The Journal — Plain-English Estate Law
Plain-English guidance on wills, trusts, probate, and protecting your family in California.
Estate Plan: Top Update Reasons in 2026
Update your estate plan in 2026 after life changes like marriage, divorce, or a new child. Ensure your plan reflects your wishes & finances. Learn more.
Read →How Do I Avoid Probate Court in California?
Short answer: You avoid probate court in California by moving assets out of your individual name before you die, through a funded revocable living trust, joint tenancy or…
Read →The Impact of Passing Away Without a Trust
This article provides an overview of the benefits of having a living trust, avoiding the probate process, understanding intestate succession laws, and the importance of estate planning with…
Read →The Real Cost of a Sibling Standoff: How Inherited-Property Disputes Destroy California Families’ Wealth
Linda’s mother died in March, leaving the family home in the Ventura hills to Linda and her two brothers, equally, through her living trust. The house was worth…
Read →Building a Contest-Proof Estate Plan: The Capacity Documentation Playbook for California Families
Most trust and will contests in California do not succeed because the document was actually invalid. They succeed because, by the time anyone tried to prove it was…
Read →Estate Planning for Creators: Monetized Channels, Brand Deals, and California’s New Posthumous Publicity Rights
A monetized YouTube channel earning $15,000 a month does not automatically pass to your spouse, your kids, or your business partner when you die. Neither does an Instagram…
Read →AI-Drafted Wills and the Privilege Trap: What California Families Risk When They Use ChatGPT for Estate Planning
Eighty percent of legal professionals now say AI will have a high or transformational impact on their work within five years, according to Thomson Reuters’ 2025 Future of…
Read →The California Crypto Graveyard: What Happens When Digital Wealth Dies With Its Owner
A widower calls Ridley Law six weeks after his wife’s death. She traded cryptocurrency for years, logging in from a laptop that now sits in evidence of nothing…
Read →Want a straight read on where you stand?
Talk to Eric. A free 30-minute call, no pitch. He’ll tell you where you’re exposed, what it would cost to fix, and what you can skip.
Talk to Eric