Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: living will

A "living will" is not something we use here in California. Are you talking about a will or an advanced health care directive (similiar to a living will in other States)? Or are you referring to something else in entirely, like a revocable living trust?

Neither a "will" nor an advanced health care directive needs to be notarized to be valid in California, although most attorneys have the advanced health care directives notarized. If you are referring to a revocable living trust, then yes it should be notarized.

If you have a document that actually says "living will", my guess is your father probably downloaded it somewhere or is going off of a form. In this case, you may want to contact an attorney who handles estate planning to assist you. Not doing these things right to begin with, wind up costing families significantly more in the future.

Re: living will

As Mr. Burton points out, if you do not fully understand what a legal document means, you should not sign or use it. If it is not worth spending a few hundred dollars to get it right, then is there enough at stake to do anything? But if you do not understand it at all, go to the local library and read through some of the books on the subject, especially Nolo Press books that are written for non-lawyers. In order to ask an attorney the right questions, you have to know some of the right answers. If you walk into an attorney's office knowing almost nothing about a topic, you may not understand much of what the attorney tells you. Some legal matters are relatively easy to understand in a general sense.

Re: living will

If you are in CA you should use an Advance Healthcare Directive. Your dad should also have a Living Will, Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare, Pour-over Will, etc. Check out my book if you want. You can get it on-line beginning the 15th of November at www.IWant2CreateMyLegacy.com. It explains everything in plain English and includes sample documents and instructions as well. The book is called "Create Your Legacy & Save the American Middle Class. How You Can Protect Your Love Ones in the Event of Death or Disability (Without Paying Legal Fees)"