Why is it important for everyone to have a will?

Estate planning is critically important for those in all financial situations. Estate plans range in complexity from simple wills to complex multi-generational trusts. Your estate plan accomplishes far more than just transferring your assets upon your death. With your...

In September of last year, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law House Bill 139 -- creating a new type of deed designed to help expedite the probate process. Specifically, the “revocable transfer on death deed” was created to simplify the probate process for surviving family members, effectively allowing valuable real estate...

What is a revocable transfer on death deed?

Traditionally, if you wished to leave property to someone at the time of your death you had a few options. You could provide for the bequest in your will, put the property in trust for the intended beneficiary, or enter...

What is a Living Will? A living will is an advanced health care directive. It is a legal document that describes a person’s desires relating to medical treatment if he or she should become unconscious or unable to communicate. Living wills are part of California’s Natural Death Act, which spells out...

A trust is an estate planning tool that holds assets to be distributed after you die.  Most people think that you must be wealthy to benefit from the use of a trust in an estate plan. This is not the case, as there are many different types of trusts.  Some estate...

Revocable living trusts  are estate planning tools that have become very popular in recent years mostly because of the financial advantages they offer.  A trust is a vehicle in which property is held for the benefit of another person.  A living or inter vivos trust is one created during an individual’s...

The Supreme Court has ruled in the case of Clark v. Rameker that inherited IRA's (i.e. and IRA/401k account that you receive from your parent's estate) do not have the same creditor protection as an employer funded 401k or a self funded IRA.  As a result, the funds held in an inherited IRA's can be...

Happy 2014!  Now that you've rung in the new year with a bang, it's time to get your to-do list of resolutions out and start acting on them! 2014 is a year of big changes in the legal world, so we here at OC Wills & Trust Attorneys encourage you to stay on top...

The Wall Street Journal has a great article on the 25 most important documents you need to have before you die. I highly recommend you reading the whole article as they make some great points. THE ESSENTIALS: Will Letter of Instruction Trust Documents BANK...