Pevney Estate Planning

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⚖️ Revocable Living Trusts • Wills • Powers of Attorney • Estate Planning
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Top-Rated California Estate Planning Firm
📍 Serving Orange County and clients throughout California
👇 Schedule a Free Consultation
www.ocestateplanlawyer.com

09/02/2026

Trusts Explained_ Why an Empty Trust is Powerless. Without anything inside of it is like an empty bucket. It has no power. This is the biggest and most common mistake. I see with DIY estate planning, and the estate plans created by lawyers who do not focus their practice on estate planning.

09/01/2026

When most people think about estate planning, they immediately think about a will or living trust. Those documents are important—but two of the most important estate planning documents are designed to protect you while you’re still alive.

In this video, I explain why I believe every adult should consider having two essential documents in place:

1. Financial Power of Attorney

A Financial Power of Attorney allows you to choose someone to handle financial matters on your behalf if you’re unable to do so yourself.

That can include dealing with bank accounts, paying bills, handling financial decisions, and taking care of other important financial matters during a period of incapacity.

And this isn’t just a document for someone with significant assets or real estate.

If your 18-year-old is heading off to college, for example, parents don’t necessarily have the automatic legal authority to step in and handle an adult child’s financial affairs simply because they’re the parents.

2. Advance Healthcare Directive

In California, an Advance Healthcare Directive can address two extremely important issues: your wishes concerning medical treatment and the people you want making healthcare decisions for you if you cannot make those decisions yourself.

You can provide instructions concerning end-of-life care and nominate the people you trust to make other medical decisions on your behalf.

That’s why these documents can be every bit as important as a will or trust. Estate planning isn’t only about deciding what happens to your property after you die. It’s also about deciding who can help you with your finances and healthcare while you’re alive if you can’t make those decisions yourself.

Whether you’re a homeowner, renter, parent, college student, young adult, or retiree, incapacity planning is an important part of a complete California estate plan.

My name is Michael Pevney. I’m an estate planning lawyer in California, and I create estate plans for California families.

For more information about California estate planning, living trusts, wills, Financial Powers of Attorney, Advance Healthcare Directives, and complete estate plans, visit:

https://www.ocestateplanlawyer.com/

Pevney Estate Planning, PC
25231 Paseo de Alicia, Suite 101
Laguna Hills, CA 92653

08/31/2026

If you have a mortgage on your home, it can still go inside of a living trust.

08/29/2026

if a Home has a mortgage on it, it can still go inside of a trust

08/28/2026

California homeowners. Put your home inside of a living trust, even if it still has a mortgage on it. Especially true for California.

08/25/2026

avoid a property tax reassessment when placing your home into a living trust that was set up by the owners of the home.

08/24/2026

Don't Put Your Child on Your Home Title!

08/22/2026

Should you put your kids on the title to your California home just to avoid probate? I generally don’t think you should. Yes, adding a child to the deed can potentially help avoid probate when ownership is structured properly—but you may also be giving your child an ownership interest in your home right now. And that can create some serious unintended consequences. In this video, I explain why adding your child to your home’s title may not be the estate planning shortcut it appears to be—and why a revocable living trust may be a better solution for many California homeowners. For more California estate planning information, visit my website: https://www.ocestateplanlawyer.com/ aa

08/22/2026

Should You Put Your Kids on the Title to Your Home in California?

Should you add your child to the deed to your California home so they can inherit it without going through probate?

I generally don’t recommend it.

There is one very understandable reason parents consider adding a child to the title: avoiding California probate. If ownership is structured properly, the surviving owner may receive the home without putting it through the probate court process.

The problem is that solving the probate problem this way can create several new problems.

In this video, I explain four important issues California homeowners should consider before adding a child to the deed:

• You may be giving away ownership now. Adding a child to title isn’t simply naming them to inherit your house someday. You may be giving them a current ownership interest in your property.

• Your child’s problems can become your problems. Lawsuits, creditors, bankruptcy, and other financial or legal problems involving your child can potentially put their interest in the property at risk.

• There may be significant tax consequences. Adding a child to the title can potentially create California property tax issues and affect the capital gains tax treatment of the property. I also explain why the step-up in tax basis available with inherited property can be so important.

• Medical incapacity can create another problem. What happens if a person on title becomes medically incapacitated and the family needs to sell or otherwise deal with the property? Simply putting your child’s name on the deed doesn’t create a complete incapacity plan.

So what’s the alternative?

For many of my California estate planning clients, I prefer using a revocable living trust. The parents can place the home into their trust while maintaining control during their lifetimes. The trust can address incapacity, identify successor trustees, and ultimately pass the property to the children or other beneficiaries without the ordinary California probate process.

The goal isn’t simply to avoid probate. It’s to avoid probate without unnecessarily giving up control of your home or creating additional legal and tax complications.

My name is Michael Pevney, and I create estate plans for families throughout California.

For more information about California living trusts, estate planning, probate avoidance, wills, powers of attorney, and protecting your family home, visit:

https://www.ocestateplanlawyer.com/

Pevney Estate Planning, PC
25231 Paseo de Alicia, Suite 101
Laguna Hills, CA 92653

08/21/2026

Power of attorney is a very important power that you ran to somebody else. It means that when you are alive, but maybe medically incapacitated, they can take over your finances for you. It is an important estate planning document.

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25231 Paseo De Alicia Suite 101
Laguna Hills, CA
92653

Telephone

+19493772996

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