Estate Planning Attorneys in San Luis Obispo

Clark Allison LLP’s San Luis Obispo office is located at 1150 Osos Street, Suite 205, in downtown San Luis Obispo. We serve families throughout San Luis Obispo County, including San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach, Arroyo Grande, Morro Bay, Atascadero, Grover Beach, Shell Beach, Los Osos, Nipomo, and the broader Central Coast.

Estate planning is all we do. Our SLO attorneys Kate Kittinger and Clark Allison focus exclusively on living trusts, wills, powers of attorney, health care directives, and trust administration. We don’t do general practice. We do one thing, and we do it well.

Clark Allison LLP is a California estate planning law firm with offices in El Dorado Hills, Roseville, San Diego, and San Luis Obispo, and we work with clients virtually throughout the state.

Clark and his wife have a home in San Luis Obispo, and his daughter attends Cal Poly. Kate commutes from her ranch.

Why Central Coast Homeowners Need a Living Trust

Property values on the Central Coast have increased substantially over the past decade. San Luis Obispo County home prices regularly exceed $1,000,000, and in communities like Pismo Beach, Shell Beach, and Los Osos with coastal real estate, values are significantly higher. For Central Coast 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 set by statute as a percentage of your estate’s gross value, not the equity you have in the property, not what you owe on your mortgage, but the full market value. If your SLO home is worth $1,000,000 with a $500,000 mortgage, the statutory fees are still calculated on the full $1,000,000. The combined attorney and executor fees on that estate exceed $46,000. The process takes 12 to 18 months and becomes part of the public record.

A revocable living trust avoids all of this. Your family receives your assets directly, without court involvement, in a matter of weeks, in complete privacy. For Central Coast families with real property, a living trust isn’t optional - it’s essential.

If you own a home in San Luis Obispo County, you almost certainly need a living trust. A will alone does not protect your family from probate.

Estate Planning Built for the Central Coast

Clark and his family have a home in San Luis Obispo, where his daughter attends Cal Poly. Kate Kittinger serves Central Coast clients in person and virtually. Together, they bring 35 combined years of estate planning experience to every client relationship.

SLO County has specific estate planning considerations worth knowing. Coastal real estate values make probate particularly costly here. The mix of longtime local families, retirees who have chosen the Central Coast for its quality of life, and Cal Poly faculty and staff creates a diverse range of estate planning needs - all of which we handle regularly.

We have more than 340 five-star Trustpilot reviews from families across California, including Central Coast clients who found us, liked what they saw, and referred their neighbors.

Our San Luis Obispo Estate Planning Process

We make estate planning straightforward. Most SLO families complete their estate plan in two attorney meetings over about two to three weeks.

Meeting 1: Design

In your first meeting, in person at our downtown SLO office on Osos Street or via Zoom, your choice, you’ll work directly with one of our attorneys to design your estate plan. We’ll discuss your family, your assets, and what you want your plan to accomplish. No homework required. Just a conversation.

Meeting 2: Review and Sign

Your second meeting is a review. You’ll go through your completed documents with your attorney, ask any remaining questions, and approve the final plan. Then you’ll 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.

Estate Planning Services at Our San Luis Obispo Office

Revocable Living Trusts: the most reliable way for California homeowners to avoid probate, protecting your family and your assets
Wills: including pour-over wills that work alongside your living trust, and guardian nominations for minor children
Durable Power of Attorney: authorizes someone you trust to manage your finances if you become incapacitated
Advance Health Care Directive: documents your medical wishes and names a health care agent
Trust Administration: guidance for successor trustees navigating the process after a loved one passes
Trust Updates and Reviews: updating outdated living trusts to reflect current California law and your current family circumstances

San Luis Obispo Estate Planning: Areas We Serve

Our downtown San Luis Obispo office serves families throughout San Luis Obispo County, including San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach, Shell Beach, Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Nipomo, Oceano, Morro Bay, Los Osos, Atascadero, Templeton, Cambria, Cayucos, and the broader Central Coast region.

We also offer complete virtual estate planning via Zoom for clients anywhere in California. If you’re on the Central Coast but prefer to meet from home, that works just as well.

Why Central Coast Families Choose Clark Allison

We only do estate planning: Not general practice, not litigation, not family law. Estate planning and trust administration, for nearly 30 years. That focus is what makes us very good at it.
You work with an attorney: Not a paralegal, not a staff coordinator. Kate Kittinger or Clark Allison are with you from first meeting to the final signing.
Flat fees, published upfront: You will know the cost before you commit. No hourly billing means you can ask questions without watching a clock.
Fast: Most estate plans are done in two or three weeks. If you need it sooner, we can usually accommodate that.
Local presence: Clark and his family have a home in San Luis Obispo, where his daughter attends Cal Poly.
340+ five-star Trustpilot reviews: Read what clients across California say about working with Clark Allison. The reviews tell you more about us than we can.

Common Estate Planning Mistakes Central Coast Families Make

Having a will but no living trust

A will does not avoid California probate — it triggers it. On a Central Coast home worth $1,000,000, the combined statutory attorney and executor fees exceed $46,000. A living trust avoids this entirely. For San Luis Obispo County homeowners, a will alone is not sufficient.

Creating a trust and never funding it

A living trust only protects the assets actually transferred into it. If your SLO home is still titled in your individual name, it goes through probate regardless of what your trust document says. We handle the funding process for your home and help you fund your other assets.

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. Review your designations after every significant life event: marriage, divorce, new child, death in the family.

Never reviewing the plan

An estate plan written for your family in 2015 may not work for your family today. Proposition 19 changed the rules on inheriting property. The Secure Act changed inherited IRA rules. And the One Big Beautiful Bill changed the estate tax law. Life changes. We recommend a review every five years, and immediately after any major life event.

Frequently Asked Questions — San Luis Obispo Estate Planning

Question	Answer
Do I need a living trust if I own a home in San Luis Obispo County?	Almost certainly yes. San Luis Obispo County home values regularly exceed California’s probate threshold. A will does not avoid probate. On a $1,000,000 Central Coast home, statutory probate fees exceed $46,000. A properly funded living trust avoids all of it.
What does California probate cost for a Central Coast estate?	California sets attorney and executor fees by statute based on gross estate value, not equity. On a $1,000,000 home: combined statutory fees exceed $46,000, before court costs and appraisals. The process also takes 12 to 18 months and is public record.
What is the difference between a will and a living trust?	A will tells the court your wishes, but your estate still goes through California probate. A living trust transfers your assets to your family without any court involvement. For San Luis Obispo County homeowners, a living trust is almost always the better choice.
What happens to my kids if I die without an estate plan?	A California 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.
How long does estate planning take?	Most Central Coast estate plans are completed in about two weeks from your first meeting. Two attorney meetings. Fixed fees you’ll know upfront. No hourly billing.
I have a living trust from several years ago. Do I need to update it?	Probably yes. Proposition 19 significantly changed property inheritance rules in California. The Secure Act changed inherited IRA rules. And the One Big Beautiful Bill changed the estate tax law. If your trust was written before 2020, it almost certainly needs a review. An outdated plan can create serious problems for your family.
Do I need to come into the downtown SLO office?	No. We offer complete virtual estate planning via Zoom from anywhere in California. If you prefer in-person, our office at 1150 Osos Street is in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo, convenient to most of SLO County.
How much does a living trust cost in San Luis Obispo?	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.
Do you handle trust administration in San Luis Obispo?	Yes. If a family member has passed away with a living trust, we guide successor trustees through the entire trust administration process, notifying beneficiaries, handling creditors, transferring assets, and making distributions.
What areas do you serve from the SLO office?	All of San Luis Obispo County, SLO, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach, Shell Beach, Arroyo Grande, Morro Bay, Atascadero, Los Osos, Templeton, Cambria, Cayucos, and the broader Central Coast. We also serve all of California virtually.

Ready to get your estate plan done? Call us at (800) 394-1988 or click below to schedule a free intro conversation with one of our attorneys. We’ll help you sort out what you need - no pressure, no obligation, no hourly clock.

Contact Us

Kate Kittinger

Kate has been an attorney for 15 years and has dedicated her practice to helping individuals and families protect what matters most through estate planning. She believes everyone will have estate planning touch their lives at some point — and she has made it her mission to make that experience as clear and comfortable as possible.

Kate received her Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law and her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California Lutheran University.

Kate and her husband and kids have recently made a big move: trading suburban life for a 100-acre ranch affectionately known as Kate's 100-Acre Wood, complete with her dogs, horses, and the kind of wide-open space that makes the Central Coast so special. She loves traveling, hiking, and has set an ambitious goal of visiting every National Park before her kids are grown.

Clark Allison

Clark has been a California estate planning attorney since 1996. He graduated from Sacramento State with a B.S. in Management Information Systems, Fuller Theological Seminary with an M.A. in Theology (he almost became a pastor), McGeorge Law School with a J.D., and Golden Gate University School of Law with an LL.M. in Tax. He is licensed in both California and Tennessee.

Clark and his wife Paula have two adult daughters, one of whom attends Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, which is part of what drew the family to the Central Coast. They recently purchased a home in San Luis Obispo and are putting down roots here.

Clark has been named a Sacramento Magazine top estate planning attorney and the best of El Dorado Hills estate planning attorneys.