Allenby Law is a San Diego estate planning law firm helping California families build, protect, and pass on what they have worked for. The firm focuses on revocable living trusts, irrevocable asset protection trusts, wills, probate, special needs planning, business succession, and California property tax strategy under Proposition 19. Allenby Law serves clients throughout San Diego County, including La Jolla, Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Rancho Bernardo, Encinitas, Carlsbad, and downtown San Diego. The firm structures every estate plan to keep assets out of probate, preserve property tax base where possible, and reflect the family’s actual wishes rather than California’s default intestate distribution under Probate Code Sections 6400 through 6414.
Schedule a consultation with Allenby Law. We will walk through your assets, your family, and what you want to happen, and we will explain exactly what your plan needs to do.
What Does an Estate Planning Attorney in San Diego Actually Do?
A San Diego estate planning attorney does three things that matter to most families. First, they translate your wishes into legal documents that California courts and California institutions will honor. Second, they identify the tax, probate, and creditor exposures you may not see on your own, particularly around real estate and Proposition 19. Third, they build a plan that holds up when you can no longer make decisions for yourself.
The legal documents are the visible work product: a revocable living trust, a pour-over will, an advance health care directive, a durable power of attorney for finances, a HIPAA authorization, and the deeds and assignments needed to fund your trust. The strategic work, less visible but more valuable, is deciding what those documents should say.
A well-built San Diego estate plan addresses three timelines simultaneously: what happens if you become incapacitated, what happens at your death, and what happens to your beneficiaries after they inherit. Each timeline has its own legal mechanics, its own tax consequences, and its own opportunities for problems if it is not handled correctly.
Who Needs an Estate Plan in California?
In California, the question is not whether you need an estate plan. The question is whether you want California’s default plan or your own. The default plan is intestate succession under the California Probate Code, and most families do not actually want what it produces.
If you own real estate in California, you need a plan. A home in San Diego, even one purchased decades ago at a fraction of its current value, will almost certainly exceed the small estate threshold and trigger probate without proactive planning.
If you have minor children, you need a plan. California courts will appoint a guardian for your children if you do not name one in writing, and the court’s choice may not match yours.
If you have a blended family, an adult child with creditor exposure, a special needs family member, a business, or a beneficiary you do not want to inherit a lump sum at age 18, you need a plan.
If you are married, you need a plan that coordinates with California community property law. The default rules can produce surprising results, particularly for second marriages and for couples with separate property assets.
What Estate Planning Services Does Allenby Law Provide?
Revocable Living Trusts: The foundation of most San Diego estate plans, designed to keep your assets out of probate, manage incapacity, and pass property privately and efficiently.
Pour-Over Wills: The companion to a trust, designed to capture any assets not formally funded into the trust during your lifetime and direct them to the trust at death.
Advance Health Care Directives: The California statutory form (or a customized version) that names your health care agent and documents your treatment preferences under California Probate Code Section 4670.
Durable Power of Attorney for Finances: The document that allows your chosen agent to manage your financial affairs if you become incapacitated, avoiding a costly court conservatorship.
Irrevocable Trusts: For asset protection, estate tax planning, special needs beneficiaries, life insurance ownership, and charitable giving. These are highly specialized and require careful tax planning.
Probate Administration: When a loved one dies without a trust, or when assets are left outside the trust, Allenby Law represents executors and administrators through the full probate process in San Diego Superior Court.
Trust Administration: After the trustmaker’s death, the successor trustee has fiduciary duties under California Probate Code Sections 16060 through 16069. Allenby Law guides trustees through notifications, tax filings, asset transfers, and beneficiary distributions.
California Property Tax Strategy: Proposition 19 dramatically changed the rules for transferring property between parents and children. Every plan involving California real estate requires Prop 19 analysis.
Business Succession Planning: For owners of San Diego businesses, the firm coordinates buy-sell agreements, operating agreements, and trust integration to keep the business running across generations.
Special Needs Planning: Third-party special needs trusts that preserve eligibility for SSI and Medi-Cal while providing supplemental support.
How Is San Diego Estate Planning Different from Other States?
California estate planning is shaped by three features that most other states do not share. The first is California’s high real estate values combined with its statutory probate fee structure. A modest San Diego home of $1 million generates roughly $46,000 in combined statutory probate fees under Probate Code Section 10810 if it passes through probate. That fee is calculated on gross value, not equity, so a home with a substantial mortgage still triggers the full fee.
The second is California’s community property regime. Property acquired during marriage in California is presumptively community property, and at the death of the first spouse, the surviving spouse receives a full step-up in basis on both halves of the community property under federal tax law. This is a significant tax advantage for married couples who plan correctly.
The third is Proposition 19, passed in November 2020 and effective February 16, 2021. Prop 19 fundamentally changed the parent-child exclusion from property tax reassessment. The old rule, under Proposition 58, allowed parents to transfer a primary residence (and up to $1 million of assessed value in other real estate) to a child without triggering reassessment. Prop 19 limits the parent-child exclusion to a primary residence that the child uses as their own primary residence within one year, and even then caps the protected value. Rental properties and second homes no longer qualify. Vacation homes and inherited investment properties are now reassessed at full market value, often producing property tax bills three or four times higher than the parents paid.
A San Diego estate plan that ignores Prop 19 will quietly destroy the property tax base for the next generation.
What Should You Expect at Your First Consultation?
Your first consultation with Allenby Law typically runs 60 to 90 minutes. We will ask about your family (spouses, children, prior marriages, family dynamics), your assets (real estate, retirement accounts, business interests, life insurance), and your goals (who receives what, when, with what protections). We do not need precise numbers at the first meeting; ballpark figures and a general inventory are enough to start.
We will explain the legal options available to you, the trade-offs between them, and the costs involved. We will not pressure you to sign anything that day. We will give you a clear scope, a fixed fee where possible, and a realistic timeline. You should walk out of the first consultation knowing exactly what you have, what you need, and what it will cost.
How Do You Choose the Right San Diego Estate Planning Attorney?
Three things matter when choosing an estate planning attorney in San Diego.
First, look for an attorney whose primary practice is estate planning. Estate planning is technical work, and an attorney who handles a broader range of matters may not catch the California-specific tax and property issues that drive most family disputes.
Second, look for someone who explains, not just drafts. A good estate planning attorney spends as much time on the conversation as on the document. The document is only useful if it reflects what you actually wanted, and that requires real listening.
Third, look for someone who builds a relationship, not just a transaction. Estate plans need to be reviewed and updated as laws, families, and assets change. The attorney you work with should still be your attorney five years from now.
What Does It Cost to Hire an Estate Planning Attorney in San Diego?
Allenby Law works on flat fees for estate planning, not hourly billing, so you know the cost before you start. A complete revocable living trust package for a single client typically runs $2,500 to $4,500. A couples’ package runs $3,500 to $6,000. Complex plans involving business interests, irrevocable trusts, or out-of-state property are quoted individually.
The fee covers the legal work, document preparation, attorney conferences, signing meetings, and the funding instructions. Recording fees for deeds and any third-party costs (such as appraisals if needed) are separate.
Compare these one-time planning fees to the cost of probate without a plan, which typically runs $40,000 to $80,000 on a San Diego home plus 12 to 24 months of delay, and the value of front-loading the work becomes clear.
How Long Does It Take to Complete an Estate Plan?
A typical Allenby Law estate plan moves from initial consultation to signed and funded documents in four to six weeks. The timeline includes the design conversation, drafting the documents, a review meeting where we walk through every paragraph with you, the signing meeting, and the funding work to retitle assets into your trust.
If you have a time-sensitive situation, such as a serious diagnosis, an upcoming surgery, or international travel, we can move faster. Speak with us at the consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Estate Planning in San Diego
Q: Do I need a trust or just a will?
A: For most San Diego families who own real estate, a revocable living trust is the better tool. A will alone does not avoid probate; a properly funded trust does.
Q: Can I do an estate plan online?
A: Online forms can produce a will, but they cannot give you Prop 19 analysis, community property planning, or coordination with your retirement accounts and life insurance. For California real estate owners, the gap between an online template and a properly designed plan is significant.
Q: What if I already have an old plan?
A: Bring it. We will review it for current law, current assets, and current family circumstances. Prop 19 alone has made many pre-2021 plans incomplete for California real estate owners.
Q: Where in San Diego County does Allenby Law work?
A: The firm serves clients throughout San Diego County, including La Jolla, Del Mar, Carmel Valley, Rancho Bernardo, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Poway, Chula Vista, downtown San Diego, and the surrounding communities
The right estate plan reflects your family, your assets, and what you actually want. Allenby Law builds plans that hold up when they need to. Schedule a consultation.
