Meyers Wealth Management does not provide legal services. We are not attorneys, nor do we directly employ any attorneys. As such, we do not give legal advice, we do not draw up wills or trusts or powers-of-attorney or other legal documents. Our clients are responsible for consulting with their attorneys for these things.
We are happy to advise our clients in the financial aspects of estate planning and very strongly recommend to all of our clients that they have up-to-date wills and other legal documents related to them.
Note that not everyone needs trusts! Sometimes they are very helpful, but sometimes they really don't do all that much. Everyone's individual situation is different. Many of folks assets will get transferred upon their deaths directly to named beneficiaries outside of the action of their wills, and avoiding probate - and without even having to set up trusts to do so.
As part of the financial planning process, we'll expect to review our clients wills, trusts, the ownership of various assets (ie. how accounts are titled), and especially the beneficiary designations which are attached to certain accounts (IRAs, insurance policies, etc). We are happy to consult with our clients attorneys in the process.
That all said, everyone needs to plan his or her estate. While many issues may be taken care of easily through designated beneficiary choices (ie. life insurance beneficiary, IRA beneficiary) and others may be automatic by account (ie. accounts owned jointly with right of survivorship), there are some things which simply must be done by your will. Whether or not you walk through all the details of the management of asset transfers with an estate planner or attorney, you probably still need a will. And if you have kids, there's no "probably" about it. You need a will, at a minimum, to designate who will take care of your kids if something happens to you.
The California Bar Association keeps with a very simple fill-in-the-blanks will form. It won't handle complex estate plans, nor does it facilitate managing estate taxes or setting up trusts. But it will let you designate who gets some of your stuff, who gets your house, and most importantly, who gets your kids. Read and follow their directions carefully!
http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Public/SimpleWill.aspx
And make sure to review the designated beneficiaries on all other accounts - IRAs, 401(k), etc. as well as the designated beneficiaries for any life insurance policies you have.
Finally, and perhaps even more important than all of that stuff about "stuff", if you and partner are not married, there are non-asset-related issues you will want to address - things like powers of attorney, medical decisions and hospitalization visitation and HIPAA releases. These are essential for married couples and even more important (because there aren't helpful defaults) for unmarried ones. A good attorney will address and discuss all of these with you, so even after reviewing all your beneficiary designations, and and trusts and "stuff" - consider seeing an attorney anyway.