One of life’s displeasures

Luis Pena

You could call it one of life’s necessary evils.

Drawing up wills or trusts makes logical sense. It just isn’t

something that makes everyone feel good since it’s hard-copy proof of

the inevitable.

Like it or not, however, preparing such legal documents is vital,

Costa Mesa attorney Kirk McIntosh aid.

“It’s more than just thinking about getting a will,” he said.

There are two ways to proceed.

“There’s two general roads that they can travel,” McIntosh said.

“One is a will, the other is a living trust.”

The path that is taken by a person or a family depends on how they

want their estate treated after death. Both a will and a living trust

will transfer assets to a beneficiary such as children.

The main difference between the two is that under a living trust,

the person does not own the assets at the time of death. Instead,

they are owned by the living trust, McIntosh said, and can avoid a

long and costly probate that would establish the legitimacy of a

traditional will.

“First of all, they have to determine if they have an estate in

excess of $100,000, because under current law in California, if your

estate is under $100,000, it doesn’t have to go through probate

administration,” McIntosh said.Joint tenancies -- such as ownership

of a home -- do not require a will or trust because ownership goes to

the surviving partner, McIntosh said.

Another legal document people should consider drawing up is a

durable power of attorney for healthcare decisions and financial

matters. It allows a chosen person to make medical decisions for

someone who is incapacitated or to pay bills, buy, or sell assets in

that person’s name, McIntosh said.

Having this type of legal document avoids needing a

court-appointed conservator and saves family members time and money

by avoiding court, Macintosh said.

Glenn Zagoren, the chief executive of the Newport Harbor Nautical

Museum, said that he and his wife had a will drawn up when their

2-year-old daughter was born. They previously had no will because if

either spouse died, the surviving one would have received all of the

assets.

“Once there’s more planning in your life, once there’s more

assets, once you have family, I think that’s the boomer transition

that you’re now grown up, even though we hate to admit it,” Zagoren

said.

Zagoren said he doesn’t want to leave the decision to the court

about who gets his things. He also sleeps better at night because he

feels that it’s a type of insurance policy, which makes sure that

things will be taken care of if something happens.

Bob Hamilton, 44, and his wife, Karina, 42, of Corona del Mar do

not have a will because they have no children. They said they don’t

need one at the moment because if either one of them were to die, the

surviving member would get the assets.

“When you have a child, it’s real important, but for us, I don’t

feel as strongly about it,” Bob Hamilton said. “But the issue where

it comes up is what happens if we both die at the same time.”

He said that he and his wife will probably draw up a will or a

trust within the next couple of years to avoid anarchy with their

assets.

“In today’s world, a simple will is inexpensive, easy to produce,”

McIntosh said. “There’s no reason not to have one.”