Learning More about Wills and Trusts Lawyers in California

Residents of California often find themselves procrastinating, even if they know the importance of meeting with a wills and trusts lawyer.  The whole subject just seems so complicated, and there are certainly more enjoyable ways to spend one’s time then pondering death and taxes.  The fact that things can be really confusing seems to give us all the encouragement we need to just tell ourselves that we’ll take care of the estate planning stuff “later.”

Of course, you know what I’m going to say next!  You never know when “later” is going to make an appearance, and if you’re not set up in advance, all the legal advice about wills and trusts in the world won’t be of any help.  Yes, this truly is something you need to do in advance.  Perhaps demystifying some of the terms involved with wills and trusts will give you the confidence you need to take the next step.

Will vs. Living Will

Most people probably get that “will” and “living will” are two different things, but a whole lot of them couldn’t actually tell you what exactly makes them different.  The term “will” is likely most familiar, as we’ve all seen them discussed on TV and in the movies.  It’s that document that is used to tell the courts what should be done with a person’s assets after he or she dies.

In the movies, there’s usually a dramatic reading of the will with close-ups of shocked widows and angry siblings who have been unceremoniously cut out of the family fortune.  While wills and trusts lawyers in California do see their share of hurt feelings and miscommunications, things are rarely as dramatic as they are on the big (or small) screen.

While a will is used after death, a living will is not.  It’s actually a document that includes a variety of instructions to be followed if you are alive but unable to speak for yourself for some reason.  This is usually referred to as being “incapacitated.”  You could be too ill to communicate, in a coma due to an accident, or some other variant that renders you unable to let doctors and others know what your wishes are regarding healthcare and other major decisions.

Trust vs. Living Trust

You may see a bit of a pattern here, but don’t be misled.  A Living Trust is just one type of trust, while a living will serves a completely different function than a will.  What is similar is when they are used.

A trust is generally used as a way to disperse assets.  A trustee is put in charge of following very specific instructions that have been put in place to direct how the money and other assets in the trust are to be used.  When a trust is created after the owner dies, it is known as a Testamentary Trust.

A living trust is simply a trust which is created during the owner’s lifetime.  A California wills and trusts lawyer may recommend a living trust for many different reasons.  For example, this kind of trust can be used to allow the individual to stay in his or her home while transferring ownership.  More typically, a living trust is simply used as an estate planning tool that lets you bypass transferring your assets by will, and the probate process that goes with it.

Each of these types of wills and trusts is something that should be discussed with a knowledgeable attorney in the state where you reside, as laws will differ throughout the country.