Los Angeles Probate, Trust Administration and Estate Planning Law - The Law Office of Colette T. Davis

Estate planning is an important step you can take to protect the interests of your family.

Estate planning is planning for your future, whether you live too long or when you die. It involves preparing your last will, living trust, power of attorney and advanced directives.

A living trust is one of the two main ways to avoid probate.

We recommend that you put all of your property and estate in your trust except for retirement benefits. If you are married your spouse should be the primary beneficiary of your retirement benefits and the trust should be the secondary beneficiary.

You must know your natural heirs, what you own and to whom you want to leave your estate.

Probate is a legal document. Receipt of probate is the first step in the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person, resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under a will.

The term probate actually means "to prove." A person is proving that the deceased died without a will (intestate) or that they died with a will (testate) and the instrument presented to the court is that person's last will and testament.

One of the purposes of probate is to determine the disposition of the property you leave at death.

You should consider a living trust as a way to protect your estate if you live too long and to transfer your estate at the time of your death without the expense or time of probate. If you live too long, become incompetent and are not able to manage your assets, you have named a person to handle your assets for your benefit until you die. By doing this, you avoid the expense of setting up a guardianship.