Personal Finance (Not Investing) • Meeting with estate lawyer

In California, probate takes more than a year unless you have a tiny estate. Your estate will also have to pay a lawyer since no executor (relative) lives there. So you will likely need a trust to avoid both of those issues.

Does a revocable living trust fully supplant a Will?

No, you need both. The will takes care of anything that isn't in the trust (like a taxable account you forgot to re-title as being owned by the trust), or doesn't have formal title (like furniture, collectables, pets, jewelry). A "pour-over will" essentially allows things to be "poured" into your trust.

I have never heard of a "general assignment", whatever that is.

Statistics: Posted by celia — Wed Dec 03, 2025 1:58 am — Replies 30 — Views 2072

---