strongly recommended.
Trust Administration
Trust administration is similar to probate and is used to transfer assets of a deceased person who has a trust, to their beneficiaries. The major difference between trust administration and probate is court supervision requirements. Probate is supervised by the courts, but in most cases, trust administration involves no court supervision. Probate and trust administration can be complicated processes. Contact us and put our experience to work for you.
Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney is a document you sign that authorizes someone to act on your behalf, make decisions for you, or implement decisions you have already made in writing concerning your financial transactions when you don’t have capacity to do it by yourself. It may become effective on the date you sign it or at a future time upon the occurrence of an event. The author is the principal. The person receiving the power is the Attorney in Fact or Agent. It is effective until the death of the principal. Your agent must be an adult.
Advance Health Care Directive or Power of Attorney for Health Care
Similar to a Power of Attorney, an Advance Health Care Directive or Power of Attorney for Health Care is a document that you sign directing someone to make health care decisions for you. It may also instruct someone to implement the decisions you have made in writing concerning your health care, when you are unable to do it yourself due to incapacity. It eliminates guess work that may arise about your medical treatment when you are unable to do so due to illness.