Estate Planning Attorneys in San Diego
Clark Allison LLP’s San Diego office is located at 8880 Rio San Diego Drive, Suite 800, in Mission Valley. We serve families throughout San Diego, La Jolla, Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, La Mesa, El Cajon, Santee, Escondido, Coronado, Point Loma, Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, Rancho Bernardo, Poway, and the broader San Diego County region.
Our San Diego estate planning attorney, Gabi Aboujaoude, works directly with you from your first meeting to your last. Estate planning is not a side practice at Clark Allison: it's the only thing we do. You won’t be handed off to a paralegal or a junior associate. When you work with us in San Diego, you work with Gabi.
Why San Diego Homeowners Need a Living Trust
San Diego has some of the highest home values in California. The median home price in San Diego County regularly exceeds $1,000,000, and in neighborhoods like La Jolla, Carmel Valley, Del Mar, and Rancho Santa Fe, it is substantially higher. For San Diego homeowners, California probate is not an abstract risk. It is an expensive, predictable consequence of dying without a properly funded living trust.
California probate fees are calculated on the gross value of your estate, not your equity, not what you owe on your mortgage, but the full market value. On a San Diego home worth $1,000,000, the combined statutory attorney and executor fees exceed $46,000. The process takes 12 to 18 months. It is public, meaning anyone can look up what you owned and what you owed. Your family has no control over the timeline.
A revocable living trust eliminates all of this. Your successor trustee, the person you choose, handles the distribution of your assets without any court involvement, in a matter of weeks, in complete privacy.
If you own a home in San Diego County, you almost certainly need a living trust. A will alone will not protect your family from probate.
Estate Planning for San Diego Families with Minor Children
For San Diego parents with children at home, estate planning carries an urgency beyond protecting your home from probate. If you and your spouse both die without a completed estate plan, a California court decides who raises your children.
Not who you’d want. Not who you’ve talked about. Who the court picks based on a statutory priority list, without knowing your family, your values, or who you’d actually trust with your kids.
Your will is where you nominate a guardian for your minor children. Your living trust is where you control their inheritance, including when and how they receive it. Without a trust, California law delivers your children’s entire inheritance to them in a lump sum on their 18th birthday. Most parents don’t want that.
A complete California estate plan for a San Diego family with minor children includes:
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What a complete estate plan includes for San Diego families:
- Revocable Living Trust: avoids probate and protects your assets if you become incapacitated
- Pour-Over Will: catches stray assets and names a guardian for your minor children
- Durable Power of Attorney for Finances: authorizes someone to manage your finances if you’re incapacitated
- Advance Health Care Directive: names a health care agent and documents your medical wishes
- HIPAA Authorization: allows your doctors to speak with the people you trust
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Our San Diego Estate Planning Process
We complete most San Diego estate plans in two attorney meetings over about two weeks. The process is simple by design. We’ve been doing this for over 25 years, and we’ve learned that clear, fast, and uncomplicated is what clients actually want.
Meeting 1: Design
Your first meeting is a design session, in person at our Mission Valley office or via Zoom, your choice. You’ll meet Gabi, walk through your family situation and assets, and together design the right plan for you. No homework. Just a conversation.
Meeting 2: Review and Sign
Your second meeting is a review. You’ll go through your completed documents with Gabi, ask any remaining questions, and approve the final plan. Then you sign with our notary - in person or via our online notary service - and you’re done.
Flat fees. No hourly billing. No surprise invoices. Once you’re a client, you can contact us with questions at no charge.
We have more than 340 five-star Trustpilot reviews. Read them before you call - they’ll tell you more about us than we can.
Estate Planning Services at Our San Diego Office
- Revocable Living Trusts: the cornerstone of a California estate plan, designed to avoid probate and protect your family’s inheritance
- Wills: including pour-over wills that work alongside your trust, and guardian nominations for minor children
- Durable Power of Attorney: authorizes someone to manage your finances if you become incapacitated
- Advance Health Care Directive: documents your medical wishes and names a health care decision-maker
- Trust Administration: step-by-step guidance for San Diego successor trustees after a grantor dies
- Living Trust Updates and Reviews: updating existing trusts to reflect life changes, law changes, and Proposition 19 implications
San Diego Estate Planning: Areas We Serve
Our Mission Valley office serves families throughout San Diego County, including San Diego, La Jolla, Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Escondido, Rancho Santa Fe, Rancho Bernardo, Poway, Scripps Ranch, Mira Mesa, Kearny Mesa, Mission Hills, Hillcrest, North Park, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Point Loma, Coronado, Chula Vista, National City, La Mesa, El Cajon, Santee, and Lemon Grove.
We also offer complete virtual estate planning via Zoom for clients anywhere in California. If you’re in San Diego but prefer to meet from home, that works just as well.
Why San Diego Families Choose Clark Allison
San Diego has no shortage of estate planning attorneys. Here is what sets us apart.
- We only do estate planning: Not family law, not real estate, not criminal defense. Estate planning and trust administration, every day, for over 25 years. That focus matters.
- You work with Gabi, not a support staff member: Gabi Aboujaoude is your attorney from first meeting to final signing. She is a 2023 - 2026 SuperLawyer Rising Star, a San Diego resident, and someone who genuinely cares about getting your plan right.
- Flat fees, published upfront: You know the cost before you commit. No hourly billing means you can ask questions without watching a clock.
- Fast: Most San Diego estate plans are done in just a few weeks. If you need it sooner, we can usually accommodate that.
- 340+ five-star Trustpilot reviews: Read what clients say about working with Gabi specifically. The reviews speak for themselves.
Common Estate Planning Mistakes San Diego Families Make
Having a will but no living trust
A will does not avoid California probate — it triggers it. On a San Diego home worth $1,000,000, the combined statutory attorney and executor fees exceed $46,000. A living trust avoids this entirely. For San Diego homeowners, a will alone is not sufficient.
Creating a trust and never funding it
A living trust only protects assets actually transferred into it. If your San Diego home is still titled in your individual name, it goes through probate regardless of what your trust document says.
Ignoring Proposition 19
California’s Proposition 19 changed the rules on inheriting property significantly. Before Prop 19, children could inherit a parent’s home and keep the low property tax rate. Under Prop 19, that protection is limited. San Diego families with high-value homes need to plan carefully around this. An outdated trust written before 2021 may not account for Prop 19 at all.
Outdated beneficiary designations
Retirement accounts, life insurance, and investment accounts pass by beneficiary designation completely outside your trust. Whatever name is in that box is who gets the money, regardless of what your trust says. Review your designations after every significant life event.
Never reviewing the plan
An estate plan written for your family in 2015 may not work for your family in 2026. Life changes. Law changes. California’s probate thresholds have changed. We recommend a review every five years, and immediately after any major life event.
Frequently Asked Questions — San Diego Estate Planning
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Answer
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Do I need a living trust if I own a home in San Diego?
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Almost certainly yes. San Diego home values far exceed California’s probate threshold of $69,625. A will does not avoid probate — it triggers it. On a $1,000,000 San Diego home, statutory probate fees exceed $46,000. A properly funded living trust avoids all of it.
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What does California probate cost for a San Diego estate?
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California sets attorney and executor fees by statute based on gross estate value. On a $1,000,000 home: approximately $23,000 each for attorney and executor, totaling $46,000+ before court costs and appraisals. Calculated on gross value, not equity. The process also takes 12 to 18 months and is public record.
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What happens to my kids if I die without an estate plan in California?
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A court decides who raises them, based on a statutory priority list. Without a guardian nomination in your will, the court chooses without knowing your wishes. A complete estate plan puts that decision in your hands.
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How does Proposition 19 affect estate planning in San Diego?
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Prop 19 significantly limited the parent-to-child property tax exclusion. In most cases, children who inherit a San Diego home will face a property tax reassessment based on current market value unless they move in as their primary residence. This makes trust planning more important, not less, for San Diego families with high-value homes.
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How long does estate planning take with Clark Allison?
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Most San Diego estate plans can be completed in a few weeks from your first meeting. Two attorney meetings. Fixed fees you’ll know upfront. No hourly billing.
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My trust is 10 years old. Do I need to update it?
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Probably yes. Estate tax changes, Proposition 19, the Secure Act changes to inherited IRAs, and updated probate thresholds changes all affect existing trusts. If your trust hasn’t been reviewed since 2020, schedule a review. An outdated estate plan can create serious problems.
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Do I need to come into the Mission Valley office?
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No. We offer complete virtual estate planning via Zoom. You get the same attorney, the same documents, and the same quality from your home. If you prefer in-person, our Mission Valley office at 8880 Rio San Diego Dr. is centrally located and easy to reach from most of San Diego County.
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How much does a living trust cost in San Diego?
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We charge flat fees and publish our prices on our website. No hourly billing and no surprise invoices. Visit our pricing page for a full breakdown.
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What areas do you serve from the San Diego office?
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All of San Diego County — La Jolla, Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, El Cajon, Santee, Escondido, Rancho Bernardo, Poway, Coronado, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Point Loma, and everywhere in between. We also serve all of California virtually.
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We Can Help
Ready to get your San Diego estate plan done? Call us at (858) 290-7202 or click below to schedule a free intro conversation with Gabi. We’ll explain what you need and what it will cost — easy conversation, no obligation, no hourly clock.
