Estate Planning
A will, a trust if you qualify, and beneficiaries that match your intent.
At a glance
- Everyone needs a will, a durable power of attorney and a health care directive.
- A living trust fits many California homeowners; an estate attorney can say which tool fits.
- Beneficiary forms beat the will. Update them after marriage, divorce or a child.
- Sailors: the legal assistance office that serves NAS Lemoore prepares wills and powers of attorney at no cost; call ahead to confirm.
Estate planning is not about being rich. It is about who raises your kids, who can sign for you if you are in the hospital, and whether your family spends a long time in probate court to get the house. A few documents and a few beneficiary forms settle all of it.
Reviewed by Theron Morgan, CEO and founder, Avidity Capital Inc., a registered investment adviser, on 2026-10-07.
What this step covers
Everyone needs a will, a durable power of attorney for finances, and an advance health care directive. A will says who gets what and who raises your children. A power of attorney lets someone act for you while you are alive but cannot act. The health care directive does the same for medical decisions.
A trust is the fourth document, and it is for people who qualify. A living trust holds property so it passes without probate. Probate in California is slow and public, and its fees are set by statute as a share of the estate. California now has a simpler court petition for a primary home passing to heirs, and a revocable transfer on death deed can also move a house outside probate. A living trust is often still the better tool for a homeowner with kids, and an estate attorney can say which fits. A trust only works for assets you actually retitle into it.
Beneficiary forms beat the will. Your retirement accounts, your life insurance and your pension pay the person named on the form, no matter what the will says. After a marriage, a divorce or a new child, the forms are the first thing to update.
Review the set after every life event, and keep copies where your spouse or your named person can find them.
For Hanford PD officers
Your CalPERS account has a death benefit recipient, and at retirement the survivor option you elect shapes what your spouse receives for life. The HPOA memorandum of understanding, section 2.17, names the CalPERS survivor benefit program the City provides. Your deferred compensation account has its own beneficiary form.
California is a community property state, which changes how a married officer's assets pass. A living trust needs an estate attorney to draft it and your help to fund it; Avidity Capital does not draft legal documents. An Avidity adviser helps you build the list and coordinates with the attorney.
For NAS Lemoore sailors
Use your free legal assistance. The legal assistance office that serves NAS Lemoore prepares wills, powers of attorney and advance directives for active duty members and their dependents at no cost, including the powers of attorney a deployment needs; call ahead to confirm what they prepare. A trust is usually outside what that office drafts, so a California homeowner still needs an estate attorney for that piece.
Keep the SGLI beneficiary current; it pays exactly who is on the form. The TSP has its own beneficiary form, and so does the Survivor Benefit Plan election at retirement. Keep DEERS current so TRICARE and benefits follow your family.
What the app does in this step
The estate lens shows which of your assets pass by beneficiary, by trust or through probate, and what still needs a name. The military family checklist carries the SGLI and TSP beneficiary items and the legal assistance step.
Guides for this step
Ask your adviser. Own a home in California or have kids? Estate basics are worth getting right early. An Avidity adviser helps you build the list; an estate attorney drafts the documents.
Next step
See your own numbers first. The free reality-check needs no account and no card.
This page is education, not individualized investment, tax, legal or insurance advice. It names no products, funds or allocations and carries no client stories. Where a document or a policy is needed, an estate attorney or a licensed insurance agent is the person who prepares it. Avidity Capital Inc. drafts no legal documents and receives no commission or referral fee from insurance, estate attorneys, mortgage lenders or real estate agents. Its compensation is the member's subscription and, for members who choose it, an advisory fee for managing assets; see Form CRS and Form ADV Part 2A. Avidity Capital Inc. is a registered investment adviser.