Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

I did not include this in my answer to your prior post but will here. The answer is you probably should not do any fill in the blank documents unless you fully understand what you are doing. I have seen so many of these fail for bring the wrong forms, not having the right clauses and mostly being done wrong. I urge you to see an attorney for help. The price of doing it wrong is so high. You are not around to fix the mistakes.

I agree with Ms. Johnson, but if you must try DIY, use a Nolo Press publication/forms. They are fairly comprehensible by the layperson, and unlike most stationary store forms, are written to comply with CA law.

I agree with attorney Johnson that it is "penny wise and pound foolish" to attempt a "do it yourself" trust. I too have received a significant amount of income repairing "do it yourself" wills and trusts, in court, after the preparing persons death. A tongue-in-cheek analogy is your removing your appendix by use of a medical school textbook. The Nolo Press books are excellant guides for the most general and simple wills and trust but they cannot, by their own disclaimer, include the extraordinary circumstances that may not be obvious to the layman and which have unforseen results pursuant to California law. If you are motivated to have an estate plan, I applaud your common sense. Start by preparing a holographic will (a will in your own handwriting, dated and signed by yourself) that will assure your basic intentions are carried out if you die before consulting with an attorney and complete your estate plan. Get expert advice (an attorney). You pay for the professional work up front to avoid your heirs or beneficiaries paying signifcantly more after your death to fix the mess. Another old adage, "People never have money to do the job right the first time but they always have money to fix it later."