Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Probate
My husband and I have been married for 15 years. He has no previous spouse nor children, I have one ex-husband and two grown children.
I moved into my husband's home 15 yrs ago, I did not own any real estate.
Both my husband and I have worked full-time throughout our marriage. My husband paid off the mortgage to the house 4 years ago. I have contributed to household expenses throughout our marriage, and have provided for most of the household expenses over the last 4 years.
We have one shared bank acct, where I deposit my check for most household expenses. He has a checking and savings account in his name only. The deed to the house (worth $900,000) is in his name only.
What will happen if he dies before me? I would like to stay in our home. Will his estate have to go into probate, how much would that cost me? What would happen to his bank accts, could I access them?
I know it would be best if he included me on the accts and deed. However, if he won't, I need to know the best way to protect myself. Would a living trust (leaving everything to me only if he passed) protect me? Although it is not an issue, I think he's afraid to include me on anything before he dies, in case of divorce.
Thanks.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Probate
Read the LawGuru question and answer database to view the true stories of people who didn't make estate plans, and the resulting human wreckage.
Re: Probate
If you are the surviving spouse at his passing, and he does not prepare some form of estate planning, then everything will pass to you as the surviving spouse. Additionally, any payments made towards the mortgage during the marriage, no matter who made them or in whomevers name, are considered to be community property payments and are owned by both of you.
As a trust and estate attorney, I can spew the benefits of a trust to you a million different ways, but only you can actually come in and prepare one. The benefits outweigh the cost tremendously. Perhaps you can read up on the benefits on one of our sites located at No-Probate.com. I tried to make that our informative site while PasadenaEstatePlanning.com is more of our business site.
Regardless who you use, a trust is better than a will (you will see the differences noted on the No-Probate site) and a will is etter than nothing. But, by all means, please do something, you do not want your children to have to deal with Probate (this means making a trust) or have to fight over who gets what (this is the minimal for a will).
If you would like to discuss this matter further in a more private forum, please feel free to contact me directly at the email address provided by LawGuru or through our firm�s website located at PasadenaEstatePlanning.com
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