The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors With our team of experienced estate planning attorneys, we have compiled this resource to empower you to make informed decisions and take estate planning California proactive steps toward securing your financial future. Estate planning is a crucial aspect of financial management that often gets overlooked or postponed. It's an expensive court process that exposes your assets, debts and family to the public record and usually takes a year or longer. But, if you have assets that would go through probate, then you need a Revocable Living Trus You revoke the trust if circumstances change estate planning California dramatically. You cannot change these terms, remove assets, or revoke the trust. The trust document specifies who benefits from the trust and when. A trustee (who might not be you) manages the trust assets. Requires Upfront Wo For over 50 years, Nolo’s team of experts has created top-rated legal books, forms, and software to help everyday people resolve their legal issues. Whether it’s another article, a book, a form, or a connection to an attorney, we’ve got solutions for all situations. Please expect to hear from these attorneys within one business day. Based on your responses, the program produces a living trust document customized for you and your situation. By contrast, property left through a trust can be distributed to your beneficiaries almost immediately, and often without the need for an attorney. Property left through a will (rather than a living trust) might be tied up for months or even years in probate court and could involve court costs and lawyers' fee This type of trust acts as a legal entity that holds property and other assets, allowing them to be distributed without the time-consuming and often costly probate process.