If something happened to you tomorrow, would your family know what to do — and would your estate plan actually accomplish what you intended?
For many California families, creating a will is an important first step. But a will alone may not address everything a comprehensive estate plan should accomplish.
Depending on your family, assets and goals, estate planning may also involve a revocable living trust, powers of attorney, an advance health care directive, beneficiary designations, guardianship planning for minor children, special needs planning and, importantly, making sure assets are properly coordinated with your plan.
National Make-A-Will Month isn’t simply about creating another legal document. It’s an opportunity to make sure the people you love have a clear plan if you become incapacitated or pass away.
What Is National Make-A-Will Month?
National Make-A-Will Month is recognized each August as an opportunity to encourage individuals and families to create or review their wills and other estate planning documents.
It is also a useful reminder that estate planning isn’t reserved for the wealthy or elderly.
If you own a home, have children, have retirement or investment accounts, own a business, care for someone with special needs, have a blended family or simply want greater control over what happens if you become incapacitated or die, estate planning deserves consideration.
And in California, asking whether you have a will is only the beginning.
Do I Need a Will in California?
For many people, yes. A will can serve several important purposes.
Among other things, a will can state who should receive certain property after your death, nominate an executor to administer your estate and nominate guardians for minor children.
However, there is an important misconception families should understand:
Having a will does not necessarily mean your family will avoid probate.
A will generally provides instructions for property subject to the probate process. Other planning tools and forms of ownership may allow certain assets to transfer outside probate.
That is one reason a comprehensive estate plan should look beyond the question, “Do I have a will?”
A better question is:
“Do I have the right estate plan for my family and assets?”
Will vs. Trust in California: What’s the Difference?
This is one of the most common estate planning questions we hear.
A will provides instructions regarding the disposition of property at death and can nominate an executor and guardians for minor children. Property controlled by a will may still be subject to probate.
A revocable living trust, when properly created and funded, can hold assets during your lifetime and provide instructions for their management and distribution if you become incapacitated or after you die.
Assets properly held in a trust can generally be administered without requiring those assets to pass through the traditional probate process.
But creating a trust document isn’t the end of the process.
A Trust Must Be Properly Funded
One of the most important — and sometimes overlooked — parts of trust planning is making sure appropriate assets are actually transferred or otherwise coordinated with the trust.
You can have a beautifully drafted trust sitting in a binder, but if assets that should have been connected to the trust were never properly addressed, your estate plan may not work as expected.
Estate planning therefore involves both creating the plan and implementing it correctly.
What Should a California Estate Plan Include?
There is no single estate plan that is appropriate for every person or family.
Depending on your circumstances, a comprehensive California estate plan may include:
- A will
- A revocable living trust
- A durable power of attorney
- An advance health care directive
- Appropriate beneficiary designations
- Guardianship nominations for minor children
- Instructions for the management and distribution of assets
- Planning for incapacity
- Special needs planning when appropriate
- Coordination of real estate, financial accounts and other assets with the estate plan
The goal isn’t to accumulate documents.
The goal is to create a coordinated plan that tells the right people what authority they have, what should happen and how your wishes should be carried out.
Why Estate Planning Is About More Than What Happens After You Die
One of the biggest reasons to have an estate plan has nothing to do with death.
It’s incapacity.
What happens if an accident, illness, cognitive decline or another unexpected event leaves you temporarily or permanently unable to manage your own affairs?
Who can manage your finances?
Who can communicate with financial institutions?
Who can make health care decisions when necessary?
Who has authority to manage assets held in your trust?
A properly designed estate plan can establish who is authorized to act and provide instructions before a crisis occurs.
Without appropriate planning, family members may face uncertainty at precisely the moment when they are already under significant stress.
Parents of Minor Children Have Another Reason to Make a Will
For parents, estate planning isn’t just about money.
It’s also about your children.
A will allows parents to nominate the person or people they would want to serve as guardians for their minor children if both parents were unable to care for them.
Parents should also consider how an inheritance would be managed for children who are too young to responsibly manage significant assets themselves.
Instead of simply asking:
“Who gets our assets?”
Parents should consider:
“Who would care for our children, who would manage their inheritance and what instructions do we want to leave behind?”
Those are very different questions — and both deserve thoughtful answers.
What If a Beneficiary Has Special Needs?
Families with a child or other beneficiary with a disability require additional planning.
An outright inheritance can potentially affect eligibility for certain means-tested government benefits, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
For example, SSI has specific income and resource rules, and inheritances and other financial changes can create benefit complications when they are not properly planned for or reported. Sandoval Legacy Group regularly works with families on special needs trusts and related planning designed to protect assets while considering continued eligibility for important government benefits.
A special needs trust may be appropriate in certain circumstances to provide resources for a person with a disability without simply leaving assets to that individual outright.
If someone in your family receives SSI or other means-tested benefits, special needs planning should be addressed as part of the estate planning conversation — not as an afterthought.
When Should You Update Your Will or Estate Plan?
Creating an estate plan isn’t necessarily a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Your documents should continue to reflect your family, your assets, current law and your wishes.
Consider reviewing your estate plan after significant life events such as:
- Marriage or divorce
- Birth or adoption of a child or grandchild
- Death or incapacity of a spouse, beneficiary, trustee or other person named in your plan
- Purchase or sale of significant real estate
- Starting, buying or selling a business
- Significant changes in wealth
- Moving to another state
- Changes involving a beneficiary with special needs
- Changes in family relationships
- Significant changes in tax, estate planning or public-benefit laws
Even without a major life event, periodically reviewing an older plan can uncover outdated people, assets, beneficiary designations or instructions.
Already Have a Trust? National Make-A-Will Month Still Matters
If you already completed an estate plan, August can be your annual reminder to take it off the shelf.
Ask yourself:
Are the people named in my plan still the people I would choose today?
Have I purchased or sold property since the plan was completed?
Are my beneficiary designations current?
Have there been marriages, divorces, births or deaths in my family?
Does my successor trustee know that he or she has been selected?
Are appropriate assets properly coordinated with my trust?
Would my family know where to find my estate planning documents if something happened to me?
An estate plan drafted years ago may still be appropriate — but you won’t know unless you review it.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will in California?
Dying without a valid will is known as dying intestate.
When that happens, California law determines how property subject to intestate succession is distributed.
Those rules cannot know your personal relationships, family dynamics or intentions.
They do not know that one child may require additional protection, that a particular family member may be better suited to manage an inheritance, or that you wanted to provide for someone outside the statutory inheritance structure.
Estate planning gives you an opportunity to make many of those decisions yourself rather than leaving applicable decisions to default rules under California law.
Does Everyone Need a Trust in California?
No. Estate planning should be individualized.
A trust can be an extremely useful planning tool, particularly for families who own real estate or want to plan for asset management during incapacity and administration after death.
But whether a trust is appropriate — and what kind of trust should be used — depends on the person’s assets, family circumstances and objectives.
The goal should not be to create a trust simply because trusts are popular.
The goal should be to determine which planning tools are appropriate for you and make sure they work together.
National Make-A-Will Month Checklist
This August, consider asking yourself these 10 questions:
- Do I currently have a valid will?
- Do I have a trust, and is it appropriate for my current circumstances?
- Are appropriate assets properly coordinated with my trust?
- Are my beneficiary designations current?
- Have I named the right people to make financial and health care decisions if I become incapacitated?
- If I have minor children, have I nominated guardians?
- Does anyone I intend to benefit have special needs or receive means-tested government benefits?
- Have there been major changes in my family, finances or property?
- Do the people responsible for carrying out my plan know where my documents are located?
- Has it been several years since an estate planning attorney reviewed my plan?
If several of those questions made you stop and think, National Make-A-Will Month may be a good reason to finally review your planning.
Frequently Asked Questions About Wills and Estate Planning in California
Does a will avoid probate in California?
Not necessarily. A will provides instructions regarding the administration and distribution of property subject to the will, but having a will by itself does not automatically prevent probate. Properly structured trusts, beneficiary designations, forms of ownership and other planning strategies may allow certain assets to transfer outside probate.
Do I need both a will and a trust?
Many trust-based estate plans include both. The documents perform different functions, and the appropriate combination depends on your circumstances.
What is the difference between a will and a living trust?
A will generally takes effect at death and provides instructions regarding the disposition of property subject to it. A revocable living trust can own and manage assets during your lifetime and provide instructions for management during incapacity and distribution after death.
Can I make a will myself in California?
California law determines the requirements for a legally valid will. While consumers have access to do-it-yourself forms and online estate planning services, a document being legally valid does not necessarily mean it adequately addresses a person’s assets, family circumstances, tax considerations or planning objectives. People with real estate, businesses, blended families, special needs beneficiaries or other complexities may benefit from individualized legal advice.
When should I update my estate plan?
An estate plan should be reviewed periodically and following significant changes involving your family, assets, health, residence, beneficiaries or applicable law.
What happens if I become incapacitated without an estate plan?
The answer depends on your circumstances and which legal arrangements, accounts and documents already exist. Powers of attorney, advance health care directives and properly structured trusts can establish authority for trusted individuals to act if you become unable to make or communicate decisions yourself.
Can a special needs beneficiary inherit money?
Yes, but the way an inheritance is structured can be extremely important. An outright inheritance may affect eligibility for means-tested benefits such as SSI. Families with a beneficiary who has a disability should consider special needs planning before making or changing inheritance provisions.
Make August the Month You Finally Review Your Estate Plan
National Make-A-Will Month isn’t about preparing for the worst.
It’s about making decisions while you are able to make them.
A thoughtful estate plan can provide instructions for your assets, identify the people you trust to act for you, address incapacity, protect children and other beneficiaries, and give your family a clearer path forward when they need it most.
Whether you have never created an estate plan or your existing documents haven’t been reviewed in years, August is an excellent time to ask whether your plan still reflects your life today.
Talk With Sandoval Legacy Group About Your Estate Plan
At Sandoval Legacy Group, our attorneys help individuals and families navigate estate planning, trusts, elder law, special needs planning and probate administration.
Managing Partner Dennis M. Sandoval has more than four decades of experience in estate planning and related areas of law and is a Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).
If National Make-A-Will Month has you wondering whether your current estate plan is complete — or whether it’s finally time to create one — our team can help you understand your options.
Schedule a consultation with Sandoval Legacy Group to review your estate planning needs and determine the next steps for you and your family.
This article is provided for general educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Estate planning strategies and requirements depend on individual circumstances and applicable law.
If something happened to you tomorrow, would your family know what to do — and would your estate plan actually accomplish what you intended?
For many California families, creating a will is an important first step. But a will alone may not address everything a comprehensive estate plan should accomplish.
Depending on your family, assets and goals, estate planning may also involve a revocable living trust, powers of attorney, an advance health care directive, beneficiary designations, guardianship planning for minor children, special needs planning and, importantly, making sure assets are properly coordinated with your plan.
National Make-A-Will Month isn’t simply about creating another legal document. It’s an opportunity to make sure the people you love have a clear plan if you become incapacitated or pass away.
What Is National Make-A-Will Month?
National Make-A-Will Month is recognized each August as an opportunity to encourage individuals and families to create or review their wills and other estate planning documents.
It is also a useful reminder that estate planning isn’t reserved for the wealthy or elderly.
If you own a home, have children, have retirement or investment accounts, own a business, care for someone with special needs, have a blended family or simply want greater control over what happens if you become incapacitated or die, estate planning deserves consideration.
And in California, asking whether you have a will is only the beginning.
Do I Need a Will in California?
For many people, yes. A will can serve several important purposes.
Among other things, a will can state who should receive certain property after your death, nominate an executor to administer your estate and nominate guardians for minor children.
However, there is an important misconception families should understand:
Having a will does not necessarily mean your family will avoid probate.
A will generally provides instructions for property subject to the probate process. Other planning tools and forms of ownership may allow certain assets to transfer outside probate.
That is one reason a comprehensive estate plan should look beyond the question, “Do I have a will?”
A better question is:
“Do I have the right estate plan for my family and assets?”
Will vs. Trust in California: What’s the Difference?
This is one of the most common estate planning questions we hear.
A will provides instructions regarding the disposition of property at death and can nominate an executor and guardians for minor children. Property controlled by a will may still be subject to probate.
A revocable living trust, when properly created and funded, can hold assets during your lifetime and provide instructions for their management and distribution if you become incapacitated or after you die.
Assets properly held in a trust can generally be administered without requiring those assets to pass through the traditional probate process.
But creating a trust document isn’t the end of the process.
A Trust Must Be Properly Funded
One of the most important — and sometimes overlooked — parts of trust planning is making sure appropriate assets are actually transferred or otherwise coordinated with the trust.
You can have a beautifully drafted trust sitting in a binder, but if assets that should have been connected to the trust were never properly addressed, your estate plan may not work as expected.
Estate planning therefore involves both creating the plan and implementing it correctly.
What Should a California Estate Plan Include?
There is no single estate plan that is appropriate for every person or family.
Depending on your circumstances, a comprehensive California estate plan may include:
- A will
- A revocable living trust
- A durable power of attorney
- An advance health care directive
- Appropriate beneficiary designations
- Guardianship nominations for minor children
- Instructions for the management and distribution of assets
- Planning for incapacity
- Special needs planning when appropriate
- Coordination of real estate, financial accounts and other assets with the estate plan
The goal isn’t to accumulate documents.
The goal is to create a coordinated plan that tells the right people what authority they have, what should happen and how your wishes should be carried out.
Why Estate Planning Is About More Than What Happens After You Die
One of the biggest reasons to have an estate plan has nothing to do with death.
It’s incapacity.
What happens if an accident, illness, cognitive decline or another unexpected event leaves you temporarily or permanently unable to manage your own affairs?
Who can manage your finances?
Who can communicate with financial institutions?
Who can make health care decisions when necessary?
Who has authority to manage assets held in your trust?
A properly designed estate plan can establish who is authorized to act and provide instructions before a crisis occurs.
Without appropriate planning, family members may face uncertainty at precisely the moment when they are already under significant stress.
Parents of Minor Children Have Another Reason to Make a Will
For parents, estate planning isn’t just about money.
It’s also about your children.
A will allows parents to nominate the person or people they would want to serve as guardians for their minor children if both parents were unable to care for them.
Parents should also consider how an inheritance would be managed for children who are too young to responsibly manage significant assets themselves.
Instead of simply asking:
“Who gets our assets?”
Parents should consider:
“Who would care for our children, who would manage their inheritance and what instructions do we want to leave behind?”
Those are very different questions — and both deserve thoughtful answers.
What If a Beneficiary Has Special Needs?
Families with a child or other beneficiary with a disability require additional planning.
An outright inheritance can potentially affect eligibility for certain means-tested government benefits, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
For example, SSI has specific income and resource rules, and inheritances and other financial changes can create benefit complications when they are not properly planned for or reported. Sandoval Legacy Group regularly works with families on special needs trusts and related planning designed to protect assets while considering continued eligibility for important government benefits.
A special needs trust may be appropriate in certain circumstances to provide resources for a person with a disability without simply leaving assets to that individual outright.
If someone in your family receives SSI or other means-tested benefits, special needs planning should be addressed as part of the estate planning conversation — not as an afterthought.
When Should You Update Your Will or Estate Plan?
Creating an estate plan isn’t necessarily a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Your documents should continue to reflect your family, your assets, current law and your wishes.
Consider reviewing your estate plan after significant life events such as:
- Marriage or divorce
- Birth or adoption of a child or grandchild
- Death or incapacity of a spouse, beneficiary, trustee or other person named in your plan
- Purchase or sale of significant real estate
- Starting, buying or selling a business
- Significant changes in wealth
- Moving to another state
- Changes involving a beneficiary with special needs
- Changes in family relationships
- Significant changes in tax, estate planning or public-benefit laws
Even without a major life event, periodically reviewing an older plan can uncover outdated people, assets, beneficiary designations or instructions.
Already Have a Trust? National Make-A-Will Month Still Matters
If you already completed an estate plan, August can be your annual reminder to take it off the shelf.
Ask yourself:
Are the people named in my plan still the people I would choose today?
Have I purchased or sold property since the plan was completed?
Are my beneficiary designations current?
Have there been marriages, divorces, births or deaths in my family?
Does my successor trustee know that he or she has been selected?
Are appropriate assets properly coordinated with my trust?
Would my family know where to find my estate planning documents if something happened to me?
An estate plan drafted years ago may still be appropriate — but you won’t know unless you review it.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will in California?
Dying without a valid will is known as dying intestate.
When that happens, California law determines how property subject to intestate succession is distributed.
Those rules cannot know your personal relationships, family dynamics or intentions.
They do not know that one child may require additional protection, that a particular family member may be better suited to manage an inheritance, or that you wanted to provide for someone outside the statutory inheritance structure.
Estate planning gives you an opportunity to make many of those decisions yourself rather than leaving applicable decisions to default rules under California law.
Does Everyone Need a Trust in California?
No. Estate planning should be individualized.
A trust can be an extremely useful planning tool, particularly for families who own real estate or want to plan for asset management during incapacity and administration after death.
But whether a trust is appropriate — and what kind of trust should be used — depends on the person’s assets, family circumstances and objectives.
The goal should not be to create a trust simply because trusts are popular.
The goal should be to determine which planning tools are appropriate for you and make sure they work together.
National Make-A-Will Month Checklist
This August, consider asking yourself these 10 questions:
- Do I currently have a valid will?
- Do I have a trust, and is it appropriate for my current circumstances?
- Are appropriate assets properly coordinated with my trust?
- Are my beneficiary designations current?
- Have I named the right people to make financial and health care decisions if I become incapacitated?
- If I have minor children, have I nominated guardians?
- Does anyone I intend to benefit have special needs or receive means-tested government benefits?
- Have there been major changes in my family, finances or property?
- Do the people responsible for carrying out my plan know where my documents are located?
- Has it been several years since an estate planning attorney reviewed my plan?
If several of those questions made you stop and think, National Make-A-Will Month may be a good reason to finally review your planning.
Frequently Asked Questions About Wills and Estate Planning in California
Does a will avoid probate in California?
Not necessarily. A will provides instructions regarding the administration and distribution of property subject to the will, but having a will by itself does not automatically prevent probate. Properly structured trusts, beneficiary designations, forms of ownership and other planning strategies may allow certain assets to transfer outside probate.
Do I need both a will and a trust?
Many trust-based estate plans include both. The documents perform different functions, and the appropriate combination depends on your circumstances.
What is the difference between a will and a living trust?
A will generally takes effect at death and provides instructions regarding the disposition of property subject to it. A revocable living trust can own and manage assets during your lifetime and provide instructions for management during incapacity and distribution after death.
Can I make a will myself in California?
California law determines the requirements for a legally valid will. While consumers have access to do-it-yourself forms and online estate planning services, a document being legally valid does not necessarily mean it adequately addresses a person’s assets, family circumstances, tax considerations or planning objectives. People with real estate, businesses, blended families, special needs beneficiaries or other complexities may benefit from individualized legal advice.
When should I update my estate plan?
An estate plan should be reviewed periodically and following significant changes involving your family, assets, health, residence, beneficiaries or applicable law.
What happens if I become incapacitated without an estate plan?
The answer depends on your circumstances and which legal arrangements, accounts and documents already exist. Powers of attorney, advance health care directives and properly structured trusts can establish authority for trusted individuals to act if you become unable to make or communicate decisions yourself.
Can a special needs beneficiary inherit money?
Yes, but the way an inheritance is structured can be extremely important. An outright inheritance may affect eligibility for means-tested benefits such as SSI. Families with a beneficiary who has a disability should consider special needs planning before making or changing inheritance provisions.
Make August the Month You Finally Review Your Estate Plan
National Make-A-Will Month isn’t about preparing for the worst.
It’s about making decisions while you are able to make them.
A thoughtful estate plan can provide instructions for your assets, identify the people you trust to act for you, address incapacity, protect children and other beneficiaries, and give your family a clearer path forward when they need it most.
Whether you have never created an estate plan or your existing documents haven’t been reviewed in years, August is an excellent time to ask whether your plan still reflects your life today.
Talk With Sandoval Legacy Group About Your Estate Plan
At Sandoval Legacy Group, our attorneys help individuals and families navigate estate planning, trusts, elder law, special needs planning and probate administration.
Managing Partner Dennis M. Sandoval has more than four decades of experience in estate planning and related areas of law and is a Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).
If National Make-A-Will Month has you wondering whether your current estate plan is complete — or whether it’s finally time to create one — our team can help you understand your options.
Schedule a consultation with Sandoval Legacy Group to review your estate planning needs and determine the next steps for you and your family.
This article is provided for general educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Estate planning strategies and requirements depend on individual circumstances and applicable law.