East Bay Estate Planning

The median home value in Alameda County is about $1.0 million (August 2026), and the median single-family home in Contra Costa County sold for about $875,000 in July 2026.

 

California does allow a simpler court process for a primary residence worth up to $750,000. Very few East Bay homes fall under those limits.

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In probate, California sets attorney and executor fees by law as a percentage of the estate's gross value.

 

On a $1 million estate, those two fees come to about $46,000 combined, before court costs, and the process often takes a year or more.

 

A funded living trust avoids it.​

Duplexes, small apartment buildings, in-law units and ADUs are common across Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda and Richmond.

 

When an owner dies or becomes incapacitated, someone has to collect rent, handle repairs and deal with tenants right away.

 

Several East Bay cities, including Oakland and Berkeley, have their own rent and eviction rules that a successor trustee must follow.

 

A trust that names who manages the property, and how, keeps income flowing and avoids costly mistakes.

Many East Bay residents have spent their careers with the University of California, the national laboratories in Livermore and Berkeley, school districts, cities, counties and transit agencies.

 

Pensions and retirement plans like these pass by their own rules, not by your will or trust.

 

Survivor options are usually chosen when you retire and often cannot be changed later, and beneficiary forms on deferred compensation and other accounts can override your estate plan.

 

We review these benefits with you so every piece points the same direction.

Many of our East Bay clients work for companies from the biotech firms of Emeryville and Berkeley to the business parks of San Ramon and Pleasanton.

 

For these families, wealth often goes beyond a home and a retirement account to include company stock, ownership interests and workplace benefits, each with its own rules.

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​We identify what you own, look at how your company documents treat it if you die or become incapacitated, and make sure the people you name can manage it when the time comes.