Essential Estate Planning Documents Every Adult Should Have in Place

Thinking about what might happen to your family or assets if you face a sudden illness or injury is never easy. Many people put off estate planning because thinking about medical crises, incapacity, or end-of-life decisions can be uncomfortable. However, leaving these matters unresolved can create additional uncertainty and complications for the people you care about.

At Bochnewich Law Offices in Palm Desert, California, we help you identify the estate planning documents that fit your family, property, and wishes. We can explain your options under California law and prepare documents that clearly reflect the decisions you make. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

Last Will and Testament

A last will and testament allows you to state how you want property that passes under your will distributed after your death. You can identify your beneficiaries and choose an executor to administer your estate.

If you die without a valid will in California, state intestate succession laws determine who inherits property that does not pass through a trust, beneficiary designation, joint ownership arrangement, or another nonprobate transfer. As a result, your property may pass to relatives you would not have chosen or in proportions that differ from your wishes.

If you have minor children, your estate plan can also address whom you would want the court to consider as their guardian if a guardianship becomes necessary. A guardian must ultimately be appointed by the court under California law.

Revocable Living Trust

A revocable living trust gives you another way to manage and transfer your property. When you create this type of trust, you can generally continue managing and using the property you transfer to it. You can also amend or revoke the trust according to its terms while you have capacity.

If you become incapacitated, the person you named as your successor trustee can take over management of the trust property according to the trust's terms. After your death, your successor trustee begins trust administration, which may include managing trust property, addressing required notices and other obligations, and distributing assets according to the trust's terms and California law. Assets you properly transfer to the trust generally do not have to pass through probate.

Simply signing a trust document, however, does not automatically keep your property out of probate. You generally need to transfer appropriate assets into the trust, which is commonly called “funding” the trust.

We can review your property and discuss whether a revocable living trust makes sense for your estate plan. If you create one, we can also help you determine how the trust should work with your will and other documents.

Durable Financial Power of Attorney

If an accident, illness, or other condition leaves you unable to manage your finances, a durable financial power of attorney can give someone you trust authority to handle specified financial matters for you. The person you appoint is called your agent or attorney-in-fact, and you decide what financial powers to give that person.

Depending on the authority you grant, your agent may be able to pay your bills, manage bank accounts and investments, handle property matters, or address certain tax and business matters. In California, you can create a durable power of attorney that remains effective even if you later become incapacitated.

By choosing an agent in advance, you decide who you trust to handle the financial matters covered by the document if you cannot handle them yourself.

Advance Health Care Directive

Your financial power of attorney does not give your agent authority to make healthcare decisions for you. For those decisions, the state allows you to create an advance health care directive. You can use the directive to appoint someone you trust as your healthcare agent and give that person authority to make healthcare decisions for you.

You can also use your directive to state your healthcare preferences. For example, you can provide instructions about pain relief, end-of-life treatment, and other medical care. These instructions tell your healthcare agent and providers what you want if you later cannot communicate or make those decisions yourself.

California law also has requirements for signing an advance health care directive. Generally, a written directive must be dated and signed and either acknowledged before a notary public or signed by two qualified witnesses. Once you complete the document, consider giving copies to your healthcare agent and medical provider so they can access your instructions when needed.

Contact Our California Estate Planning Attorneys

Your estate plan should address more than what happens to your property after your death. It can also state who you want to handle financial matters and make healthcare decisions if you become unable to act for yourself. The documents that belong in your plan will depend on your property, family circumstances, and wishes.

At Bochnewich Law Offices in Palm Desert, California, we help clients prepare wills, trusts, powers of attorney, advance health care directives, and other estate planning documents. We serve clients throughout Riverside County, Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, Orange County, and San Diego County. 

Our founding attorney, Peter Bochnewich, has more than 20 years of experience in trust, estate, and civil litigation. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and discuss your California estate planning needs.