Practice Areas
Estate Planning
Trusts
Probate
Practice Areas
If you’ve ever sat across from a loved one after a loss and thought, I had no idea it would be this complicated, you already understand why estate planning matters. For families in Woodland Hills, Calabasas, Encino, and throughout the San Fernando Valley, an estate planning attorney isn’t just someone who drafts paperwork—they’re the person who makes sure your wishes actually hold up when it counts.
But what does an estate planning attorney actually do, day to day? And is hiring one really necessary, or can you handle this yourself? Here’s what you need to know.
At its most fundamental level, an estate planning attorney translates what you want to happen—to your home, your savings, your children, your medical care—into documents that California law will recognize and enforce.
That might sound simple. It isn’t. California has specific requirements governing everything from how a will must be signed and witnessed to the precise language needed to fund a living trust properly. A document that’s even slightly off can be challenged, delayed, or invalidated entirely—leaving your family to sort out the mess during an already painful time.
An estate planning attorney understands these requirements cold. They don’t just fill out forms; they ask the right questions to uncover complications you may not have thought about, and they structure your plan in a way that actually works.
Depending on your situation, an estate planning attorney may help you create some or all of the following:
Wills. A will is the foundation of most plans. It names who inherits your assets, who will manage your estate, and—critically for parents—who will raise your minor children if something happens to you. Under California Probate Code § 6110, a will must be in writing, signed by the testator, and witnessed by at least two people who are present at the same time.
Trusts. A living trust allows your estate to pass to your heirs without going through probate—the court-supervised process that can take a year or more in Los Angeles County and become a matter of public record. For homeowners in Woodland Hills, where property values often push estates well above California’s $184,500 probate threshold, a trust is frequently the most practical tool available. Attorneys also establish special needs trusts for families supporting a child or other beneficiary with a disability, protecting their eligibility for government benefits.
Powers of Attorney. A durable power of attorney authorizes someone you trust to manage your finances and legal affairs if you’re incapacitated. Without one, your family may need to petition a court for a conservatorship—an expensive, time-consuming process—just to pay your bills or manage your bank accounts.
Healthcare Directives. A healthcare directive—sometimes called an advance directive or living will—tells your doctors what kind of medical treatment you do or don’t want if you can’t speak for yourself, and designates someone to make healthcare decisions on your behalf. For families in the San Fernando Valley, where many aging parents live independently or with adult children, this document can prevent agonizing disagreements during a medical crisis.
The paperwork is only part of the picture.
They analyze your full financial picture. An estate planning attorney reviews your assets—real estate, retirement accounts, life insurance, business interests—and how they’re titled. A house held in joint tenancy passes differently than one held in a trust or in your name alone. Getting this wrong can unravel an otherwise well-crafted plan.
They help you avoid probate. For most San Fernando Valley families, avoiding probate is a primary goal. The process in Los Angeles County runs through the Superior Court and can take anywhere from nine months to several years for a contested or complex estate. An attorney structures your plan—through trusts, beneficiary designations, and proper titling—so that as many assets as possible transfer outside of court.
They plan for long-term care costs. For older clients and those supporting aging parents, an estate planning attorney often overlaps with elder law planning. This includes strategies around Medi-Cal—California’s Medicaid program—which can pay for nursing home and long-term care costs but has strict asset and income rules. Proper planning well in advance of a care need can protect a lifetime of savings.
They keep your plan current. Life changes. Marriages, divorces, births, deaths, moves, and tax law shifts can all affect whether your existing documents still reflect your wishes. An estate planning attorney helps you review and update your plan over time.
When someone dies without a will or trust in California, their estate is distributed according to the state’s laws—regardless of what they actually wanted. The probate process kicks in automatically, and a court decides who gets what based on a statutory formula that may have nothing to do with your family’s dynamics or your personal relationships.
For unmarried partners, close friends, stepchildren, or anyone outside the legal definition of “heir,” the result can be devastating. California’s intestate laws don’t recognize these relationships without a valid estate plan in place.
The same problem plays out for incapacity. Without a power of attorney or healthcare directive, families in Woodland Hills and across Los Angeles County often find themselves filing for conservatorship through the Superior Court—a process that requires court approval, ongoing oversight, and significant legal expense just to do things that a simple document could have authorized in advance.
Online tools exist for a reason: they’re accessible, inexpensive, and fine for genuinely simple situations. But “simple” is rarer than it sounds.
If you own real estate in California, have a blended family, support a child or adult with special needs, have a business, hold retirement accounts, have been divorced, or own property in multiple states, a template document carries real risk. Estate planning law is state-specific, and the rules in California differ materially from other states. A document that works in one state may not hold up here.
An estate planning attorney also does something a template can’t: they ask follow-up questions. They notice the asset you forgot to mention. They catch the beneficiary designation that contradicts your will. They find the gap between what you think your plan says and what it actually does.
For a family in Tarzana whose home has appreciated to $900,000, or a Thousand Oaks couple with a child who has autism and relies on SSI, the cost of getting this wrong far exceeds the cost of getting it right.
An estate planning attorney does much more than prepare documents. They help you understand what you own, how it’s held, and what happens to it—and to your family—if you don’t take action. They build a plan that reflects your wishes and stands up to California’s legal requirements, and they help you update that plan as your life evolves.
For Woodland Hills families and those throughout the San Fernando Valley, estate planning is one of the most practical and lasting things you can do for the people you love. The paperwork is just the beginning.