I Don't Have Much - Do I Need an Estate Plan?

Nobody likes to think about death, or becoming incapacitated due to an accident, but unfortunately life throws unexpected curve balls. Many people mistakenly believe that estate plans are only for the uber-rich... wrong! Whether you're single, married, young, old, rich, or poor: EVERYONE probably needs some kind of estate planning in place.

Maybe you're relatively young, and you have few to no assets. Or maybe you have a house, car, a pension or 401K, and some personal items, and that's it. Or you are worth millions. It doesn't matter. What it comes down to is whether you want to dictate what happens with yourself and your assets in the future, or whether you want California's default rules to make all of these decisions for you.

Some basic estate planning tools that almost everyone needs (note: these items will vary with the contents and size of your estate, and your family situation - always consult an attorney when making an estate plan):
(1) Advanced Health Care Directive and HIPAA Release: Designates who can make medical decisions for you and who can have access to your private medical records if you can't do this for yourself.
(2) Durable Power of Attorney for Assets: Designates someone to manage your assets if you become unable to do so yourself. (I.e., manage your bank accounts, pay your bills, take care of your finances, etc.)
(3) Will: Designates who (or what - i.e., a trust) will receive your assets after your death. Otherwise, California law has "default" rules as to who will receive your assets. Also, if you have minor kids, you can designate a guardian to care for your kids in the event of your death.
(4) Revocable Living Trust: If your will designates a trust to receive your assets, the trust provides for how your assets will be distributed and if properly drafted (usually) minimizes the costs and burden associated with Probate Court after your death.

The California State Bar has a pamphlet which gives a nice overview of many of these issues: http://www.calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/publications/Pamphlet_Estate-Planning_English.pdf

This post is not intended to be legal advice-- always consult an estate planning attorney to discuss these issues, because estate plans involve many complicated issues that a professional should analyze.