Answers to common questions

A revocable living trust is a legal document that holds your assets during your lifetime and distributes them to your beneficiaries after your death — without going through probate. You remain in full control of your assets while you're alive. You can change or revoke the trust at any time.

In California, probate can take 12–18 months and cost thousands of dollars in court fees and attorney costs. A properly funded living trust avoids probate entirely for the assets it holds.

If you own real property in California, a living trust is generally the better choice. A will must go through probate — a court-supervised process that is public, time-consuming, and expensive. In California, probate fees on a $1 million estate can exceed $23,000 in statutory attorney and executor fees alone.

A living trust avoids probate for the assets it holds, keeps your estate private, and allows for faster distribution to your beneficiaries.

If you do not own real property and your total assets are modest, a will (combined with a power of attorney and advance health care directive) may be sufficient. Our Will Plan is designed for this situation.

A will takes effect only after your death and must go through probate. It becomes a public record. A living trust takes effect as soon as you create and fund it, avoids probate, and remains private.

A will can name guardians for your minor children — a trust cannot. That's why our trust plans include a pour-over will alongside the trust: the will handles guardianship and catches any assets not transferred into the trust during your lifetime.

Both documents let you decide who inherits your assets. The primary difference is how efficiently and privately that transfer happens.

Creating a trust document is only half the job. You must also transfer your assets into the trust — this is called "funding." For real property, this means recording a new deed transferring the property into the trust's name. For financial accounts, this means updating the account ownership or beneficiary designations.

An unfunded trust provides no probate protection. This is one of the most common problems with DIY estate planning — people create a trust but never transfer their assets into it.

Our trust plans include one real estate transfer (deed preparation and recording) and a detailed guide for transferring your other assets.

A pour-over will works alongside your living trust. It directs that any assets not already in your trust at the time of your death should be "poured over" into the trust. It also names guardians for minor children, which a trust cannot do.

The pour-over will still goes through probate for any assets it captures, so it's important to fund your trust properly during your lifetime. Think of the pour-over will as a safety net, not the primary plan.

That depends mostly on you. Many clients complete the payment, engagement agreement, and questionnaire in a single sitting — about 15 to 30 minutes. Once we receive your completed questionnaire and conduct the review call, most plans are drafted and ready to mail within 72 hours.

After you receive your documents, you'll need to sign them in front of a notary and return them using the prepaid shipping label we provide. The total process — from starting the questionnaire to receiving your bound trust binder — can be completed in under two weeks, and often faster.

No. The entire process is handled remotely. You complete the questionnaire online, your review call happens by phone, and documents are exchanged by mail. You will need to visit a notary public to sign your trust and certain other documents, but that can be done at any notary location convenient to you — such as a UPS Store, bank, or mobile notary service.

Your attorney or paralegal reviews your questionnaire responses before the call. During the call, we clarify any questions about your family situation, assets, or wishes. We make sure your plan accurately reflects what you want and flag any issues you may not have considered — such as community property concerns, Prop 19 implications for real estate, or the need for special provisions.

The call typically takes 15 to 30 minutes. It is available in English or Korean.

Yes. Your progress is saved automatically. You can close the questionnaire and return to it anytime by logging into your account. Many clients prefer to gather their financial information first and then complete the questionnaire in one sitting.

Life changes — marriages, divorces, births, deaths, new property — may require updates to your trust. Amendments and restatements are available as a separate engagement. Contact our office to discuss your situation and we'll advise on the best approach.

In most cases, it's simpler and more effective to create an entirely new trust rather than amend an existing one. Amendments can create confusion, especially when there have been multiple changes over the years or when the original documents were prepared by another attorney or an online service.

When you go through our process, just let us know during your attorney review call that you have an existing trust or will. We'll review your current situation and draft a completely new estate plan that reflects your current wishes, family circumstances, and assets.

At no extra charge, we will also prepare a formal Revocation of Prior Trust (or Revocation of Prior Will) document that legally supersedes and replaces your previous estate plan. This ensures there is no ambiguity about which documents govern your estate.

Most UPS Stores, banks, AAA offices, and shipping centers offer notary services. You can also hire a mobile notary who will come to your home or office. Notary fees in California are set by law at $15 per signature for standard notarizations.

We include detailed signing instructions with your documents so you'll know exactly which pages need notarization and which need witnesses.

Your flat fee covers everything listed in your selected plan — all documents, the attorney review call, one real estate transfer including deed preparation and county recording (trust plans), a professionally bound trust binder (trust plans), secure cloud storage of your executed documents (trust plans), and prepaid return shipping. There are no hourly charges, no drafting fees, and no revision fees within the scope of your plan.

Your plan includes one real estate transfer, including county recording fees for your primary residence. The only out-of-pocket cost not included is the notary fee (paid directly to the notary at signing — $15 per signature by California law). Additional property transfers are $249 each (all filing fees included), which covers deed preparation, the preliminary change of ownership report, and county recording — filing fees alone run $100–$150+ depending on the county.

Your trust plan includes one real estate transfer at no additional cost. Additional properties can be transferred for $249 per property (all filing fees included), which covers deed preparation, the preliminary change of ownership report (PCOR), and county recording. You can add additional transfers at any time — during the initial process or later.

Yes. The Will Plan is $395 whether you are an individual or a couple. For couples, each person receives their own separate last will and testament, power of attorney, and advance health care directive.

If you change your mind before your attorney begins drafting your documents, we will issue a full refund minus a $50 administrative fee. Once drafting has begun, refunds are assessed on a case-by-case basis. The engagement agreement you sign at checkout includes the full refund policy.

At this time, we require full payment before we begin work on your plan. This allows us to keep our flat fees low and begin drafting your documents as soon as your questionnaire is complete.

Yes. The questionnaire, review call, and all client communications are available in Korean. Your legal documents are drafted in English (as required for U.S. courts and institutions), but we provide explanations in Korean so you fully understand every provision in your plan.

There are several important differences. In Korea, the 유류분 (legally reserved share) system guarantees certain heirs a minimum inheritance regardless of the deceased's wishes. California has no such requirement — you can leave your assets to anyone you choose, with very limited exceptions for surviving spouses.

Korea also follows a statutory inheritance system by default, while California allows complete flexibility through trusts and wills. Community property rules in California affect how married couples' assets are treated, which is another area that differs significantly from Korean property law.

If you own real property or have significant financial assets in Korea, your U.S. estate plan should be coordinated with Korean legal requirements. A California living trust generally cannot directly control Korean assets — you may need a separate Korean will drafted under Korean law.

We can discuss your cross-border situation during the review call and advise on whether specialized cross-border planning is needed. If your situation requires counsel beyond the scope of our standard plans, we will let you know.

If you are a U.S. person (citizen, permanent resident, or resident for tax purposes) and you have financial accounts in Korea with an aggregate value exceeding $10,000 at any point during the year, you are required to file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114). You may also have FATCA reporting obligations (Form 8938) depending on the value of your foreign financial assets.

These are tax reporting obligations separate from your estate plan, but they are important context. We can flag these issues during your review call, though tax compliance falls outside the scope of our estate planning engagement.

Your attorney-client relationship with Danny Kwon begins when you complete payment and sign the engagement agreement. Until that point, communications with our firm — including free introductory calls, website inquiries, and emails — are not confidential attorney-client communications and do not create an attorney-client relationship.

Once the engagement is established, all communications within the scope of the engagement are protected by attorney-client privilege.

The engagement agreement defines the scope of our representation: the specific documents we will draft and the services we will provide under your selected plan. It covers fees, the refund policy, communication expectations, and your rights as a client.

Matters outside the scope of the engagement — such as tax planning, business succession, litigation, or Korean asset planning — are not covered unless separately agreed upon in writing.

Yes. Once your attorney-client relationship is established, all information you share with our firm is protected by attorney-client privilege and kept strictly confidential. We do not share your information with third parties without your consent, except as required by law or court order.

Your documents are stored securely, and cloud storage access is controlled by you. You decide who, if anyone, receives access to your documents.

Yes. Danny Hyo-Choong Kwon, JD, Esq. is a member of the State Bar of California (admitted 2010) and has been practicing law since 1997. He is the attorney responsible for all documents drafted by Easy Trust Now.

Our standard plans cover estate planning documents only — trusts, wills, powers of attorney, and advance health care directives. We do not provide tax planning, tax preparation, business succession planning, or litigation services as part of these plans.

If your situation requires services beyond the scope of our standard plans, we will let you know during the review call and can refer you to appropriate specialists if needed.