Estate Planning

California residents who have a high net worth seriously need to consider undergoing the process of estate planning. This can help to ensure that future generations can enjoy the wealth that you've obtained over your lifetime. While estate planning can be overwhelming...

California residents who undergo estate planning end up willing their items to their children. While this may seem like a nice thing to do from the perspective of the grantor, many times, this creates a headache for the grantees. By understanding what happens after...

If you are creating an estate plan in California, you may wonder what the duties of an executor are as you try to decide who to appoint. An executor is the person who is in charge of handling a person's estate after their death. Their duties include guiding the estate...

Creating a will is one element of estate planning in California, but there are a number of other tasks involved as well. When you are as thorough as possible, this can take a lot of the pressure and difficulty away from your loved ones. Working through a checklist can...

If you die without a will or a trust, any assets held inside of your estate will likely be split between your spouse and children. In the event that you don't have a spouse or child, other family members might be in line to inherit possessions such as your California...

Whether or not you need a revocable or irrevocable trust for your California estate plan depends on several different factors. One of the big differences in the two is that a revocable trust can be changed or cancelled while an irrevocable trust cannot be except in a...

If you live in California and you are creating an estate plan, you might wonder what the difference is between a will and a trust and whether you need one or both documents. Most people need at minimum a simple will as part of their estate plan, but not everyone needs...

As you write your will in California, some people might tell you that you should include all your children as beneficiaries. However, including all your children isn't always in their best interests. Maybe you have a child who's irresponsible and can't be trusted with...

Like many people, you may see little harm in taking estate planning into your own hands. There are many services that allow you to draft your own documents, as well as manuals to guide you through the process. You may think that do-it-yourself (DIY) estate planning...