WHY SHOULD I WANT TO AVOID A CONSERVATORSHIP

Medical science is making great strides, but an unfortunate consequence of longer life spans is many older people cannot manage their own affairs. If you become incapacitated by a stroke or another cause and do not have a trust and durable powers of attorney, your family may have to petition the court to have a conservator appointed for you. As with a probate, the purpose of a conservatorship is actually quite simple - enabling someone to make decisions for you and manage your financial affairs. The problem is that as with a probate, a conservatorship is an expensive and complicated procedure. Having a living trust and durable powers of attorney almost always avoids the need for a conservatorship. If you become incapacitated, whomever you have named in the trust and durable powers takes over for you without having to go to court. In particular, the "Power of Attorney for Health Care," one of our basic estate planning documents, will give your family the legal authority to make health care decisions for you, including the authority to make end-of-life decisions such as the decision to "pull the plug."

Probate in California, is a court-supervised transfer of a decedent’s property to the heirs. It becomes necessary when the decedent did not have a living trust, regardless of whether or not there was a will.

Small estate? If an estate amounts to less than $100,000, probate will be informal and will not require the appointment of a decedent’s representative. We will prepare the necessary affidavits and collect and distribute the assets. Please contact us for further information.