Frequently Asked Questions
Estate planning involves preparing legal and financial documents to outline how your assets will be managed and distributed after death or if incapacitated. It’s important to ensure your wishes are carried out, reduce potential disputes, protect loved ones, and minimize taxes or court involvement.
One of the most important benefits of estate planning is that it allows you to make decisions in advance rather than leaving those decisions to California law or, in some circumstances, a court. For example, the financial power of attorney can allow someone you trust to handle certain financial matters if you become incapacitated. An advance health care directive can allow you to identify a person to make healthcare decisions for you and communicate your healthcare preferences. California Courts specifically recognizes estate planning as something that can help people prepare for incapacity as well as death.
A comprehensive estate plan often includes:
Revocable Living Trust: We create the deed (or deeds) to transfer property (or properties) from your name as an individual to your trust’s name. A Living Trust is a document that allows your beneficiaries to avoid probate court, which can be both expensive and time-consuming. You choose the “successor trustee”, the person (or persons) you designate to be in charge of dispersing your assets among your beneficiaries.
Another benefit of this is that it can be amended or revoked. We transfer real property (e.g., your home), personal property (e.g., household belongings), and many of your other assets. We create the deed (or deeds) to transfer property (or properties) from your name as an individual to your trust’s name. More information on Revocable Trust can be found here.
Pourover Will: Essentially, a “catch all” document that works with the living trust to ensure that all your assets in Covina and Temple City, CA have been moved to the trust. Basically states, “Anything I accidentally left out of my trust, I leave to my trust.”
Durable Power of Attorney: A document that is important while you are living, but incapacitated (meaning, you cannot make decisions for yourself). Applies to financial matters: Specifies who you appoint to make financial decisions on your behalf and what powers that person will have (e.g., power to sign checks, etc.). A power of Attorney in Covina, CA or Temple City, CA can be drafted in multiple ways in regards to “effect” and “power”. Check out more information on Power of Attorney.
Advanced Health Care Directive: Another document that is important while you are living, but incapacitated, but applies to healthcare matters by specifying who you appoint to make healthcare decisions on your behalf and what powers that person has (e.g., remaining or not remaining on life support, donating organs, etc.)
A will is a public document that takes effect after death, requiring probate. A trust is a private arrangement that can take effect during life (living trust) or upon death. Trusts often allow for faster, more flexible, and private distribution of assets while avoiding probate.
A trust, however, is not automatically better than a will for every person. The appropriate estate-planning structure depends on factors such as the value and type of your assets, whether you own real property, your family circumstances, your desired beneficiaries, and your concerns about incapacity or probate. Properly funding a trust is also important; simply signing a trust document does not necessarily place every asset into the trust.
Learn more about the differences between trusts and will.
Yes, estate planning is not just about wealth. It ensures your healthcare and financial preferences are respected, appoints guardians for dependents, and prevents potential legal issues for your loved ones.
Your plan can also cover assets that may not seem substantial individually but are still important to you or your family, including bank accounts, personal belongings, vehicles, digital assets, and retirement accounts. A basic estate plan in Covina can provide clarity and help your family understand your wishes rather than having to make difficult decisions without guidance.
Your estate is distributed according to state intestacy laws. Typically, assets are given to your closest relatives (spouse, children, parents). This process might not align with your wishes, and court proceedings could be lengthy or costly.
Dying without a will does not necessarily mean that the government takes everything. Instead, California law provides a default inheritance system. The problem is that the statutory distribution may not reflect what you would have chosen. For example, you may have wanted to leave property to a longtime partner, friend, charity, stepchild, or another person who does not automatically inherit under California’s intestacy rules.
You should review it every 3–5 years or whenever significant life changes occur.
Certain life events should prompt immediate review. These may include marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, the death or incapacity of a beneficiary or person named to serve as executor or trustee, a significant change in financial circumstances, the purchase or sale of real estate, moving to another state, or changes involving a business.
Changes in California estate law may also provide a reason to review existing documents with an attorney.
DIY estate planning can become complicated when you own real estate, have a blended family, have children from a previous relationship, own a business, have significant retirement assets, want to provide for a beneficiary with special needs, or have concerns about probate or taxes.
Errors in execution, beneficiary designations, asset ownership, or trust funding can also undermine an otherwise well-intentioned plan.
Probate is the court-supervised process of validating a will and settling an estate.
It can be avoided by:
- Creating a living trust.
- Titling assets as joint tenancy with rights of survivorship.
- Designating beneficiaries on accounts.
Working with an experienced probate attorney in Los Angeles can make the process easier. At the Tyre Law Group, PC, we help families navigate the probate process from start to finish. Our team manages the required paperwork and court filings with the Los Angeles County Probate Court.
A POA allows a trusted individual to manage your finances, legal matters, or healthcare decisions if you become incapacitated. Without it, courts may appoint a guardian, delaying decisions.
A financial power of attorney can be particularly important if you become temporarily or permanently unable to manage your affairs. Your agent may, depending on the authority granted, be able to help with matters such as banking, bills, property, and other financial responsibilities. Without appropriate planning, family members may have to explore court proceedings such as a conservatorship if no one has legal authority to act for you.
By having an advance healthcare directive drafted, which includes: A living will to detail specific medical treatments you want or refuse. A healthcare proxy to name someone who can make medical decisions on your behalf.
An advance health care directive is particularly valuable because family members may disagree about what you would have wanted. Discussing your wishes with your chosen healthcare agent, family members, and healthcare providers can make the document more effective in a real emergency. California’s Office of the Attorney General recommends discussing healthcare decisions in advance and making the completed directive accessible to the appropriate people.
An executor is responsible for managing your estate, paying debts, and distributing assets per your will. Choose someone organized, trustworthy, and willing to take on the role, ideally with some financial knowledge. A trustee is essentially an executor, but for a trust (instead of a will).
Choosing an executor or personal representative is an important decision. You generally want someone who is trustworthy, organized, responsible, and willing to handle financial and administrative responsibilities. The person does not necessarily have to be a financial professional. Depending on the circumstances, some families choose a trusted relative or friend, while others may consider a professional fiduciary or another qualified person.
You should appoint a legal guardian in your will and establish a trust to control how and when children receive their inheritance. This ensures funds are managed responsibly until they come of age. Our office also offers a Kid’s Protection Plan, which allows you to outline in detail your wishes for how your children should be raised.
Many California families also benefit from a Kids Protection Plan, which outlines detailed instructions for how your children should be cared for in the first hours and days after an emergency. This includes naming short-term guardians, providing medical consent forms, and documenting parenting preferences. It’s especially important in California, where emergency responders cannot leave children with non-legal guardians without proper documentation.
- Gifting assets during your lifetime.
- Establishing irrevocable trusts.
- Charitable donations.
Common tax-minimizing strategies include lifetime gifting, establishing irrevocable trusts, and making charitable donations. Irrevocable trusts—such as ILITs (Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts) or GRATs (Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts)—can remove assets from your taxable estate. California residents often use these tools to protect high-value real estate, especially given the state’s elevated property values.
Revocable trust: Allows changes or termination during your lifetime, but doesn’t shield assets from creditors.
Irrevocable trust: Once created, it cannot be modified, but are hardly drafted in California due to our restrictive laws.
Click here Visit our website for more details on Trusts
If a person has a living trust, he or she can choose who gets what assets and when. For example, if you don’t want to give your estate to your only child, a “problem-ridden” son, then you can choose to leave your entire estate to your 16-year-old granddaughter when she turns thirty years old. You can specify that the trustee can use the trust money for your granddaughter’s health, support, maintenance, and education prior to reaching age thirty.
Learn about trust terms from our attorney Allyson S Heller.
Yes—an estate plan ensures your medical and financial preferences are respected and avoids leaving decisions to the state or courts.
Estate planning also includes Advance Health Care Directives, HIPAA releases, and Durable Powers of Attorney, which allow trusted individuals to manage your medical and financial affairs if you become incapacitated. These documents are especially important for single adults who may not have immediate family available to step in.
Yes. You should include usernames, passwords, and instructions for handling digital assets like social media accounts, cryptocurrency, and cloud storage in your estate plan.
Digital assets often require special handling because companies like Google, Apple, and Meta have their own post‑death access policies. Without proper authorization, your executor may be unable to access or close accounts. Including clear instructions ensures your digital footprint is managed according to your wishes.
Debts are paid from your estate before distributing assets. Family members are typically not liable unless they co-signed or guaranteed the debt.
Family members are generally not responsible for your debts unless they cosign or guaranteed the obligation. California’s community property laws may affect spouses, but protections exist to prevent unfair liability. Proper estate planning can help shield loved ones from unnecessary financial burdens.
This article has more info on this topic
https://law-without-lawyers.com/what-happens-to-your-debt-when-you-die-in-california/
By updating trusts, wills, beneficiary designations, and more to exclude your ex-spouse. State laws may automatically revoke their rights in certain documents.
California law may automatically revoke your ex-spouse’s rights in certain documents, but relying on default rules is risky. Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and insurance policies do not always update automatically. A full review ensures your estate plan aligns with your post-divorce life.
More information is here: https://california.public.law/codes/family_code_section_2024
- 4% of the first $100,000 of gross estate value
- 3% of the next $100,000
- 2% of the next $800,000
- 1% of the next $9,000,000
- 0.5% of the next $15,000,000
Please see our probate calculator here:
These families face unique legal challenges, such as ensuring non-biological parental rights and protecting partners’ inheritance rights, especially in states with less inclusive laws. Please find more information on LGBTQ estate planning:
Estate planning also helps secure rights for unmarried partners, who do not receive automatic legal protections under California law. Proper planning ensures partners can make medical decisions, inherit property, and maintain parental rights without court intervention.
Yes, estate planning in California has specific laws and unique considerations compared to other states. Here’s how California’s rules might differ and what to keep in mind
- California’s Community P
- Property Laws
- Probate in California
- California Living Trusts
- Community Property with
- Right of Survivorship
- Estate Taxes
- Advance Healthcare Directive and POLST
- Digital Assets
- Special Rules for Minor Children
- Real Property in California
- Spousal Property Petition
- Unique Considerations for LGBTQIA+ Individuals
Probate fees and delays are significant without proper planning.
California-specific tools like community property require professional guidance.