A complete Will & Trust package gives you the freedom to distribute your assets to whom you choose, how you choose to do it, at any time of your choosing. In California, if an individual dies intestate (without a Will or Trust) and owns a home, the entire estate enters into a process called Probate. Their estate will enter into a lengthy, expensive and public court process to determine the full value of your estate and to whom it will go.
In that case, regardless of your wishes or relationship status with family members and other loved ones, a court will decide how all your property and assets are distributed. If you don’t want a judge who doesn’t know anything about you or your family to determine who receives everything you’ve worked so hard for, it’s vitally important to make those wishes known by creating a Trust. At Vanguard, we have drafted more than 23,000 Trusts and not one has ever gone to Probate.