Make sure the people you love are taken care of, and the assets you've built go exactly where you intend.

A typical estate plan from the Law Offices of Robert P. Bergman includes a revocable living trust, pour-over wills, durable powers of attorney, advance health care directives, HIPAA authorizations, a certification of trust, a general assignment of property to the trust, and California real estate transfers. Final fees depend on complexity, asset structure, and the planning needs of your family. Bob will give you a written fee estimate after your initial Preliminary Planning Session.

A will directs how your assets are distributed at death and goes through probate, a court-supervised process. A revocable living trust holds your assets during life and distributes them at death without probate. Most California families with a home choose a trust because California probate is slow, public, and expensive.

The State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization, certifies a small number of attorneys as specialists in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law. Less than 1% of California attorneys hold the certification. It requires demonstrated experience, peer review, and a written examination. Re-certification is required every five years.

Yes. An estate plan is not only about taxes or asset transfer. It names guardians for minor children, names health care decision makers if you cannot speak for yourself, and avoids probate even on modest estates. California law has a small-estate threshold for some procedures, but a proper plan still saves time, money, and family conflict.

A California court has the final say over who raises your minor children, with or without a plan. What a plan does is let you nominate the guardians you want. The court follows California law and considers the people you nominate, so your wishes are on the record in advance. A nomination of guardians is included in every estate plan Bob drafts, which reduces conflict among family members.

If Mr. Bergman prepared your original estate plan, it can be updated by amendment or restatement, depending on the changes you need. If you are a new client and another attorney prepared your existing plan, Bob generally requires that the plan be completely redone so that it conforms to current law and planning techniques. The right approach depends on the changes you need. Bring the trust to your meeting and Bob will tell you which fits.

A Heggstad petition is a court request asking a judge to confirm that an asset belongs to a trust, even though the asset was never formally transferred into the trust during the owner’s lifetime. California Probate Code Section 850 permits these petitions. They are a common fix when a settlor signs a trust but never funds a specific property, account, or business interest.

Most plans are signed within three to six weeks of the Plan Design Meeting, which follows your free Preliminary Planning Session and the design paperwork. Step one is the Plan Design Meeting. Step two is drafting and a draft review meeting. Step three is the signing appointment. Step four is funding, the work of moving assets into the trust. Bob walks you through each step.

Bob serves families across the greater San Francisco Bay Area, with clients in approximately 50 Bay Area cities. The office is in the Cambrian Park neighborhood of San Jose, and meetings are available in person or by Zoom. He also handles Heggstad petitions and trust modification petitions for clients throughout California.

Your free Preliminary Planning Session is a conversation about your situation and what a custom plan would look like for your family. Bring any existing wills or trusts and a general sense of who you would involve in your plan. Detailed asset, family, and beneficiary information is gathered after engagement, in preparation for the Plan Design Meeting. For a trust petition matter, bring the trust, the schedule of assets, and any deeds or account statements relevant to the asset in question.