I am middle aged and I have been able to achieve a good level of success in buying foreclosed properties over the years. Currently, I rent all the properties out to tenants, and maybe I will sell a few of the homes in a couple years when the market picks back up. But for now, I am most concerned about what would happen to these properties if I were to, heaven forbid, fall down with a heart attack, or get hit by a car.

I have three kids, and only one of them lives in California. So, I think I need to create some kind of living will and trust. My question is that if I create the living will and trust in California, will it govern my wishes in all other states? Will my kids be included?

My neighbor worked with James F. Sexton here in San Diego, has anyone heard of this Living Wills and Trust Attorney?

I know nothing about the Sexton law firm and it is not advisable to make your decision from what is on their website. In fact, I did not like what I saw.

IMHO, before you choose a lawyer you should have some familiarity with the terms used so that you can better understand what you are being told. For example I have no idea why a living will would have any relevance to the ownership of property or probate.

I would first seek tax advice about the most appropriate structure under which to own and invest in multiple properties before I worried about probate and transfers upon death etc.

I suspect you meant a living trust, but the term living will is more familiar to most people. A living trust might be an good choice because it would also be useful if the heart attack or car wreck only disabled you.

Definitely don't make a decision based on advertising alone. Ask friends and colleagues for names of people they liked dealing with. The local bar association may have a referral service, or at least a list of people who specialize in the type of work you need. Bank trust officers may also have suggestions. There might even be an estate planning book in the "Dummies" series. If so, it could help you understand what the lawyers are talking about.

Here are two websites I definitely recommend to visit.

http://www.trustgordon.com/
http://www.livingtrustsontheweb.com/pages/index.html

A living trust is an alternative to a will and is touted by its advocates as being better than a will because it avoids the cost of probate. In a living trust property is transferred to a trust where the owner is the trustee under state law. Living trusts are popular in states such as CA and FL where the the costs of probating a will are high and time consuming. In other states there is little advantage to a living trust. One advantage to a living trust is that court approval is not required to approve decisions disposing of property by the sucessor trustee after the death of the owner/trustee. The fees for a living trust are higher than the cost of a will because the trust is more complex than a will. One additional cost in a living trust is that the title to all property subject to probate must be transferred to the trust as the legal owner, including real estate, which will require that a new deed be prepared and recorded. This could create a problem if a bank is holding a mortgage on the property. A will may still be necessary for property that cannot be owned by a trust, e.g., automobile. Non probate property such as retirement benefits are transferred by a beneficary designation. One important thing to remember is that a living trust does not reduce or eliminate estate taxes that are present in property transferred under a will because the living trust is a grantor trust in the owner still retains all ownership right to the property in the trust.

There are other more inexpensive ways to dispose of property upon death such as by holding property as a joint tennancy with the right of survivorship.