Will FAQs

Yes, everyone needs a last will. Even if you do not need a living trust, you need a will to direct who will inherit your estate. Without a will or a living trust (but you may not need a trust), the State of California will determine who will inherit your estate – and that person may not be the person you want. Preparing a last will is simple and easy, but there are requirements under the CA Probate Code that you want to be sure are followed so your will is valid and enforceable upon your death. The best way to do that is to have an experienced estate planning attorney prepare your will.

No! A will definitely does not avoid probate. This is a common misunderstanding. If you only have a will and your assets are just in your name with no beneficiaries, your will is going to have to go through probate in order for your loved ones to inherit your estate. This will require a long, expensive and document intensive process that could have all been avoided – but likely not with just your will.

A pourover will is a will done with a living trust. Your living trust names your beneficiaries while your pourover will names your living trust as the beneficiary of your will. If you create a living trust but leave assets out of your trust, or you acquire assets later that you do not transfer to your trust, the pourover will “pours” or transfers any left-out assets back into the trust. The pourover will is basically a safety net to make sure any assets left-out or acquired later are redirected to your trust and distributed according to your trust.