Wine & Wills: Living Trust vs. Will

During this educational workshop, you will gain a clear, practical understanding of how a well-designed estate plan protects you, your family, your business, and everything you have worked hard to build.
We will cover the essential components of a modern estate plan and explain each topic in plain English so you can make informed decisions with confidence. Key topics include:
What Estate Planning Really Is
Why planning is more than documents—it is a comprehensive strategy to protect loved ones, keep you in control, and minimize stress, conflict, and cost.
Core Documents Every Plan Should Include
A breakdown of Revocable Living Trusts, Wills, Powers of Attorney, Advance Health Care Directives, HIPAA authorizations, and more.
Wills, Probate, and How They Work in California
What a will actually does, how probate works, how long it takes, and why it is expensive, public, and avoidable.
Why a Will Alone May Not Be Enough
Drawbacks of relying solely on a will—especially for homeowners, blended families, and privacy-minded clients—and how a trust solves those issues.
Benefits of a Revocable Living Trust
How trusts avoid probate, keep affairs private, protect beneficiaries, and maintain continuity if you become incapacitated.
Protecting Your Loved Ones
Strategies to shield beneficiaries from divorce, creditors, lawsuits, and poor financial decisions while supporting generational wealth.
Kids Protection Plan®
How to make sure minor children are cared for by the people you choose, in the way you want, without court delays or unwanted guardians.
Protecting Your Pets
Pet caregiver nominations, financial provisions, and Pet Trust options that guarantee long-term safety and well-being.
Planning for Small Business Owners
Protecting business assets, ensuring continuity, avoiding operational disruption, and handling succession with the right entity and trust structure.
Community Property vs. Separate Property in California
How proper asset characterization impacts inheritance, taxes, and distributions—especially for blended families.
Powers of Attorney & Health Care Directives
Who steps in if you cannot make decisions, what authority they have, and how to ensure your wishes are honored.
Estate Taxes
An overview of the current federal and California landscape plus strategies to reduce or avoid estate taxes across generations.
Trust Funding
How to title assets and update beneficiary designations so the plan actually works when your family needs it.
How Our Planning Process Works
What DeCosimo Law’s Life & Legacy Planning experience looks like and how it differs from traditional, document-only law firms.