Pleasanton families can get a complete California living trust estate plan without ever walking into a law office. Two Zoom meetings, one signing session from your home, and you're done. Flat fee. No hourly billing. No surprises. Easy.
If you've been putting off your estate plan because you can't find time to drive to and sit in a lawyer's office, that reason just went away.
Pleasanton is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the East Bay. Median home prices are running around $1.5 million, with many neighborhoods pushing well beyond that median price.
That home value changes the math on what happens if you die without an estate plan.
California probate fees are set by statute and calculated on the gross value of your estate before any mortgage is subtracted. On a $1.5 million home, combined attorney and executor fees run roughly $56,000. On a $1.8 million home, closer to $66,000. Add court costs, appraisal fees, and 12 to 18 months of a court process while your family waits. All of it is avoidable with a properly funded living trust. More on the California probate process and costs here.
A living trust is not just for wealthy families. If you own a home in Pleasanton and you die without one, your family deals with the Alameda County probate court. That's the default. The way around it is a living trust.
Here's what a complete California living trust estate plan includes:
All of the above. Flat fee. Done virtually if you prefer.
Most Pleasanton residents work in the Bay Area tech corridor, commute to San Francisco, or run their own businesses. You're busy. You don't have a free afternoon to drive to a law office, wait in a lobby, and sit through a meeting during work hours.
Virtual estate planning removes that problem entirely.
Here's how it works when you hire Clark Allison:
Meeting One. We schedule a Zoom call with your attorney. You talk through your family situation, your assets, what you want to happen when you die, and who you want in charge. This is not a form-filling exercise. This is a real conversation with a California estate planning attorney. You'll enjoy it more than you expect
. We ask questions most online services never think to ask. The meeting usually runs one hour.
Document Preparation. Your attorney drafts your complete estate plan. You get a copy to review before the second meeting.
Meeting Two. We walk through your documents on Zoom. You review, ask questions, request any changes. When you're satisfied, we schedule the signing. This meeting is usually less than one hour.
Signing. You join a video call with a remote online notary. Your identity is verified, you sign electronically, and the notary notarizes your documents. The whole appointment is usually about 30 minutes. Completely legal in California. Thousands of California families have signed their estate plans this way.
After Signing. We record your trust transfer deed with the Alameda County Recorder's Office. You get final copies of all your documents. And once you're a Clark Allison client, you can contact your attorney with questions about your estate plan for free. That's not a limited-time offer. It's just how we work.
The whole process takes two to three weeks from first meeting to signed documents.
Most Pleasanton residents are used to Bay Area pricing, where estate planning fees routinely run $5,000 to $8,000 or more, and most firms won't quote you a number until after a consultation.
We publish our fees because we think you deserve to know what something costs before you call.
Our fee for a standard living trust estate plan is $3,000 for a single person and $4,000 for a married couple. That's a flat fee that covers everything: both attorney meetings, all document drafting, the remote signing session, and recording your deed with the county. No hourly billing. No add-ons for basic documents. (The price can vary based on the complexity of your specific plan.)
If your situation is more complex, we'll tell you before we start.
No. And here's why that question matters less than you think.
California estate planning law is statewide. A living trust prepared by a licensed California attorney in El Dorado Hills is legally identical to one prepared by a licensed California attorney on Main Street in Pleasanton. The law doesn't vary by county. What varies is the attorney's experience, their fee, and how easy it is to work with them.
What you actually need is a California-licensed attorney who does estate planning exclusively, whose firm has done it for a long time, and who will take care of you after the documents are signed.
Clark Allison has been doing California estate planning since 1996. We do not do personal injury, business law, family law, or immigration. We do estate planning. That's it. Our attorneys have helped thousands of California families from Sacramento to San Diego. Most of our clients in the Bay Area and beyond never visit one of our offices. They don't need to.
Frankly, the big issue is: can you reach your estate planning attorney when you need her? Most attorneys will return your call or email in days. We aim to return client calls and emails within hours, and for free, without billable hours. What good is it to have an attorney whose office is nearby, but she doesn't respond timely to your questions, and who you may even be afraid to call because you know you will be on the billable clock?
If you prefer to meet in person, we have offices in El Dorado Hills, Roseville, San Luis Obispo, and San Diego. But for Pleasanton families, virtual is usually the better choice anyway. There's no commute. No parking. No waiting room. You do it from wherever you are.
We've worked with enough Bay Area families to know the patterns. These are the mistakes we see most often.
The most common mistake is owning a $1.5 million home in Pleasanton and assuming your estate plan handles it, when in fact the house was never actually transferred into the trust. A trust only controls assets that are titled in the name of the trust. If your deed still shows your name and not your trust's name, the house goes through probate when you die.
This step is called funding, and it requires a deed recorded at the Alameda County Recorder's Office. We handle this. Not every firm does.
Proposition 19, which took effect in February 2021, significantly changed how property transfers between parents and children in California. If your estate plan predates that change and includes real property you plan to leave to your kids, the assumptions built into your plan may be wrong.
Beyond Prop 19, California law has changed in other ways, and your life has probably changed too. If you haven't looked at your estate plan since before 2021, it's time.
Estate planning is not just about what happens when you die. It's also about what happens if you can't make decisions for yourself. Without a durable power of attorney and an advance health care directive, your family may need to go to court to get authority over your affairs. That process is called a conservatorship. It's expensive, slow, and entirely avoidable.
If you have real estate, investment accounts, or a business interest in the Bay Area, leaving this step out is a serious gap.
For most Pleasanton families with standard retirement accounts and adult children, naming the trust as the IRA or 401(k) beneficiary adds unnecessary complexity. Naming adult children directly on the beneficiary designation form is simpler and faster for everyone. For minor children, the trust as beneficiary can make sense. But it depends on the specifics. A good estate planning attorney walks you through each account and makes a deliberate decision, rather than applying a blanket rule.
Can I really get my estate plan done on Zoom? Yes. Every step of the process, from the initial attorney meeting through document review and signing, can be done on Zoom from your home. California law permits remote online notarization through out-of-state notaries, which is how we handle the signing appointment. Thousands of California families have done this. It's legal, it works, and it's easier than driving somewhere.
How long does the process take? Two to three weeks from your first meeting to signed documents, in most cases. We don't drag it out.
Do I need a Pleasanton or Alameda County attorney specifically? No. California estate planning law is statewide. A licensed California attorney can prepare your trust regardless of where they're located. What matters is their experience with California estate planning, not their zip code.
What is included in the flat fee? Both attorney Zoom meetings, all document drafting (trust, will, power of attorney, health care directive), the remote signing session, and recording your deed with the Alameda County Recorder's Office. Questions after signing are always free.
What if I already have a trust? We can review it. If it's current and properly funded, great. If it needs updating or was never funded, we'll tell you what it takes to fix it and what that costs.
We work with Pleasanton and Tri-Valley families virtually from anywhere in California, and in person at our El Dorado Hills and San Luis Obispo offices. Our fee for most families is $3,000 single or $4,000 married. Flat fee. Questions after signing are always free.