October is full of pretend scares. An unfinished estate plan can create very real surprises for the people you love.

One common misunderstanding is that having a will keeps an estate out of probate. In California, a will generally directs who receives probate assets; it does not, by itself, eliminate the court process. Whether probate is needed depends on the assets, their ownership and any available alternative procedures.

A properly established and funded living trust can allow trust assets to be administered without a routine probate proceeding. Beneficiary designations and certain ownership arrangements may also transfer assets outside probate, but they need to fit your overall plan.

California also has simplified procedures for some estates. For qualifying deaths on or after April 1, 2025, a court petition may be available for a California primary residence with a gross value of $750,000 or less under the current limit. Eligibility rules matter, and this is still a court procedure. A mortgage does not simply reduce the home’s gross value for this test.

The practical question is not just whether you have documents. It is whether your documents, deeds and accounts work together.

Before the season’s biggest fright becomes paperwork, ask Sequoia Estate Planning to review how your assets would actually pass.