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What happens if I die without a Will or a Trust?

What happens if I die without a Will or a Trust?

Hi, my name is Marc Herbert and I’m the founder of Herbert Law Office. Every week I’ll be here answering questions that we hear most frequently. And one of the questions I’ve been hearing a lot lately is what happens if I die without a will or a trust? Well, what’s going to happen, most likely, is that your family will be thrown into probate court where a judge who never met you will decide what happens with your assets and your family.

That is California’s default plan. So if you don’t build your own estate plan with a will or a trust, not only will you end up in court, but you’ll also have your family exposed to all sorts of different taxes once they finally get out of probate court. So the results in probate court are going to differ depending on a couple of factors. One is your family structure. So many people think if you’re married, it’s not a problem. Everything just goes to your surviving spouse automatically. That’s not true under California law. Also, if you have a blended family, there are still rights for your children from prior relationships that should be addressed in an estate plan. If you’re a single person, whether you were never married or divorced or maybe widowed, there are special sets of laws for that situation as well. In addition, there can be children under 18 years old, disabled heirs, or some folks own more than one house or they own property out of state. Each of these situations have different rules that need to be handled, and it’s best handled through your own estate plan that you control. But the results in probate court also depend on title.

Sometimes people own sole and separate property, either as a single person or even as a married person. The problem, though, is if you’re married and you own property sole and separate property, your spouse will not automatically inherit 100% under California’s default plan. In fact, your spouse will end up with either half or maybe a third of the title or the value of the property with the rest of the property going to your child or children, even those children from prior relationships. If you own title as joint tenants. Well, the good news is you can avoid probate court. The bad news is there’s going to be taxes. And under that new Proposition 19 law, those taxes can be very significant. Finally, a lot of people, married people, own property as community property and think that their surviving spouse will not have to go to court and will not have to face any tax consequences. Well, the truth is that the surviving spouse will have to go to court. It’s a shortened probate process with community property, and there should be very low or maybe zero taxes for the surviving spouse. If title is held as community property. But in all of these situations, the best move is to create your own trust so that you can avoid probate court and unnecessary taxes, especially with your land.

The probate process right now in California usually takes anywhere from 2 to 3 years, usually involves costs of anywhere between 20,000 and $30,000. And basically you have no control over what happens with your family and your assets. By creating your own estate plan, your own trust, your own will, you can create a way to protect your family both from court and taxes within about 30 to 45 days for a lot less money than involved in court. And you have full and complete control over the entire process. At Herbert Law office, we offer a free consultation to discuss your specific situation, your specific family’s structure, the title of your specific assets, so we can talk about the best options for you. If you have any questions, feel free to click the link below to schedule a 15 minute phone appointment or just give us a call at 6612739007.

Take care and have a good day.

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  • Marc and his team were very professional, friendly & patient in dealing with our estate plan. From the initial phone call, Marc educated us & […]

    ~ Derrick M.

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  • (Marc) was very helpful and professional … patient answering all of our questions with cogent explanations.

    ~ Terry and Nancy L., Palmdale

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    ~ Raymond and Lori G., Santa Clarita

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  • Explained everything well. Always available when our schedule changed. Easy to work with.

    ~ Mark and Suzanne F., Lancaster

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  • Excellent. Easy process.

    ~ Michael and Susan R., Quartz Hill

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  • Very efficient … (we appreciate) your attention to detail, ability to explain documents in “plain” English, good response time.

    ~ Thomas and Bonnie G., Tehachapi

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  • We just kept putting it off. Thank you for your patience … (and) one-on-one personal contact.

    ~ Rex and Denise H., Acton

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  • Very pleasant, patient and accommodating. Great listener … (the) Antelope Valley community should be proud of having such a caring and wonderful person like you, […]

    ~ Hovsep M. and Anna A., Palmdale

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    ~ Daniel and Linda L., Ridgecrest

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  • Personable, knowledgeable, explains well. Very happy with the courtesy and expertise in handling our Trust.

    ~ Anthony and Susan C., Lancaster

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  • It was an easy experience for a hard thing to do. (Marc is) very easy to speak with and made everything easier to understand. We […]

    ~ Bruce and Christina Z., Tehachapi

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  • (You) were always following up to make sure we had all we needed. Great service … provided a lot of information.

    ~ Carlos and Claudia O., Palmdale

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    ~ Robert and Joan W., Lancaster

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  • Marc was great at understanding our needs and he and his staff are so responsive in providing what we need, how we need it … […]

    ~ James and Linda J., Palmdale

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  • (We appreciate your) thoughtfulness, friendliness and fairness to walk us through the process and helping set up a Special Needs Trust

    ~ Dale and Meryl Z., Tehachapi

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  • Friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We enjoyed working with Marc. He took time to explain and answer all and any questions … (You) did not rush […]

    ~ Keith and Susan I., Acton

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  • Marc took his time explaining everything thoroughly to us and answered the many questions we asked. We have busy conflicting schedules, so at times we […]

    ~ Sharron K. and Bonnie M., Palmdale

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    ~ Janet B., Lancaster

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    ~ Danny and Diane T., Ridgecrest

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  • (My experience) was quite relaxing and worry-free … (Marc is) honest and answered any and all questions that I had leaving me with good feeling […]

    ~ James G., Lancaster

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  • Excellent. Very professional and on the other hand very open, which made covering sensitive subjects a lot easier. (Marc is) easy to talk to.

    ~ Wilfred and Julia L., Palmdale

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  • (Marc) was very patient with (me) … (and) anyone with assets and heirs (would benefit from his services).

    ~ Marcy W., Leona Valley

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  • It is not fun to plan for one’s death, but you helped us be comfortable. You were very considerate to our needs, especially when it […]

    ~ John and Diane H., Palmdale

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    ~ Don and Michelle W., Lancaster

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