Are you looking for an estate planning lawyer in Santa Monica, CA?
At The Werner Law Firm, PC, we are estate planning lawyers with 50 years of experience guiding clients through complex matters.
If you have accounts, property, or people who depend on you, an estate plan determines who will manage your affairs if you become incapacitated and who will receive your assets after your death. Without one, those decisions fall to California's default rules and, in many cases, to the probate court.
Our Santa Monica, CA estate planning lawyer prepares wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives that reflect your family, your assets, and your priorities. Consultations are available in English and Spanish, and Santa Monica residents can meet with us at our Los Angeles office on National Boulevard. We do not charge for the initial consultation. Contact us to arrange an appointment.
Only 27.9% of Santa Monica housing units are owner-occupied, according to Census Bureau housing data. Residents who rent still hold bank accounts, retirement savings, vehicles, and digital assets, and each of those passes under the state's default rules if no plan is in place.
Estate planning is the process of preparing legal documents that direct how your property is managed and distributed and who may make financial and medical decisions on your behalf. A plan can be as simple as a will and a few supporting documents or as detailed as a funded trust with provisions for several generations. An estate planning attorney in Santa Monica recommends the documents your circumstances require and drafts them so that they work together.
Clients come to us at every stage of life, from young professionals signing their first documents to retirees revising plans prepared decades ago. Our Santa Monica estate planning attorneys handle the following matters.
Wills. A will names the people who will receive your property and the executor who will settle your estate. For parents of minor children, it is also the document that nominates a guardian. Residents who rent and hold modest savings often need little more than a will, a durable power of attorney, and a health care directive.
Revocable living trusts. A funded living trust allows your successor trustee to manage and distribute trust property without a probate proceeding. We explain how revocable trusts work before recommending one, particularly for clients who own a home.
Trusts. Some goals call for an irrevocable trust, a spendthrift trust, or a trust for a beneficiary who receives public benefits. We draft each trust for the purpose it is intended to serve.
Powers of attorney. A durable power of attorney authorizes a trusted agent to handle your finances if you become incapacitated. It allows your accounts and bills to be managed without a court proceeding.
Advance health care directives. This document records your treatment preferences and appoints a health care agent. Drafting it together with your power of attorney keeps the financial and medical roles distinct.
Beneficiary designation review. Retirement accounts and life insurance pass to the beneficiaries named on file with the institution. We review those designations because a beneficiary designation can override the instructions in your will.
Plans for single and child-free clients. Without a spouse or children, California's default rules may send your estate to relatives you would not have chosen. We help single and child-free clients name the people and charities they intend to benefit.
Plans for unmarried partners. Unmarried partners who are not registered domestic partners generally do not inherit from each other under the default rules. We prepare documents that provide for a partner and that address non-traditional family arrangements.
Plan reviews and updates. Marriage, divorce, a move, or a new child can make an existing plan inaccurate. We review prior documents and prepare amendments or restatements where needed.
L. Rob Werner founded the firm and has 50 years of legal practice. His son, Troy Werner, earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania, joined the firm in 2009, and has practiced for 17 years. Troy is certified in Estate Planning, Trusts, and Probate Law under California's specialist certification standards, which require an examination, ongoing specialized education, and favorable evaluations from judges and other attorneys. The firm has assisted thousands of California clients with wills, trusts, and related planning.
Every engagement begins with a free consultation. During that meeting, we review your family circumstances and assets, identify the documents your situation calls for, and provide a written fee quote. You decide whether to proceed only after you understand the scope and cost of the work. Our attorneys also explain how each document will function, so that you and the people you appoint know what to expect when the plan is put into use.
Most plans rely on a small group of core documents, each assigned a specific role.
Last will and testament. Distributes property held in your individual name, appoints your executor, and nominates guardians for minor children.
Revocable living trust. Holds title to your assets during your lifetime and allows a successor trustee to distribute them after your death without court supervision.
Durable power of attorney. Gives a financial agent authority to act for you if you lose capacity.
Advance health care directive. States your medical preferences and names your health care agent.
Beneficiary designations. Direct retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable-on-death accounts to named recipients outside of your will.
The documents you need depend on your assets, your family, and whether avoiding probate is a priority.
An estate plan is only as effective as the follow-through that accompanies it. The following issues determine whether a plan works as intended.
Funding the trust. A trust controls only the assets titled in its name. Real estate and accounts left outside the trust may need to pass through probate.
Choosing fiduciaries. Your executor, trustee, and agents should be capable, available, and willing to serve, and each should have a named alternate.
Coordinating designations. Account beneficiaries must match the rest of the plan, or the institution's records will control what happens.
Avoiding probate. Trusts, joint ownership, and transfer-on-death arrangements are among the ways to avoid probate, and each has advantages and limitations.
Keeping the plan current. We recommend a review after any major life event, and the reasons to update a plan extend well beyond marriage and divorce.
The following information allows our estate planning lawyers in Santa Monica to recommend the right documents during the first meeting.
A list of your assets, including bank, brokerage, and retirement accounts, and any real estate
Current beneficiary designations for retirement accounts and life insurance
Names of the people you would choose as executor, trustee, agents, and guardians
Any existing will, trust, or power of attorney
We review this information with you and explain each available option before any drafting begins.
Most clients sign a complete plan a few weeks after the initial consultation. After that meeting, we prepare draft documents and send them to you for review. We revise the drafts after you have had time to consider each provision and then schedule the signing appointment with a notary and any required witnesses.
When a trust is part of the plan, the final stage is funding. For clients who own a home, our estate planning attorneys in Santa Monica, CA prepare the deed that transfers the property into the trust, and financial institutions retitle accounts in the trustee's name. Plans that involve a business, property in another state, or a beneficiary who receives public benefits may take longer, because each requires additional coordination.
The following organizations offer information and services that complement the work of an estate planning lawyer in Santa Monica.
The LA Law Library provides free legal research help at the Santa Monica Public Library's Main Library on Santa Monica Boulevard.
The same library offers an on-demand class titled Wills & Trusts: Where You Begin, which compares wills and trusts and introduces advanced health care directives.
WISE & Healthy Aging is a Santa Monica nonprofit that offers care management, caregiver resources, and elder abuse prevention services for older adults and their families.
An estate plan prepared now determines who will act for you and who will inherit, rather than leaving those decisions to the court. Contact us to schedule a free consultation with a Santa Monica estate planning lawyer. At that meeting, we will discuss your assets and goals, outline the documents we recommend, and quote our fee before drafting starts.
The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship! See full disclaimer here.
