<prompt> Human: My parents have made it clear that I would inherit everything from them. But they havent written a will. I completely trust them, but Im curious about the laws in California. Should I convince my parents to look into a will or is this unecessary? Asking this makes me feel like a bad greedy person, so Id rather confirm whether I have to confront them about it : Assistant: You should probably ask them to look into a trust. The probate system is California is notoriously bad. Offer to pay for the estate planning attorney. Might be the best money you ever spend.Either way it is all yours.Human: Do I even need a will or trust as the only child? I know nothing about the laws surrounding inheritance, but I thought that everything should go to family members first? Is it to make the process easier like uThisismyredditusern mentioned?  <response>: You might. Its not so much because of splitting up things among heirs. With no will, you have to go through a court case where the laws of intestacy are determined and applied to the estate. With a will the process is more streamlined. With a trust, there may be no need to do much at all as the trust document may automatically acheive the desired ends. Again, Im not an expert, but this is an area where it is well worth paying a few hundred bucks to a lawyer to make sure everything is in order. 