The majority of California estate plans consist of some or all of the following documents. Based on your specific situation, your California estate planning attorney might also make specific recommendations and suggest additional documents that might need to be prepared.
Sitting down with a qualified estate planning lawyer is critical during this planning process. The four most important components of your California estate plan include your living trust, your will, your advanced health care directive and your durable power of attorney.
Many people choose to hold their assets inside a living trust to ensure that these assets are spent in the manner that you intend. Furthermore, assets inside a living trust could skip out of the time consuming process known as probate.
A will accomplishes a number of goals, including passing on your assets and identifying a guardian for your minor children. An advanced health care directive involves appointing a person to make medical decisions for you if you were to become incapacitated.
Finally, a California durable power of attorney names an agent who is responsible for making financial decisions on your behalf. Having all of these important components in place is extremely important for planning for the future and avoiding certain problems.