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LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

Depending upon the type and value of the assets you have, your Estate Plan will include either a Stand-Alone Will or Pour-Over Will both of which, affirm your wishes, as the Testator, to administer your estate in a certain manner.

The Stand Alone Will usually requires administration through the Probate process and directs the Probate Court to appoint an Executor, who is the person you have designated in your Will. The Executor shall take control of your assets, and ultimately distribute them, with Court approval, as you have provided in your Will. In California, especially in Los Angeles County, the Probate process takes twelve to eighteen months, and is a public administration.

The Pour-Over Will also directs the disposition of your assets, but instead of going through the Probate Court, the administration directs the disposition of your assets through your Revocable Living Trust. Unless there is a problem in the administrative process, there shall be no need to have a public administration through the Probate Court, instead the process is private and often much quicker than through the Court.

One of the most important aspects of either type Will is that it sets forth your wishes for the guardianship of your minor children, if that should become necessary.  Within the Will, you will designate the person or persons you trust to care for your children in the event of your premature death. The formal process of appointing the Guardian(s) is through the Court for the absolute protection of the children.

A Holographic Will is a handwritten Will, written, not dictated, by the Testator, and sets forth your wishes for the disposition of your assets. A Holographic Will does not require witnesses, so long as it is in the Testator’s handwriting, it is signed and dated by the Testator, and it states that it is the Testator’s intent to dispose of some or all of your assets. If you direct your assets to a previously created Revocable Living Trust, then it will serve as a Pour-Over Will.  If you simply direct your assets to individuals or charities, the Holographic Will will need to be administered in the Probate Court.

It is very important to remember that in California, and probably most other states, Wills should be executed under certain legal formalities. A improperly executed Will can invalidate the entire document, so if you do not use an attorney to work with you in the preparation of your documents, be sure to understand what the requirements are.