International Estate Planning & Multi-Generational Wealth Preservation
Arcadia stands as one of the most affluent communities in the San Gabriel Valley, renowned for its exceptional property values, highly educated population, and thriving Chinese-American community. As an experienced Arcadia living trust attorney, the Law Offices of Rozsa Gyene understands the sophisticated estate planning needs of Arcadia residents—from international asset coordination and cross-border inheritance issues to multi-generational wealth preservation and planning for substantial estates valued at $2 million or more.
From our Glendale office at 450 N Brand Blvd, Suite 600, we serve Arcadia families throughout the city with comprehensive living trust services designed for high-net-worth individuals and families with complex asset structures. With over 25 years of experience in California estate planning law, we've helped numerous Arcadia families navigate the unique challenges of preserving substantial wealth, coordinating assets in multiple countries, and ensuring seamless generational wealth transfer.
Arcadia's median home values exceed $1.3 million, with many properties—particularly in sought-after areas near the Arboretum, north of Huntington Drive, and in the hillside neighborhoods—regularly selling for $2 million to $5 million or more. When you've built significant wealth through business success, professional achievement, or strategic real estate investment, protecting those assets through sophisticated estate planning is not just advisable—it's essential to preserve your family's financial legacy for generations to come.
Arcadia is known for excellent schools, the Santa Anita Racetrack, and the Los Angeles County Arboretum. Our estate planning services address the unique needs of this affluent, family-oriented community.
Hillside estates with mountain views. Properties $1.5M-$5M+. High-net-worth planning includes asset protection trusts, generation-skipping strategies, and preserving family estates.
Prestigious neighborhood with large lots. Properties $1.8M-$4M. Estate planning addresses equestrian properties, privacy, and ensuring heirs can maintain these unique estates.
Convenient location near shopping and dining. Properties $900,000-$1.6M. Families need planning that protects real estate investments and provides for children's education.
Family-friendly neighborhoods near top-rated schools. Properties $1M-$2M. Many Asian-American families value planning that honors cultural traditions and ensures educational legacies.
Quiet streets with mature landscaping. Properties $1.2M-$2.2M. Long-term residents need planning for highly appreciated assets purchased decades ago.
Established community near Santa Anita. Properties $950,000-$1.7M. Estate planning protects families and addresses complex inter-generational wealth transfer.
With a median home value exceeding $1.1 million, virtually every Arcadia homeowner benefits from a living trust to avoid probate and protect their family's financial security.
Arcadia presents unique estate planning opportunities and challenges that make living trusts essential for most residents. The city's demographics—approximately 60% Asian population, many first-generation immigrants who've achieved extraordinary financial success, high educational attainment, and substantial real estate holdings—create estate planning needs that require sophisticated legal guidance and cultural sensitivity.
Arcadia real estate ranks among the most valuable in Southern California. The city's excellent schools, safe neighborhoods, proximity to Pasadena and Downtown Los Angeles, and strong sense of community have driven property values to extraordinary levels. Single-family homes routinely sell for $1.5 million to $3 million, with larger estate properties and newly constructed luxury homes exceeding $5 million or more.
At these values, probate costs become staggering. California statutory probate fees on a $2 million estate total $78,000 for the attorney and executor combined—nearly $80,000 that comes directly from your family's inheritance. On a $3 million Arcadia estate, probate fees reach $104,000. When you add court costs, appraisal fees (particularly important for high-value properties requiring professional valuations), accounting fees, and other expenses, total probate costs often exceed $100,000-$150,000 or more.
A living trust eliminates these costs entirely, saving your family tens of thousands—or even hundreds of thousands—of dollars that can instead be preserved for your children and grandchildren's benefit.
Many Arcadia residents maintain connections to their countries of origin—property in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or other Asian countries, bank accounts denominated in foreign currencies, business interests spanning multiple countries, or investment portfolios held in international markets. If you have assets in multiple countries, estate planning becomes significantly more complex.
Without proper planning, your heirs may face probate proceedings in every country where you own assets—a process called "ancillary probate" that multiplies costs, delays, and complications. Additionally, different countries have different inheritance laws, tax treaties, currency exchange considerations, and legal requirements for transferring property to foreign heirs.
A living trust can hold both U.S. and foreign assets, allowing coordinated administration of your worldwide estate. While foreign property may still be subject to local laws in the country where it's located, a trust provides a framework for managing international assets and can coordinate with foreign legal counsel to ensure smooth transfers. We work with Arcadia clients to inventory international assets, understand foreign property laws and tax implications, coordinate with attorneys in other countries when necessary, and structure trusts that accommodate cross-border wealth.
Arcadia families often prioritize preserving wealth across multiple generations—ensuring not just that children inherit substantial assets, but that grandchildren and even great-grandchildren benefit from the family's accumulated wealth. This cultural value of multi-generational planning requires sophisticated trust structures that go beyond basic estate planning.
We can create dynasty trusts or generation-skipping trusts that preserve wealth for multiple generations while minimizing estate taxes at each generational transfer. These trusts can hold real estate, investment portfolios, and business interests for decades, allowing your great-grandchildren to benefit from wealth you've accumulated today. For Arcadia families who've achieved significant financial success and want to create lasting legacies, multi-generational trust planning is essential.
Many Arcadia families maintain strong cultural traditions of supporting aging parents and extended family members. You may provide financial support to parents living in the U.S. or abroad, have elderly parents living in your home, or support siblings, cousins, or other relatives. Estate planning must address these obligations and ensure your family support continues if something happens to you.
A living trust can include provisions that continue financial support for your parents during their lifetimes, create separate bequests for extended family members, designate funds for elderly parent care (either in your home or in assisted living), and coordinate with cultural expectations about family financial responsibilities. We understand that in many cultures, supporting parents and extended family is not optional—it's a fundamental family obligation. Your estate plan should honor and facilitate these commitments.
Many Arcadia residents are successful business owners or professionals—physicians with medical practices, dentists with established patient bases, business owners with companies in manufacturing, import/export, real estate development, technology, or retail. If you own a business, estate planning must address business succession, continuity of operations if you become incapacitated or pass away, valuation of business interests for estate tax purposes, and ensuring family members or key employees can continue operations.
A living trust can hold business interests and provide a framework for management transitions. This ensures business continuity without the disruption of probate court proceedings, which could freeze business operations for months or force premature liquidation. We work with Arcadia business owners to create succession plans that preserve business value for heirs while ensuring smooth transitions.
Arcadia families place extraordinary emphasis on education, evidenced by the city's nationally ranked schools and high rates of college attendance. Many Arcadia grandparents want to ensure their grandchildren can attend the best universities without financial constraints—whether that's Harvard, Stanford, USC, or prestigious universities in Asia or Europe.
Estate planning can incorporate education trusts or provisions that specifically fund grandchildren's education, allow tax-advantaged gifting for education expenses, ensure education funding continues across multiple generations, and provide for international education if grandchildren study abroad. We help Arcadia families structure trusts that prioritize education while also preserving wealth for other purposes.
From our Glendale office, we provide Arcadia residents with sophisticated living trust services tailored to affluent families with complex asset structures, international holdings, and multi-generational planning needs. Our approach combines technical legal expertise with cultural sensitivity and understanding of the unique values important to Arcadia families.
Every Arcadia living trust we create includes essential estate planning documents customized for your specific situation:
For Arcadia clients with assets in multiple countries, we provide specialized planning that addresses:
For Arcadia families focused on preserving wealth across generations, we offer advanced planning including:
For Arcadia residents with estates exceeding the federal estate tax exemption (currently $13.61 million per individual, $27.22 million for married couples), we provide sophisticated tax planning to minimize estate taxes. This may include A-B trust structures that maximize exemptions for married couples, strategic gifting programs that reduce estate size while you're alive, irrevocable life insurance trusts that remove insurance proceeds from taxable estate, and charitable planning that reduces estate taxes while supporting causes you care about.
Base pricing for standard trusts:
Complete trust package with all essential documents included
Additional fees apply for advanced planning strategies such as international asset coordination, estate tax planning, business succession planning, or multi-generational trusts. We'll discuss all costs during your consultation.
We understand that Arcadia families often have cultural values and traditions that should be reflected in estate planning. This might include honoring traditions about inheritance distribution (ensuring fairness while respecting cultural norms), supporting aging parents and extended family members, maintaining family businesses across generations, or preserving family unity and avoiding conflicts among heirs. We work with you to create estate plans that honor your cultural values while complying with California and federal law.
Understanding the probate process is essential for Arcadia residents given the city's exceptionally high property values. Arcadia, as part of Los Angeles County, falls under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, with probate cases heard at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.
California's statutory probate fee schedule creates enormous costs for Arcadia estates. Fees are calculated as a percentage of the gross estate value (before debts are deducted), meaning high property values trigger high probate costs even if you have significant mortgages or other debts. For typical Arcadia property values, statutory fees are:
These figures represent only the mandatory attorney and executor fees. Additional costs include court filing fees, publication costs, professional appraisals (essential for high-value Arcadia properties and required by the court), accounting fees, and potentially extraordinary fees if the estate involves international assets, business valuations, or complex litigation.
For an Arcadia estate valued at $3 million—which is not uncommon given property values—total probate costs often exceed $125,000-$150,000. This represents money that comes directly from your children's and grandchildren's inheritance, reducing the wealth you've spent a lifetime accumulating.
The standard Los Angeles County probate timeline of 12-18 months can extend significantly longer for Arcadia estates involving international assets. If you own property in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or other countries, the probate court may require coordination with foreign courts, translations of foreign documents, valuations from international appraisers, and compliance with foreign inheritance laws. These complications can extend probate to two years or more, during which your family cannot access inherited assets.
Probate is entirely public. Anyone can access court files to see exactly what you owned, the value of every asset, who your heirs are, and what they're inheriting. For Arcadia's affluent families who value privacy, this public disclosure is problematic. Details of your real estate holdings, investment portfolios, business interests, and family structure become part of permanent public record.
A living trust maintains complete privacy. Trust administration occurs outside of court, the trust document remains private, asset values are never disclosed publicly, and family inheritance details remain confidential. For Arcadia families who've accumulated substantial wealth, privacy is often as important as cost savings.
A properly funded living trust allows your entire estate—including international assets held in the trust—to bypass California probate completely. Your successor trustee administers the trust privately, distributes assets according to your instructions, coordinates with foreign attorneys regarding international property if necessary, and completes everything in a fraction of the time probate would require. Your family saves $100,000+ in probate costs, maintains complete privacy, and receives inheritances within weeks rather than years.
After 25 years serving Los Angeles County families, including many Arcadia residents, I've identified estate planning challenges that are particularly common in Arcadia's affluent, internationally connected community. Understanding these issues helps you plan proactively to preserve your wealth and family harmony.
Many Arcadia residents own substantial property in their countries of origin—apartments or houses in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or elsewhere in Asia. These foreign properties may have appreciated significantly and represent substantial value. The challenge is coordinating U.S. and foreign estates to ensure smooth inheritance for your beneficiaries.
Foreign property typically cannot be transferred through a U.S. living trust—it remains subject to the laws of the country where it's located. However, your living trust can provide a framework for coordinating foreign assets, designate who should inherit foreign property, provide funds for foreign estate taxes or transfer costs, and appoint trustees who can work with foreign attorneys to facilitate transfers. We help Arcadia families create estate plans that address both U.S. and international assets comprehensively.
Some Arcadia residents have children, grandchildren, or other heirs living in other countries—perhaps adult children who returned to China or Taiwan, grandchildren attending universities abroad, or siblings living in Asia. Leaving inheritances to foreign beneficiaries creates complications including tax implications for beneficiaries receiving U.S. assets, currency exchange considerations, difficulty transferring property to foreign heirs, and potential tax treaties affecting inheritance.
A living trust can be structured to address these issues, perhaps by providing inheritances in forms easily transferable internationally, coordinating with tax advisors regarding international tax implications, or creating trusts that hold assets in the U.S. while distributing income to foreign beneficiaries.
Many Arcadia families have provided different levels of financial support to different children—perhaps paying for one child's medical school while another child received less education assistance, buying one child a home while another child purchased independently, or supporting one child's business ventures while other children are established professionals. How do you create an estate plan that's fair to all children given these different historical support levels?
Some families equalize inheritances by accounting for lifetime gifts—children who received more support during life receive less inheritance at death. Others prefer equal inheritances regardless of previous support. There's no single right answer, but the decision should be made intentionally and communicated clearly to avoid family conflicts. A living trust provides the flexibility to structure distributions according to your family's specific values and circumstances.
Arcadia families who've accumulated substantial wealth often worry about assets passing to divorcing spouses of their children. If your child divorces after inheriting significant assets, their inheritance could be subject to community property division depending on how it's held and managed. We can structure your living trust with protective provisions that keep inheritances separate from children's marital property, protecting your family's wealth from being divided in divorce proceedings.
Many Arcadia grandparents want to help fund grandchildren's education or provide financial assistance for major life milestones—college tuition, graduate school, home purchases, or starting businesses. The challenge is providing this support in ways that are tax-efficient and don't create family conflicts or entitlement issues.
We can structure education trusts, 529 plans, or other vehicles that facilitate grandparent gifting while maintaining appropriate controls and minimizing tax consequences. For grandparents with substantial estates subject to federal estate taxes, strategic gifting during life can reduce estate size while benefiting grandchildren immediately.
Many Arcadia residents own successful businesses built over decades of hard work. Ensuring smooth business succession—whether to children involved in the business, key employees, or through sale—requires careful planning. A living trust can hold business interests and provide a framework for succession, ensuring business continuity while also treating all heirs fairly (including children not involved in the business).
Creating a living trust with the Law Offices of Rozsa Gyene is a collaborative process designed to understand your unique situation—including international assets, family structure, cultural values, and wealth preservation goals—and create a comprehensive estate plan that protects your legacy.
We begin with a free consultation to discuss your family situation, assets (both U.S. and international), goals for wealth preservation, cultural values affecting inheritance, concerns about estate taxes, and any special circumstances. This meeting can take place at our Glendale office (convenient to Arcadia via I-210 or Huntington Drive), by phone, or via video conference.
Once you decide to proceed, we'll develop a detailed estate plan tailored to your specific needs. For Arcadia clients, this often includes coordinating U.S. and foreign assets, planning for substantial estates with potential tax implications, structuring multi-generational wealth transfer, addressing business succession if applicable, incorporating cultural values and family traditions, and creating provisions for supporting aging parents or extended family.
We'll prepare all necessary legal documents with meticulous attention to detail. For clients with international assets, this may include coordinating with foreign attorneys to understand overseas property laws, obtaining appraisals or valuations of foreign assets, and ensuring your U.S. trust properly references and coordinates with foreign holdings.
We'll meet with you to review all final documents in detail, ensuring you understand every provision and how your estate plan will operate. We'll execute all documents with proper witnesses and notarization, and provide you with detailed explanations of next steps.
After signing, we'll guide you through funding your trust—transferring your Arcadia home, investment accounts, bank accounts, and other U.S. assets into the trust's name. For foreign assets, we'll provide guidance on coordination with foreign counsel if necessary. We're available for ongoing support as your circumstances change, assets grow, or family situations evolve.
Serving All Arcadia Neighborhoods: We proudly serve Arcadia residents throughout the city, including areas near the Arboretum, neighborhoods north of Huntington Drive, the hillside areas, and all other Arcadia communities. Our Glendale office is easily accessible from Arcadia via I-210 or Huntington Drive.
Working with our estate planning attorney Arcadia families trust begins with understanding your sophisticated needs—international asset coordination, multi-generational wealth transfer, and high-value estate protection. Our comprehensive process serves Arc adia's affluent, internationally-connected community.
Schedule a free consultation at our Glendale office (convenient via I-210 or Huntington Drive) or by phone to discuss your Arcadia estate—high-value properties, international assets, business interests, and multi-generational planning goals. As your living trust attorney Arcadia residents rely on, we assess complex needs requiring sophisticated solutions.
We design sophisticated estate plans for Arcadia's affluent families—coordinating U.S. and foreign assets, implementing estate tax minimization strategies, structuring multi-generational wealth transfer, and preserving family businesses. Your Arcadia estate planning attorney creates provisions reflecting cultural values while maximizing wealth preservation.
We prepare all legal documents with attention to international asset coordination, estate tax planning, and business succession. For clients with foreign assets, we coordinate with international counsel as needed. As an experienced probate attorney Arcadia families trust, we ensure comprehensive protection for complex, high-value estates.
We execute all documents with proper formalities, then guide you through funding your trust—transferring your Arcadia property, business interests, investment portfolios, and coordinating foreign assets. Your living trust lawyer Arcadia residents recommend provides ongoing support for complex wealth management needs.
Most Arcadia estate plans are completed within 3-4 weeks, though complex international or tax planning may require additional time. This investment saves your family $100,000-$200,000+ in probate costs while preserving multi-generational wealth. Contact our estate attorney Arcadia families trust today for sophisticated estate protection.
As a living trust attorney Arcadia families trust, I understand the unique demographics and financial realities that make sophisticated estate planning essential for our affluent community. Let's examine why comprehensive planning is critical for Arcadia residents.
With median home values exceeding $1.1 million and many properties worth $2-5 million+, virtually every Arcadia homeowner faces six-figure probate costs without proper planning. An estate planning attorney in Arcadia understands that high-value estates require sophisticated solutions—coordinating international assets, implementing estate tax strategies, planning multi-generational wealth transfer, and structuring business succession. Simple online forms cannot address these complexities.
For a typical $2 million Arcadia estate, statutory probate fees total $78,000, plus court costs, professional appraisals, accounting fees, and potentially extraordinary fees for international asset coordination—often reaching $100,000-$125,000 total. A $3 million estate faces $104,000+ in statutory fees alone. A probate attorney Arcadia residents trust can help you avoid these enormous costs through comprehensive living trust planning.
Arcadia's significant population with international connections creates unique planning challenges—property in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or other countries; bank accounts in foreign currencies; beneficiaries living abroad; and complex cross-border inheritance issues. A living trust lawyer Arcadia residents recommend provides specialized guidance coordinating worldwide assets while respecting cultural values about family support, multigenerational households, and wealth preservation traditions important to Arcadia's diverse community.
Arcadia residents frequently ask about the differences between a will and a living trust. As your estate planning attorney Arcadia families rely on, I can explain why a living trust offers superior protection for high-value estates and international asset coordination.
| Feature | Living Trust | Will Only |
|---|---|---|
| Avoids Probate | ✓ Yes - Complete probate avoidance | ✗ No - Must go through probate |
| Cost for $2M Arcadia Home | $575-$675 base fee | $78,000+ in probate fees |
| Timeline | Assets transfer in weeks | 12-24+ months in probate court |
| Privacy | ✓ Completely private | ✗ Public court record |
| International Asset Coordination | ✓ Coordinated worldwide planning | ✗ Separate probate in each country |
| Multi-Generational Planning | ✓ Dynasty trusts preserve wealth | ✗ Limited generational planning |
California's probate system is particularly burdensome for Arcadia's high-value estates. For a $2 million property, statutory probate fees total $78,000—for a $3 million estate, fees reach $104,000—for a $5 million estate, $144,000. These figures represent only mandatory attorney and executor fees, not including court costs, specialized appraisals, accounting fees, and extraordinary fees for international assets. Total probate costs often exceed $125,000-$200,000+ for typical Arcadia estates.
A living trust lawyer Arcadia families recommend can help you avoid these enormous costs entirely while providing superior benefits. Beyond cost savings, probate takes 12-24+ months (longer with international complications) during which your high-value Arcadia property is frozen and your family cannot access inherited assets. All proceedings become public record—exposing your family's substantial wealth, international holdings, and inheritance details. For Arcadia's affluent families who value privacy, this public disclosure is particularly problematic.
A living trust bypasses probate completely, allowing immediate private wealth transfer. Your successor trustee coordinates U.S. and international assets, implements multi-generational wealth transfer strategies, preserves business continuity, and maintains complete privacy. For Arcadia residents with substantial estates, international assets, or complex business interests, a living trust isn't optional—it's essential protection worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to your heirs.
After 25 years as an Arcadia estate planning attorney, I've identified recurring mistakes that can cost affluent families hundreds of thousands of dollars in unnecessary probate costs and taxes. Avoiding these errors ensures maximum wealth preservation for your heirs.
Many Arcadia residents assume estate planning can wait, not realizing their $2-3 million properties expose families to $78,000-$104,000+ in probate costs if unexpected illness or accidents occur. Don't let property values turn into probate fees. A living trust attorney Arcadia homeowners trust protects multi-million dollar estates immediately, not "someday."
Arcadia residents with property in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or other countries often fail to coordinate foreign assets with U.S. estate planning. Without proper coordination, heirs face probate in multiple countries, complex foreign legal proceedings, and enormous costs. An estate planning attorney Arcadia families trust provides specialized international asset coordination ensuring smooth worldwide inheritance.
Many Arcadia residents with estates approaching or exceeding $13.61 million (for individuals) or $27.22 million (for couples) fail to implement tax minimization strategies. Without planning, your heirs may pay 40% estate taxes on amounts above exemptions—potentially $500,000-$1,000,000+ in unnecessary taxes. A probate attorney Arcadia affluent families trust implements sophisticated tax strategies preserving substantially more wealth for heirs.
Online forms cannot address Arcadia's sophisticated needs—$2-5 million properties, international asset coordination, estate tax planning, business succession, or multi-generational wealth transfer. DIY trust mistakes often aren't discovered until after death, leaving families facing the exact probate and tax consequences you sought to avoid. Working with an experienced living trust lawyer Arcadia residents trust costs more upfront but saves $100,000-$200,000+ in probate costs and potential tax liabilities.
Many Arcadia residents created estate plans years ago when their homes were worth $800,000—now worth $2-3 million—but never updated planning to reflect increased values. Your original simple trust may no longer provide adequate protection for your appreciated estate. An estate attorney Arcadia residents rely on should review plans every 3-5 years, especially after significant property appreciation, to ensure continued comprehensive protection.
Arcadia families often focus solely on transferring wealth to children without considering grandchildren and future generations. Without multi-generational planning, each generational transfer may trigger estate taxes, potentially reducing substantial wealth over time. A living trust attorney Arcadia families trust implements dynasty trusts and generation-skipping strategies that preserve wealth across multiple generations while minimizing taxes at each transfer.
Our estate planning attorney Arcadia families recommend has helped numerous local residents protect their high-value estates and coordinate international assets. Here's what some of our satisfied Arcadia clients have shared:
"We own property in both Arcadia and Taiwan and needed an estate planning attorney in Arcadia who could coordinate our worldwide assets. Rozsa created a comprehensive trust that addresses both our U.S. and international holdings, works with our Taiwanese attorney to ensure smooth inheritance, and will save our children over $100,000 in U.S. probate costs. The sophisticated planning was exactly what our complex international estate required. Highly recommended for Arcadia families with foreign assets."
- Wei and Mei L., Arcadia
"Our Arcadia estate is valued over $4 million, and we needed sophisticated planning including estate tax strategies and multi-generational wealth transfer. This living trust attorney Arcadia residents recommend created an advanced trust structure that minimizes future estate taxes, preserves wealth for our grandchildren, and coordinates our substantial investment portfolio and business interests. The expertise with high-value estates was evident, and we now have confidence our family wealth will be preserved for generations. The Glendale office was convenient via Huntington Drive."
- Thomas and Catherine W., Arcadia
"As a business owner with substantial assets including our Arcadia home, commercial properties, and company interests, I needed comprehensive estate planning that addressed succession, tax minimization, and wealth preservation. This estate attorney Arcadia business owners trust created a sophisticated plan that ensures business continuity, protects my family from over $150,000 in probate costs, and structures distributions to honor our cultural values about supporting extended family. The cultural sensitivity combined with technical expertise was exactly what our family needed."
- James C., Arcadia
Protecting your substantial Arcadia estate—whether high-value real estate, international assets, business interests, or multi-generational wealth—requires sophisticated estate planning tailored to your unique circumstances. The Law Offices of Rozsa Gyene provides Arcadia residents with comprehensive legal guidance that combines technical expertise with cultural sensitivity and understanding of the values important to affluent families.
With over 25 years of experience serving Los Angeles County families and a deep understanding of the complex planning needs of Arcadia's internationally connected, affluent community, we make estate planning thorough, personalized, and focused on preserving your legacy for generations to come. Don't subject your family to six-figure probate costs or the complications of uncoordinated international assets. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.
Office Location:
450 N Brand Blvd, Suite 600
Glendale, CA 91203
(Convenient to Arcadia via I-210 or Huntington Drive)
For more information about our estate planning services, visit our main pages on Living Trusts, Probate Services, and Conservatorship. You can also learn more about the Los Angeles County Superior Court Probate Division to understand what your family would face without a living trust.