Peninsula Estate Planning

The median home value in San Mateo County is about $1.6 million (August 2026).

 

A home owned outside a trust generally goes through probate, and statutory attorney and executor fees are set by law as a percentage of the estate's gross value.

 

On a $1.6 million estate, those two fees alone total $58,000, before court costs.

 

 A properly funded living trust lets your family avoid that process.

Since April 1, 2025, California allows simplified transfers for personal property up to $208,850 and for a primary residence worth up to $750,000.

 

Very few homes on the Peninsula fall under that residence limit, so most Peninsula homeowners still need a trust to keep their home out of full probate.

Before 2021, parents could pass a home to their children and keep the low property tax base built up under Proposition 13.

 

Under Proposition 19, that benefit now applies only when a child moves into the family home as their primary residence, and only up to a value limit.

 

 We review your property, your children's plans, and your options before a transfer happens.

Many of our clients work for companies along the 101 corridor, from the biotech campuses of South San Francisco to the tech firms of Redwood City, Menlo Park and San Carlos.

 

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.

 

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.