A will does not avoid probate. It tells the probate court who gets what, which is useful, but the court still has to be involved. That surprises most people and it is the single biggest misunderstanding in this practice area.
The documents that keep your family out of court while you are alive are the durable power of attorney and the advance health care directive. Those two do more day-to-day work than anything else we draft.
What a will is good for
Naming who inherits. Naming an executor. And, if you have minor children, nominating a guardian, which no other document does.
Our will-based package is $1,200 and it is the right answer for a decent number of people, mostly renters and younger families whose main concern is guardianship rather than probate.
The power of attorney is the workhorse
If you have a stroke tomorrow and nobody holds a valid power of attorney, your family cannot pay your mortgage from your account, cannot deal with your insurer, and cannot sell anything. The fix is a court conservatorship, which costs thousands and takes months.
Signed while you still have capacity, or not at all
A power of attorney has to be signed while you can still understand what you are signing. After that the window closes and the only remaining option is a conservatorship. This is the document people leave too late.
The directive is about somebody else
An advance health care directive names the person who speaks for you and says what you want. Its real function is not legal. It is to spare a specific human being the experience of guessing, at two in the morning, in a hallway.
“I ask every client the same question: who is the person you would want in the room. Half of them have never said it out loud. That conversation is worth more than the form it goes on.”
Delia Vasquez-HartThe full set
- Will, or pour-over will if you have a trust
- Durable power of attorney for finances
- Advance health care directive
- HIPAA authorization, so your agent can actually get records
- Nomination of guardian for minor children
- POLST, where a medical condition makes it appropriate, signed with your doctor
Questions we get asked
Is a handwritten will valid in California?
It can be. California recognizes holographic wills where the material provisions are in the testator's own handwriting and it is signed. They are valid and they are also the most litigated documents we see.
Do I need witnesses?
A formal typed will does. A holographic one does not. Notarization is not what makes a California will valid, which is a common mix-up.
Can one document cover both spouses?
No. Wills are individual. Couples get mirror-image wills, and a joint trust if a trust is appropriate.
How often should this be updated?
After a death, a divorce, a birth, a move to another state, or a significant change in what you own. Otherwise every five years or so is plenty.
Start here
Decide who you would name as your health care agent and as your financial agent. They do not have to be the same person, and often should not be.