The RegistryPractice Area · Statewide
Find Estate Planning Lawyers in California
Counsel for wills, trusts, and probate: the paperwork that outlives you, done right. This is the statewide record for estate planning in California: every attorney on the State Bar of California's official roll whose published practice reaches this area, shown in neutral directory order.
Californians search this field under many names · estate planning attorney, estate planning lawyer, living trust lawyer, living trust attorney, will attorney · and the registry answers all of them from the same source. Below: the governing deadline with its citation, what to weigh as you read the record, the questions Californians ask with the code sections that answer them, and estate planning coverage county by county, from Del Norte to San Diego.
The clock & the craft
120 days to contest a trust after the trustee's statutory notice.
Cal. Prob. Code § 16061.8
A trustee's notification under Prob. Code § 16061.7 starts a 120-day contest window. Creditor claims in probate are generally barred one year after death (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 366.2).
Reading the roster
For planning, look for attorneys who practice estate law day in and day out; ask whether the fee is flat, what the package includes (trust, pour-over will, powers of attorney, health care directive, deed work to fund the trust), and how updates are handled after marriages, births, or moves. For probate or trust administration, ask about experience in the county's probate department, statutory fees under Prob. Code § 10810, and expected timelines.
Estate Planning · statewide roster
12,963 attorneys on the official State Bar of California roll list estate planning among their practice areas, with an address of record in 57 of California's 58 counties.
12,419 of them hold an active licence; the remainder are recorded as inactive and are not currently eligible to practise.
The largest county rosters are Los Angeles (3,255), Orange (1,550), San Diego (1,367), San Francisco (648) and Santa Clara (606).
1,138 hold a State Bar Certified Legal Specialist designation, a certification issued by the State Bar's Board of Legal Specialization, and not a rating or a ranking.
485 are recorded as taking client work in a language other than English.
Estate Planning matters in California
The matters this field covers, as Californians search for them. Each attorney's own profile states which of these they take.
- wills and living trusts
- probate administration
- trust administration
- will and trust contests
- powers of attorney and health care directives
- conservatorships
- estate tax planning
- special needs trusts
- small estate procedures
- trustee and executor disputes
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In the last 30 days attorneys have read 1 filed matter on the registry.
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Estate Planning questions, cited
What makes a will valid in California?
A formal will must be in writing, signed by the testator, and witnessed by two people present at the same time who understand it is a will (Cal. Prob. Code § 6110). A holographic will, with the signature and material terms in the testator's own handwriting, needs no witnesses (Cal. Prob. Code § 6111). California also offers a fill-in statutory will form (Prob. Code § 6240).
Does a living trust avoid probate in California?
Assets properly titled in a revocable living trust pass under the trust's terms without probate administration, the successor trustee distributes them per Cal. Prob. Code §§ 16000 et seq. The trust only works for assets actually transferred into it; property left outside may still require probate unless it fits the small-estate procedures or passes by beneficiary designation.
When is probate required in California, and can a small estate skip it?
Probate is generally required when the qualifying gross value of a decedent's California property exceeds the small-estate threshold of Cal. Prob. Code § 13100: $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025 ($184,500 for deaths from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2025), adjusted every three years under § 890. Below it, successors can collect assets by affidavit 40 days after death. Real property has separate procedures: a petition for the decedent's primary residence worth up to $750,000 (Prob. Code § 13151) and an affidavit for real property of small value (§ 13200).
How long do I have to contest a trust or a will in California?
For a trust, 120 days after the trustee serves the notification required by Cal. Prob. Code § 16061.7 (or 60 days after receiving the trust terms on request, if later), Prob. Code § 16061.8. A will contest is filed before admission to probate or, after admission, within 120 days (Cal. Prob. Code § 8270). Missing these windows usually ends the challenge.
What happens if I die without a will in California?
Your estate passes by intestate succession under Cal. Prob. Code §§ 6400 et seq. Community property goes to the surviving spouse; separate property is divided among spouse, children, parents, or siblings by statutory formula. The court chooses the administrator and heirs are fixed by statute rather than by your wishes, the situation an estate plan exists to prevent.
Legal information, not legal advice.
From the answer files
Estate Planning in all 58 counties
Estate Planning by city
Adjacent shelves of the law
Full Estate Planning rosters, by surname
If cost is the concern
Court self-help, legal-aid organizations and attorney-stated fee options, with source links. No account or case submission is needed to use them.
Read the record. Then decide.
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Find Your Counsel278,688 attorneys · 58 counties · Official State Bar records