San Fernando Valley Probate & Estate Administration Law Blog

As you likely already know, when you make a Last Will and Testament in California, in addition to naming the heirs who you want to receive your property upon your death, you also appoint an executor to carry out your wishes when the time comes. You can choose whomever you wish to act in this capacity, but before appointing someone as your executor, you should carefully consider his or her ability to do the job.

Bear in mind that your executor will have many duties while taking your estate through probate, including the following:

• Gathering your estate assets together
• Inventorying and valuing those assets
• Managing and protecting the assets during probate
• Paying valid claims against your estate
• Defending your estate against invalid claims or will challenges
• Making a final accounting and distributing the assets to your designated heirs

If you are a Californian starting to think about the type of medical and/or end-of-life care you wish to receive, you may want to consider executing an advance directive that sets forth your wishes and desires. As the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization explains, advance directives can go by several other names as well, such as a living will, medical power of attorney, health care proxy, etc.

While technically you do not need the assistance of an attorney to draft your advance directive, consulting with one serves your best interests. Why? Because although advance directives are legal in all 50 states, laws vary from state to state as to what such a document must include in order to make it valid. In addition, even if you are a long-time California resident with no plans to move or travel to other states, your advance directive must contain the proper legal language, as well as sections expressing your personal medical desires and preferences, to make it valid in our state.

At the Law Offices of Alice A. Salvo in California, we help individuals like you devise an estate plan that meets their goals and objectives of providing for themselves and their families. No matter what you seek to accomplish by means of your will and trust(s), we can help you achieve it.

One of the most important aspects of estate planning is to make sure that your will and your living trust documents work together seamlessly so that your executor and trustee(s) can carry out your wishes in the way you desire. As you likely realize, your trust(s) contain(s) only those assets you transferred to it or them at the time you set it or them up. This can present a significant future disadvantage. FindLaw explains, however, that you can overcome this disadvantage via a pour-over will. 

Having a furry friend really does make a difference in your life. You don't need studies or statistics to tell you that you feel calmer, your heart beats slower and your blood pressure evens out when you are sitting on the sofa with your dog or cat in your lap or at your feet.

Whether you have always loved animals or this particular one grew on you, the fact is that your companion depends on you for everything. Unfortunately, many pets outlive their owners, and shelters are full of animals that pet owners thought they had safely passed along to someone in their wills. This is why more animal parents are adding pet trusts to their estate plans.