Estate Planning Secrets Every Family Must Know!
Estate planning attorney Andrew Dósa gives two main reasons to plan: cost and confusion. Without a plan, an estate goes through probate—a public proceeding that can consume roughly 5–10% of its value in statutory fees and, in California, often takes around nine months, or a year or more for real estate. A trust avoids it.
Excerpt summaries from the video and transcripts · how we make them
Answered by Andrew Dósa · Tacoma, WA and Oakland, CA
Highlights
— the two core reasons to plan: cost and confusion
— how probate fees scale with the size of your estate
— why probate can lose 5 to 10% of an estate to fees
— the Hegstadt petition a missing trust transfer can trigger
— the realistic timeline: a year or more for real estate to clear
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do you need an estate plan?
For two core reasons: cost and confusion. Without a plan, an estate goes through probate, which is both public and expensive.
How much does probate cost?
Probate fees scale with the size of the estate—statutory fees can consume roughly 5 to 10% of its value.
How much of an estate can probate consume?
Roughly 5 to 10% of the estate's value can be lost to probate fees, a major reason people set up a trust to avoid it.
What is a Hegstadt petition?
It's a court petition that becomes necessary when an asset that should have been transferred into a trust wasn't—a missing transfer can trigger this added, avoidable step.
How long does probate take?
In California it often runs around nine months, and a year or more when real estate is involved, before the estate clears.
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