{"id":524,"date":"2014-03-05T23:20:47","date_gmt":"2014-03-06T07:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.westsidemommy.com\/site\/?p=524"},"modified":"2016-02-07T21:05:22","modified_gmt":"2016-02-08T05:05:22","slug":"wills-trusts-planning-for-what-if-part-2-of-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westsidemommy.com\/site\/wills-trusts-planning-for-what-if-part-2-of-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Wills & Trusts: Planning for \u201cWhat if\u2026\u201d (Part 2 of 4)"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a continuation of last week\u2019s informational post on Wills and Trusts<\/a>, a Q&A with Steve Araiza<\/strong>, a lawyer in West L.A.<\/p>\n

Steve Araiza is a work-from-home dad that says his primary job is taking care of his one year old daughter, Isla.\u00a0 But when he\u2019s not wrangling a toddler he spends his spare time preparing estate plans.\u00a0 He graduated from UCLA Law in 2009 with a specialization in business law, specifically focusing on taxation.\u00a0 After graduating from law school, he worked with Southern California Edison until Isla came along and decided to build his own legal practice.\u00a0 You can find him online at\u00a0www.thinktrusts.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Disclosure: While Steve Araiza is a lawyer, he is not offering legal advice. Posts on legal matters are intended to provide legal information and do not create an attorney\/client relationship.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Q. \u00a0Regarding a will, what is valid in the state of California? \u00a0What is the difference (if any) between using a lawyer, online legal document preparation services, software, or writing it yourself on a piece of paper?<\/h4>\n

A.<\/h4>\n

As I said earlier, a will<\/strong> is just a document that lays out what your wishes are if you should die.\u00a0 The way that you create your will is your choice, but what you want at the end of the day is a document that will be considered valid during the probate process<\/strong>.\u00a0 I can\u2019t really speak to wills from other sources, but obviously when you\u2019re dealing with legal code, that you may not be familiar with, it never hurts to talk to someone who understands those codes, and that\u2019s where an attorney comes in.\u00a0 I also can\u2019t speak for every attorney, but from what I\u2019ve seen, wills drafted by an attorney can start at about $500 and a trust can cost from $1600 to $3000 depending on complexity.\u00a0 But, these documents, if drafted correctly the first time, can save a lot of time and hassle for your beneficiaries.\u00a0 After that, the process of updating or amending a will or trust should be more affordable as long as there hasn\u2019t been a major change in the law or in your personal or financial situation.<\/p>\n