A properly prepared Living Trust Estate Plan avoids the long, public, expensive court proceeding known as Probate upon your death. It also avoids incapacity/conservator ship proceedings in court if you are incapacitated.

In the absence of a properly funded living trust, California law requires a Probate Proceeding if you are worth $162,250 or more at the time of your death. A will alone does not avoid Probate.

Fewer and fewer people have to worry about the government taxing their estates: The floor for estate taxes is $11.7 million for a person who dies in 2021 though that sum is set to revert to $5 million in the year 2026. A small annual adjustment to that figure is added on each year thereafter.

A living trust estate plan is private (not a public court case) and a fairly inexpensive process to follow. Talk to our office about avoiding excessive fees and costs for administering a simple family living trust.