Estate Planning, Trust & Probate FAQ

You talk with Elaine about your family, what you own, any existing documents and what you want a plan or an administration to accomplish. You leave with a clearer picture of the options and the next steps. The consultation is free and creates no obligation.

Bring any existing will or trust with amendments, recent deeds, a rough list of accounts with approximate values, retirement and life insurance beneficiary information, business documents if you own a company, and your questions. For an administration, also bring the death certificate and the will or trust.

The office is at 10270 Donner Pass Road in Truckee. If travel is difficult, ask about meeting arrangements when you call. The firm serves clients across the Lake Tahoe region, the Northern Sierra, Sacramento and the Central Valley, and the Bay Area.

You work directly with Elaine Andrews, a State Bar of California Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law who began her estate planning practice in 1992.

No. Calling, emailing or submitting the website form does not create an attorney–client relationship. Please avoid sending confidential details until the firm confirms it can help with your matter.

A will takes effect at death and, when assets outside a trust exceed the small-estate limit, is carried out through probate. A revocable living trust holds title to assets during your life, names a successor trustee to manage them if you become incapacitated, and lets funded assets pass at death without probate.

It can be. A holographic will is valid if the signature and the material provisions are in your own handwriting (Probate Code §6111). A formal will must be signed in the presence of two witnesses who are present at the same time (Probate Code §6110). Handwritten wills are a frequent source of disputes, so they deserve careful review.

Yes. A pour-over will directs any asset left outside the trust into it, and it is where you nominate guardians for minor children.

Funding means retitling assets — real estate, bank and brokerage accounts — into the name of the trustee. A trust only controls what it owns; an unfunded trust can leave a family facing probate anyway.

Retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k) plans, and health savings accounts, stay in individual ownership and pass by beneficiary designation. Vehicles, some business interests and annuities need an asset-by-asset review before any change of title.

Review after marriage, divorce, a birth or death in the family, a move, the purchase or sale of property or a business, or a significant change in tax law. Without those events, a check every few years keeps documents and titles aligned.

It names an agent to handle financial matters for you. “Durable” means it stays effective if you lose capacity (Probate Code §4124). Without one, your family may need a court conservatorship to manage your finances.

It names a health care agent and records your instructions about medical treatment, including end-of-life care. California provides a statutory form (Probate Code §4701), though many plans use a tailored document.

A family member may have to petition the court for a conservatorship of the person, the estate or both. A funded trust, a durable power of attorney and a health care directive are the usual ways to avoid that.

Usually. A HIPAA authorization lets the people you name receive medical information, which helps agents and successor trustees act quickly when they need to.

Generally when someone dies owning assets in their own name — without a beneficiary designation, joint tenancy or trust — worth more than $208,850 in gross value (deaths on or after April 1, 2025). Assets in a funded trust, in joint tenancy or with a beneficiary designation pass outside probate.

Many California probates take a year or longer. The four-month creditor claim period, court calendars, real estate sales, tax filings and any disputes all affect the timeline.

California sets statutory compensation on the value of the estate: 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000 and 1% of the next $9 million, with smaller percentages above that (Probate Code §10800, §10810). Extraordinary services can be requested separately from the court.

In the Superior Court of the county where the person lived (Probate Code §7051): Nevada County for Truckee; Placer County for Tahoe City, Kings Beach and Homewood; Sierra County for Sierraville and Verdi.

An executor opens the probate, notifies heirs and creditors, inventories and appraises assets, pays valid debts and taxes, manages property during the administration and distributes what remains under court supervision.

The trustee secures assets, obtains date-of-death values, serves required notices, pays debts and expenses, handles final and trust tax returns, keeps beneficiaries informed, accounts for transactions and distributes according to the trust.

Within 60 days after a trust becomes irrevocable, the trustee serves notice on beneficiaries and heirs (Probate Code §16061.7). The notice starts a 120-day period to contest the trust (Probate Code §16061.8).

Yes. A trustee is entitled to the compensation the trust provides or, if the trust is silent, reasonable compensation under the circumstances (Probate Code §15681).

A Heggstad petition under Probate Code §850 can ask the court to confirm that an asset the settlor intended to transfer belongs to the trust, which may avoid a full probate.

No. California does not impose an estate tax, an inheritance tax or a gift tax. The federal estate tax applies only above the exemption, which is $15 million per person in 2026.

It is $19,000 per recipient in 2026. Gifts above that amount use part of your lifetime exemption and require a gift tax return, but usually no tax is due.

A child keeps a parent’s property tax base on the family home only if the child makes it a principal residence and files for the homeowners’ exemption within one year. Market value above the parent’s base plus $1,044,586 is added (transfers from February 16, 2025 to February 15, 2027). Cabins and rentals that are not the child’s principal residence are reassessed.

Inherited assets generally take a new tax basis equal to their value at death (Internal Revenue Code §1014), which can reduce capital gains tax when heirs sell. In California, both halves of community property can receive a new basis at the first spouse’s death.

A guardianship is for a minor child. A conservatorship is for an adult who cannot provide for personal needs or manage finances. Both are supervised by the court.

Often. Courts consider less restrictive alternatives first, such as a durable power of attorney, an advance health care directive, a trust with a successor trustee or supported decision-making (Probate Code §1800.3).

A conservatorship for an adult with a developmental disability, tailored to that person’s needs and designed to encourage independence (Probate Code §1801(d)).

It lets heirs collect personal property from banks and other holders without probate when qualifying property is $208,850 or less and at least 40 days have passed since the death (Probate Code §13100).

Sometimes. A petition to determine succession (Probate Code §13151) or, for real property of small value, an affidavit (Probate Code §13200) may apply. Which one fits depends on the date of death and the value of the property.

Joint tenancy property, accounts with payable-on-death or beneficiary designations, property passing to a surviving spouse and registered vehicles are generally excluded (Probate Code §13050).