Estate Planning Attorney for Bay Area Families, From Our San Jose Office
Trust Law Legacy Group is a California estate planning, trust and probate law firm with one office, in San Jose, at 100 Century Center Ct., Suite 620, San Jose, CA 95112. From that office we work with families across Santa Clara County and the wider Bay Area on living trusts, wills, probate and trust administration. If you are looking for an estate planning attorney in the Bay Area or Silicon Valley, this page explains what tends to be different about planning here and how working with us actually happens.
Call (408) 945-3950 to schedule a design meeting.
Areas We Serve Across the Bay Area
Our only office is in San Jose. We serve clients who live in:
- San Jose
- Santa Clara
- Sunnyvale
- Cupertino
- Palo Alto
- Mountain View
- Milpitas
- Los Gatos
- Campbell
- Saratoga
- Fremont
These are areas served, not office locations. Every meeting that happens in person happens at our San Jose office. Families in Palo Alto and Santa Clara can read more on our Palo Alto estate planning page and our Santa Clara estate planning page.
Why Bay Area Families Plan Differently
The documents in a California estate plan are the same across California. What changes in the Bay Area is the size and shape of what those documents have to carry.
High home values and the probate fee math
California sets statutory probate fees for the attorney and the personal representative in Probate Code sections 10800 and 10810. Those fees are a percentage of the gross value of the estate, not the equity. The mortgage does not reduce them. In a region where an ordinary family home is often worth well over a million dollars, the house alone usually pushes an estate past the small-estate procedures, and the fee is figured on the full value. That arithmetic is the main reason a funded living trust earns its place in most Bay Area plans.
Proposition 19 and the family home
Proposition 19, effective February 2021, narrowed the parent-child exclusion from property tax reassessment. In most cases a child now has to make the inherited home their own principal residence for the exclusion to apply, and the amount excluded is capped. On a home held since the 1970s or 1980s, the gap between the assessed value and the market value can be large, so a trust drafted before 2021 may rest on a rule that no longer works the way the family expects.
Heirs and property outside California
Many Bay Area families have adult children in other states or other countries, or real property held outside California. Real property in another state can require a separate ancillary probate there, even when everything in California passes through a trust. Where a spouse is not a United States citizen, the unlimited marital deduction does not apply automatically. A successor trustee who lives far away also needs a plan that is practical to carry out from a distance.
Tech equity, RSUs and stock options
For many Silicon Valley households, a large share of net worth sits in one employer’s stock, in restricted stock units that vest over several years, or in shares that are not yet liquid. These assets need to be addressed by name. Whether unvested equity accelerates, continues or is forfeited at death is decided by the company’s equity plan and grant agreement, not by your trust. Your plan can make sure whatever pays out has somewhere to land and that a successor trustee has clear authority to hold or sell a concentrated position.
Blended families
A second marriage, children from a prior relationship, or stepchildren the family considers its own all change what the plan has to say. California’s default rules do not follow family intentions. A beneficiary form from a previous marriage can still control a retirement account today. Blended families usually need a plan that states, clearly and in writing, who receives what and when, and who is in charge.
Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Services
Estate planning
A typical California plan includes a revocable living trust, a pour-over will, a durable power of attorney for finances, an advance health care directive, and guardianship nominations for minor children. See our estate planning attorney in San Jose page for how we build a plan.
Living trusts
A living trust only avoids probate for the assets actually placed in it. Retitling the home and accounts into the trust is the step that does the work, and it is the step most often left unfinished. Learn more on our living trust attorney page.
Probate
When someone dies owning California assets outside a trust, the family may need probate. We handle the petitions, notices, inventory, creditor claims and court filings. Visit our probate attorney in San Jose page for the full process.
Trust administration
A successor trustee has real duties under the Probate Code, including a 60-day notice to beneficiaries and heirs that starts a 120-day contest window, keeping beneficiaries informed, and accounting. Our trust administration attorney page walks through each one.
How Meetings Work
Every plan starts with a design meeting. We look at what you own, how it is titled, and who depends on you, then explain your options and what to expect before any work begins. You can meet with us in person at our San Jose office, or by secure video when that is easier, which many families in Palo Alto, Fremont and beyond prefer. Signing appointments and any in-person meetings take place at the San Jose office.
Which County Court Handles Probate?
A California probate is generally filed in the superior court of the county where the person who died lived. For a San Jose resident, and for residents of Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Milpitas, Los Gatos, Campbell and Saratoga, that is the probate division of the Santa Clara County Superior Court in downtown San Jose, a few minutes from our office. Fremont is in Alameda County, so a probate for a Fremont resident is generally filed in the Alameda County Superior Court.
Probate in Santa Clara County takes about 8 months at minimum and typically 12 to 18 months. A funded living trust keeps the assets it holds out of that process altogether.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have an office outside San Jose?
No. Our only office is at 100 Century Center Ct., Suite 620, San Jose, CA 95112. We serve families across Santa Clara County and the wider Bay Area, including Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Cupertino and Fremont, and we also meet by secure video when that is easier for you.
Do I need a living trust if I own a home in the Bay Area?
For most Bay Area homeowners, a funded living trust does the heavy lifting, because the home is the asset that would otherwise drive a probate. California’s statutory probate fees are figured on gross value, not equity. Whether a trust is right for you depends on how the property is titled and what else you own.
When is probate needed in California?
Probate is often needed when someone dies owning California assets outside a trust worth more than $208,850, or real property that cannot use a simplified procedure. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, Probate Code section 13151 allows a petition to transfer a primary residence valued up to $750,000 without a full probate.
How should my plan handle RSUs and stock options?
Name them in the plan rather than relying on a general clause about personal property. Your company’s equity plan decides what happens to unvested shares at death. Your trust can give a successor trustee clear authority to hold or sell a concentrated position and make sure any payout has somewhere to land.
My children live outside California. Does that change anything?
It can. Heirs who live out of state can still serve as trustee or receive property, but the plan should be practical to administer from a distance. Real property held in another state may need its own ancillary probate there, which is one reason out-of-state property is often moved into the trust.
Start With a Design Meeting in San Jose
Whether you live in San Jose, on the Peninsula or across the bay in Fremont, the work starts the same way: with what you own, how it is titled, and who depends on you. The documents come after that. To learn more about how we build plans, visit our San Jose estate planning attorney page, or call (408) 945-3950 to schedule a design meeting at our San Jose office.
Trust Law Legacy Group, APC. 100 Century Center Ct., Suite 620, San Jose, CA 95112. (408) 945-3950. Attorney advertising.
This page is general information about California law, not legal advice.