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ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEY IN WEST HILLS, CA
Estate planning should leave you with less questions, not more.
I help West Hills families create estate plans based around a living trust designed to avoid probate, Medi-Cal estate recovery, and protecting assets.
Licensed 36 years | UCLA School of Law | Flat-fee living trusts | Free Consultation
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Do I Need a Living Trust If I Already Have a Will?
Yes. A will and a living trust do different jobs. A will directs who receives probate assets and can nominate guardians for minor children, but it generally does not avoid probate.
A properly funded living trust can hold assets during life, provide for management during incapacity, and allow trust assets to pass after death without formal probate.
Many California estate plans use both: the trust as the main planning document and a pour-over will as a backup for assets left outside the trust.
In 2026, Medi-Cal can seek reimbursement from probate assets (all non-exempt assets that pass through your probate estate). One way to keep assets out of probate is a properly drafted and funded living trust.
See Cal. Prob. Code §§6100 et seq., 15400–15402.
Does a will keep my West Hills home out of probate?
No. A will does not by itself keep a West Hills home out of probate. If the home is titled solely in your name at death and no other nonprobate transfer applies, the property may still require probate even if your will clearly says who should receive it.
A properly funded living trust can usually avoid that result because the home is already owned by the trust.
See Cal. Prob. Code §§6100 et seq., 7000, 13050.
What does a living trust do that a will does not?
A living trust can own and manage assets during your lifetime, provide continuity if you become incapacitated, and allow properly funded trust assets to pass after death without formal probate.
A will generally becomes operative at death and directs distribution of probate assets; it can also nominate guardians and an executor, but it does not itself avoid probate.
See Cal. Prob. Code §§6100, 15400–15402, 16000 et seq.; Estate of Heggstad (1993) 16 Cal.App.4th 943.
Can I have both a will and a living trust?
Yes. In fact, that is common. The living trust usually serves as the main vehicle for managing and distributing trust assets, while a pour-over will acts as a backup for assets left outside the trust.
The will can also nominate guardians for minor children and an executor. But if an asset must pass under the pour-over will, probate may still be required before that asset reaches the trust.
So the two documents work together—but proper trust funding is what usually makes probate avoidance possible.
What Happens If I Die Without an Estate Plan in West Hills ?
If you die without an estate plan in California, state law—not your personal wishes—determines who receives probate assets. Property may pass through intestate succession, and a court may need to appoint someone to administer the estate. Cal. Prob. Code §§6400–6402.
If you become incapacitated before death and have no durable power of attorney, advance health care directive, or effective trust provisions, your family may have to seek court authority through a conservatorship.
The practical risk is losing control over who inherits, who manages your affairs, and how much court involvement your family faces.
If you currently receive Medi-Cal (or likely to receive Medi-Cal) benefits for in-home or long term care, a carefully drafted and properly funded living trust may keep your house outside the probate estate that is subject to Medi-Cal recovery after death.
Who inherits my West Hills home if I die without a will or trust?
That depends on how the home is owned and which relatives survive you. If it is community property, a surviving spouse generally receives the decedent’s half. Separate property may be divided between the spouse and children depending on family structure. If there is no spouse, children generally inherit first, followed by parents and more remote relatives. Cal. Prob. Code §§6401–6402.
Without a trust or other nonprobate transfer, the home may still require probate before title changes.
Will my family have to go through probate if I die without a trust?
Not necessarily. Probate depends on how your assets are titled and whether they already have a nonprobate transfer mechanism.
Property held in joint tenancy, community property with right of survivorship, retirement accounts or life insurance with valid beneficiaries, and POD/TOD accounts may pass without probate. Smaller estates may also qualify for simplified procedures.
But if your West Hills home or other major assets are titled solely in your name with no valid nonprobate transfer, formal probate may be required.
See Cal. Prob. Code §§5000, 13000 et seq.
Who will manage my finances and health care if I become incapacitated without estate-planning documents?
For finances, no one automatically gets full authority simply because they are your spouse or child. If you cannot manage your financial resources and no effective power of attorney or trust mechanism exists, a court may need to appoint a conservator of the estate. Cal. Prob. Code §1801(b).
Health care is different. If you have no agent or other legally recognized decision-maker, a health-care provider may select an appropriate surrogate—such as a spouse, adult child, parent, sibling, grandchild, relative, or close friend. Cal. Prob. Code §4712.
My Parents Died and I’m the Successor Trustee.
What Do I Do Now?
If both of your parents have died and you are now the successor trustee, your first job usually is not to start distributing assets. Your job is to figure out what the trust requires, what your parents owned, how each asset is titled, and what needs to happen before beneficiaries receive anything.
Start by reviewing the trust and any amendments, confirming that you are now the acting trustee, and identifying the beneficiaries. Then locate and secure the assets—including real estate, bank and investment accounts—and determine their date-of-death values. Depending on the trust and circumstances, you may also need a new tax identification number (EIN), a trustee bank account, tax returns, creditor notices, appraisals and an accounting.
Read more...
What should I do first after becoming successor trustee?
If your parents died and you are the successor trustee, start by reading the trust and confirming that you are the person authorized to act. Then obtain certified death certificates, secure trust property, identify accounts and real estate, determine values as of death, and avoid distributing anything prematurely.
California trustees must administer the trust according to its terms and fiduciary duties. Beneficiaries and heirs generally must receive the statutory trust notice within 60 days after the trustee learns that the trust became irrevocable because of death. Cal. Prob. Code §§16000, 16061.7.
Do I need to notify beneficiaries or creditors after my parents die?
Usually, yes. A successor trustee generally must send the statutory Notification by Trustee to beneficiaries and heirs within 60 days after the trust becomes irrevocable because of death or after the trustee learns of the triggering event. Cal. Prob. Code §16061.7.
Creditor notice is different. A trustee may invoke California’s formal trust creditor-claim procedure under Prob. Code §19003; if used, publication and direct notice requirements apply under §§19040–19050.
Do not distribute assets until potential debts and claims are addressed.
How do I transfer, sell, or distribute my parents’ trust assets correctly?
Follow the trust terms first. As successor trustee, you generally have authority to manage and sell trust property, but every transaction must serve the trust and beneficiaries—not your personal interests. See Cal. Prob. Code §§16000, 16002, 16040.
Before distributing assets, identify debts and taxes, obtain appropriate valuations, keep detailed records, and determine exactly what each beneficiary is entitled to receive.
For real estate, the trustee may sell the property or deed it directly to beneficiaries if the trust permits. Do not rush distributions simply because beneficiaries are asking for their shares.
My Spouse Died Years Ago and We Never Split
Our A/B Trust. What Do I Do Now?
It may not be too late to fix it. If your A/B trust required a division after your spouse died and that never happened, the first step is to figure out what the trust required and what the trust owned on the date your spouse died.
That may mean reviewing the trust, old deeds and financial records. If the trust owned real estate, you may also need an appraisal showing what the property was worth on the date of death. That value can matter when dividing the trust and determining the property's tax basis.
Read more ...
What happens if we never formally divided the A/B trust after my spouse died?
The trust does not necessarily stay fully revocable just because the A/B division was never completed. If the trust required the deceased spouse’s share to become irrevocable at death, that obligation may still exist.
The surviving spouse may need to reconstruct what the trust owned at the first death, determine each spouse’s share, obtain historical values, and allocate assets accordingly. Later sales, refinances, or retitling can make that accounting harder.
California courts recognize that required subtrust interests can exist even without formal funding. Manson v. Shepherd (2010) 188 Cal.App.4th 1244.
How do I figure out which assets belonged in the survivor’s trust and which belonged in the deceased spouse’s trust?
Start with the trust language and the assets owned at the first spouse’s death. Then review deeds, bank and brokerage statements, business interests, and other records to determine ownership and whether property was community or separate property.
For an older A/B trust, you may also need date-of-death values or retrospective appraisals to reconstruct the required allocation.
The key is to recreate the estate as it existed at the first death before deciding what belongs in each subtrust.
Can I still fix an old A/B trust years later if property was sold, refinanced, or retitled?
Sometimes, yes—but it can become much more complicated.
If property was sold, refinanced, or moved into the survivor’s name, you may need to trace what happened after the first spouse died and determine whether proceeds or replacement assets should have been allocated to the deceased spouse’s irrevocable share.
That may require old deeds, escrow records, account statements, tax returns, and retrospective appraisals. In difficult cases, court instructions or a Probate Code §850 petition may be needed.
The longer the delay, the harder the reconstruction usually becomes.
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How Much Does Probate Cost in West Hills ?
West Hills homeowners have watched values climb while debating major local development, including the Woodlake Apartments project at the former Circle S Ranch property. Today, West Hills’ median sale price is about $1,047,143.
At that value, California’s statutory formula produces approximately:
Attorney: $23,471
Personal representative: $23,471
Combined: $46,943
—and that is before court filing fees, probate-referee fees, publication, accounting, property expenses, or extraordinary fees. California calculates these ordinary fees using gross estate value without subtracting mortgages. Prob. Code §§10800, 10810.
For a West Hills homeowner, probate can therefore consume roughly $50,000 or more that could otherwise remain with the family.
Why can probate cost more than the statutory attorney fee?
Because the statutory attorney fee is only one part of the total probate bill. A West Hills estate may also incur compensation for the personal representative, court filing fees, probate referee appraisal fees, publication costs, certified copies, bond premiums, accounting or tax-preparation fees, and expenses connected with selling or maintaining property.
California also permits extraordinary compensation for work beyond ordinary probate administration, subject to court approval. See Cal. Prob. Code §§10800, 10810, 10811.
So when families ask what probate “costs,” the real answer is broader than the lawyer’s statutory percentage.
Does California calculate probate fees on the gross value of my West Hills home or only my equity?
Beyond statutory attorney fees, a West Hills probate estate may also pay personal-representative compensation, court filing fees, publication costs, probate-referee appraisal fees, bond premiums, accounting and tax-preparation fees, property carrying costs, real-estate commissions, creditor claims, and taxes.
If unusual work is required—litigation, complicated tax issues, difficult property sales, or contested matters—the court may also approve extraordinary attorney or representative fees. See Cal. Prob. Code §§10800, 10810–10811.
So the real cost of probate is often substantially more than the headline statutory attorney fee.
What other probate expenses can reduce what my family actually inherits?
Probate can involve much more than the statutory attorney and personal-representative fees. Other expenses may include court filing fees, probate referee appraisal fees, publication costs, bond premiums, property insurance, maintenance, accounting or tax-preparation fees, real-estate sale expenses, and sometimes additional “extraordinary” attorney or representative fees for unusually complicated work. Those costs are generally paid from the estate before beneficiaries receive their inheritance, so the amount actually distributed can be significantly less than the estate’s gross value. California Probate Code §§ 8960, 10801, 10811.
How Should West Hills Families Keep Their Estate Plan Ready for a Medical Emergency?
An estate plan should work when your family actually needs it, not merely sit in a binder. For West Hills families, that means periodically reviewing your advance health care directive, HIPAA authorization, durable power of attorney, and trust incapacity provisions—especially after changing doctors, hospitals, agents, or family circumstances.
If a medical emergency sends you to a West Hills-area hospital, the practical question is whether the people you chose can obtain information, make decisions, and manage your affairs without unnecessary delay.
How do I know if I should update my HIPAA authorization ?
Review it whenever the people, providers, or medical systems involved in your care change. For West Hills families, that may be especially relevant if records exist in both UCLA West Valley Medical Center’s myUCLAhealth system and the former West Hills Hospital/HCA MyHealthONE system for care before March 11, 2025.
Also review it if your named agent has died, moved away, or is no longer the person you want receiving information; if your authorization has expired; or if its scope is too narrow. HIPAA requires an authorization to state who may disclose and receive information, what information is covered, and an expiration date or event.
Age alone does not invalidate a HIPAA authorization—the real question is whether it is still valid and still works for your current family and medical situation.
Is a HIPAA authorization part of an estate plan ?
Yes. A HIPAA authorization complements your advance health care directive by allowing the people you name to obtain protected medical information when needed. That can matter locally if your records are spread among UCLA West Valley Medical Center (formerly West Hills Hospital), Kaiser Woodland Hills, specialists, or other Valley providers. UCLA notes that older West Hills Hospital records may even remain in a different patient portal.
HIPAA access is governed federally by 45 C.F.R. §§164.502(g), 164.524; California health-care directives are governed by Prob. Code §§4670–4688.
Did you receive care at West Hills Hospital before March 11, 2025 ?
In March 2024, UCLA Health acquired West Hills Hospital and renamed it UCLA West Valley Medical Center. The 260-bed facility joined UCLA's health system to expand access to care for San Fernando Valley residents.
If you were a patient at the old West Hills Hospital, your medical records transitioned to UCLA's systems. Patients who received care before March 11, 2025 can still access their records through the MyHealthONE portal . Patients after that date use myUCLAhealth.
Here's what most people don't realize: when medical records move between systems, the standard HIPAA authorizations in your estate plan may not automatically transfer. If your healthcare agent needs to access your records and you haven't updated your authorizations, they could face delays — or be denied access entirely.
UCLA's own medical records team requires a signed Authorization for Release of Health Information form . Without that form in your estate plan — properly executed and witnessed — your family could be filling out paperwork during a crisis instead of focusing on your care.
The hospital has a new name. Your HIPAA form needs a new signature.
When Should I Update My Estate Plan?
West Hills families should update an estate plan whenever a major family, financial, health, or property change makes the existing documents less accurate or less practical.
Common triggers include buying or refinancing a home, marriage or divorce, births, deaths, changes in trustees or agents, new business interests, or major changes in assets. Even without a major event, periodic review helps confirm that the trust is still funded, beneficiary designations still match the plan, and fiduciary choices still make sense.
California generally allows revocable trusts to be amended while the settlor has capacity. See Cal. Prob. Code §§15400–15402.
Do I need to update my trust after buying, selling, or refinancing my West Hills home?
Often, yes—or at least review the trust funding afterward.
If you buy a new home, make sure the deed places it into the trust if probate avoidance is the goal. After a sale, update your records to reflect that the property is gone. Refinancing can sometimes result in title being temporarily removed from the trust, so confirm the recorded deed afterward.
The key question is simple: after the transaction, is your West Hills home still titled consistently with your estate plan? See Cal. Prob. Code §§15200, 15400–15402.
Should I change my estate plan after marriage, divorce, a birth, or a death in the family?
Yes. Those events can change who should inherit, who should serve as trustee or agent, and how your plan should operate.
Marriage may require coordinating community and separate property. Divorce can revoke or alter some provisions benefiting a former spouse. A new child may require changes to beneficiary and guardian provisions. A death may require replacing a trustee, agent, executor, or beneficiary.
Rather than relying on California default rules, review the trust, will, fiduciary appointments, deeds, and beneficiary designations after any major family change. See Cal. Prob. Code §§6122, 21620.
How often should I review my trust if nothing major has changed?
There is no California law requiring a fixed review schedule, but reviewing your estate plan every 3–5 years is a practical rule of thumb.
The purpose is to confirm that your trust still reflects your wishes, your trustees and agents are still appropriate, major assets are properly titled, and beneficiary designations still match the plan.
Review sooner if there is a major change involving your family, health, real estate, business, finances, or tax law.
The goal is not constant rewriting—it is making sure the plan still matches your life.
Serving West Hills and the Surrounding San Fernando Valley
I help families throughout West Hills Hills, including neighborhoods in the West Valley near Shoup, Fallbrook, Roscoe and beyond, I offer flat fee estate planning with no surprises.