Orange County Estate Planning

The median home value in Orange County is about $1.2 million (August 2026).

Statutory attorney and executor fees are based on the estate's gross value.

 

On a $1.2 million estate, those two fees come to about $50,000 combined, before court costs, and the process often takes more than a year.

 

A properly funded living trust lets your family avoid it and keep your affairs private.​

About one in five Orange County residents is 65 or older, and communities from Laguna Woods to San Clemente are home to many retirees. For these families, planning for incapacity matters as much as planning for death.

 

A durable power of attorney, an advance health care directive and a trust with a clear successor trustee let the people you choose manage your finances, your home and your care without a court conservatorship.

Many Orange County parents bought homes decades ago and pay property tax on a far lower assessed value under Proposition 13.

 

Since Proposition 19 took effect in 2021, children can keep that lower tax base only if one of them moves into the home as their primary residence, and only up to a value limit.

 

Beach homes and rentals are generally reassessed.

 

We review your options before a transfer happens.

Orange County is home to thousands of family businesses, medical and professional practices, real estate investors and growing companies.

 

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

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