Estate Planning Attorney in Ojai

California law does not automatically treat a stepchild as a child for inheritance. Under Probate Code section 6454, a stepchild inherits through a stepparent who dies without a plan only in narrow circumstances. The relationship must have begun while the child was a minor and lasted through their joint lives. It must also be shown by clear and convincing evidence that the stepparent would have adopted the child but for a legal barrier. 

Because that standard is hard to meet, the practical answer is to name every child you want included. Consider a couple who each assumed the other's plan named all four children. When they compared documents, each plan named only that spouse's two children. Adding each child by name, and updating their beneficiary forms to match, corrected the problem.

Every adult faces the decision of who will act for them during an illness. Retirees often care more about these documents than about a will, because they work while you are alive. The California Courts page on options for helping someone with an impairment explains that a directive needs either a notary or two witnesses. 

Consider a retiree who named her oldest son as agent because he was the oldest. He lives across the country. When she was hospitalized, her neighbor and longtime friend was at the bedside but had no authority to speak for her. Choosing someone nearby often matters more than birth order. The same care applies to the agent named in a financial power of attorney.

Ojai is in Ventura County. According to the county court's probate division page, every probate matter is filed and heard at the Juvenile and Probate Courthouse in Oxnard. The firm's office, where that paperwork is prepared, is located at 484 Mobil Avenue, Suite 26, Camarillo, CA 93010. 

Consider an Ojai resident named as executor in a friend's will. The executor wants to know where the petition goes and who has to appear. Gold Law files the petition with the Ventura County Superior Court, serves the required notices and appears at the hearing.

Many families have relatives elsewhere in western Ventura County. Gold Law also plans for clients in Ventura, Santa Paula and Oxnard, and the attorneys and services stay the same. Relatives in different cities can keep their plans with one firm. 

Consider an Ojai resident whose adult children live in two different cities down the valley. The parent wants one plan that works for the whole family. Each child can be named as agent or trustee for the role that suits them, with attention to who can act quickly. 

Gold Law works with families in every Ventura County city and in a set of nearby Los Angeles County communities. When family members live apart, a review every few years or after any move keeps the named agents and trustees current. After each change, send every agent and trustee an updated copy.