Estate planning under California law involves the structured design of asset distribution, decision-making authority, tax coordination, and family governance during life and after death. This category addresses wills, trusts, incapacity planning, beneficiary designations, asset titling, probate avoidance strategies, and long-term wealth preservation. Articles focus on aligning legal documents with family structure, financial objectives, and evolving life circumstances to ensure clarity, control, and continuity across generations.
Last month, I met with a distraught woman named Thalia whose husband, Arthur, passed away unexpectedly. Arthur had a handwritten will, but it lacked proper witnesses and didn’t address his substantial digital assets. The result? A protracted and costly court…
Last month, I met with Desmond, a 42-year-old software engineer, whose family was devastated after his sudden passing. Bentley was a passionate collector of cryptocurrency and NFTs, but he’d never updated his estate plan to address these digital assets. Without…
Bryson was devastated when his wife, Denise, unexpectedly passed away. He’d dutifully signed a Will ten years prior, assuming it covered everything. Unfortunately, the Will was outdated, didn’t account for their growing assets, and hadn’t been reviewed since their daughter,…
Iria was devastated. His wife, Deanna, had passed away unexpectedly, and he was now facing a $123,892 tax bill on assets he thought were protected by their estate plan. The problem? Their attorney wasn’t a CPA, and hadn’t considered the…
Lila was blindsided when his mother passed away without a Trust. He assumed her assets would automatically transfer to him, but the probate process dragged on for over a year, costing his family $123,891 in legal fees and court costs….
Unai was devastated when his mother passed away without a properly funded Trust. He assumed her Will covered everything, but the probate process dragged on for eighteen months, costing his family $123,891 in legal fees and court costs. Worse, the…
Last month, I met with a distraught young man named Alistair whose mother passed away unexpectedly without a Trust. She’d told him she had “everything covered,” but the reality was a tangled mess of joint ownerships and beneficiary designations. Because…
Last month, I met with a distraught daughter, Asier, whose mother, Beatrice, suffered a sudden stroke. Beatrice had a Will, but no Advance Healthcare Directive. Because Beatrice hadn’t documented her wishes regarding life-sustaining treatment, Asier was forced into a painful…
Kristie was confident his estate plan was complete. He’d signed a trust five years ago, naming his daughter as successor trustee and outlining his wishes for his modest assets. Then, he remarried, started a small online business, and acquired a…
Last month, I met with Javier, a 42-year-old business owner, whose wife had passed away unexpectedly. She’d created a “simple” online will, believing it covered everything. Unfortunately, the will wasn’t properly witnessed, and it lacked crucial provisions for his LLC….
