Tresp Law, APC
Estate planning, trust and probate litigation, probate administration and trust administration in San Diego
A San Diego County firm that plans estates, administers trusts and estates, and litigates when families cannot agree.
Tresp Law, APC is a San Diego County law firm that handles estate planning, trust administration, probate administration, and trust and estate litigation. We build the plan, administer the trust or estate when the time comes, and litigate when a dispute cannot be resolved any other way.
Tresp Law, APC at a glance
- Practice areas
- Estate planning · Trusts · Trust administration · Probate administration · Trust and probate litigation · Business
- Offices
- Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA · San Diego, CA · Kemmerer, WY
- Serving
- San Diego County and Southern California
- Principal attorney
- Elizabeth A. Tresp, JD, LL.M.
- Phone
- (858) 248-2779
- inquiries@tresplaw.com
What we do
Tresp Law, APC provides a full range of estate planning, trust and probate litigation, and estate administration services to clients in the greater San Diego area and Southern California. We will review your situation and discuss your options. Our goal is to help you protect your assets and provide for your family.
Most families come to us at one of three moments: when they are putting a plan in place, when someone has died and a trust or estate has to be administered, or when a dispute has broken out among beneficiaries, trustees or executors. We handle all three, which means the advice you get at the planning stage is shaped by what we see go wrong in court.
Practice areas
How we can help
Estate Planning
Wills, revocable living trusts, advance health care directives and powers of attorney, built around your family and your assets. Learn more →Trusts
Revocable and irrevocable trusts, funding, amendments and restatements, and the trust structures that keep an estate out of court. Learn more →Trust Administration
Guiding successor trustees through notices, accountings, tax filings and distribution after a death. Learn more →Probate Administration
Court-supervised administration when assets were not held in trust, from petition through final distribution. Learn more →Heggstad Petitions
Petitions under Probate Code section 850 to confirm assets the settlor intended to hold in trust but never retitled. Learn more →Charitable Planning
Charitable remainder and lead trusts, private foundations and donor advised funds for clients with philanthropic goals. Learn more →Fiduciary Accounting
Court-format accountings for trustees, executors, administrators and conservators, and objections to accountings. Learn more →Trust & Probate Litigation
Trust contests, will contests, breach of fiduciary duty, undue influence, elder financial abuse and trustee removal. Learn more →Mediation
Resolving high-conflict trust and estate disputes without the cost and exposure of a courtroom trial. Learn more →Business Planning
Governance, succession and ownership planning for closely held and family-owned businesses. Learn more →Business Formation
Corporations, LLCs and partnerships, formed and documented so the entity actually holds up. Learn more →Business Contracts
Drafting, reviewing and negotiating the agreements a business runs on. Learn more →Business Dissolution
Winding up, dissolving and deregistering an entity cleanly. Learn more →Legal Secretary Services
Corporate resolutions, minutes and record-keeping so your entity stays in good standing. Learn more →Who you will work with
The firm is led by founder and Principal Attorney Elizabeth A. Tresp, JD, LL.M., who oversees every litigation case personally. Our attorneys practice across the full arc of a family’s legal needs, supported by a full-time staff of paralegals, assistants and management staff. Meet our attorneys or read about the firm.
Where we are
Our offices
Cardiff-by-the-Sea Office
2533 S Coast Hwy 101, Suite 210Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA 92007
In the heart of Cardiff, just across the street from the ocean. This is also our mailing address.
Mission Brewery Plaza Office
2150 W Washington St, Suite 203San Diego, CA 92110
Central San Diego, minutes from the county courthouse.
Kemmerer, WY Office
821 S Main StKemmerer, WY 83101
In the heart of downtown Kemmerer, Wyoming.
Speak with a San Diego trust and estate attorney
Whether you need to secure your family’s future, are dealing with the loss of a loved one, or need litigation counsel, call (858) 248-2779 or contact us online to schedule a consultation. We serve all of San Diego County, including Encinitas, Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe, Escondido, La Jolla, Carlsbad, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Leucadia, Vista, San Marcos, Rancho Bernardo, Poway, Carmel Valley and the City of San Diego.
Common questions
Frequently asked
What does Tresp Law, APC do?
We handle estate planning, trusts, trust administration, probate administration, trust and estate litigation, mediation, and business formation and planning, for clients in San Diego County and throughout Southern California.
Do I need a living trust, or is a will enough in California?
A will alone does not avoid probate. In California, a funded revocable living trust paired with a pour-over will, an advance health care directive and a durable power of attorney is the structure that most often keeps an estate out of court. Which documents you need depends on what you own and how it is titled.
How long does probate take in California?
Probate generally takes one year to eighteen months, and complex estates can take several years. Trust administration for a comparable estate usually takes weeks to months.
What does a successor trustee have to do after a death?
A successor trustee has to give statutory notice to beneficiaries and heirs, identify and value trust assets, handle debts and tax filings, account to the beneficiaries, and then distribute. Those duties carry personal liability, which is why most trustees get counsel.
Can you help if beneficiaries, trustees or executors are in conflict?
Yes. Our litigation department handles trust and will contests, breach of fiduciary duty, undue influence, elder financial abuse, accountings and trustee removal, and we also mediate disputes that both sides want resolved out of court.
Where are your offices and how do I make an appointment?
We have offices in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Mission Brewery Plaza in San Diego, and Kemmerer, Wyoming. Call (858) 248-2779, or send us a message through the contact form, and we will schedule a consultation.
This page is general legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. California trust and probate law is fact-specific and deadlines are unforgiving — please speak with a qualified attorney about your own circumstances.
Talk with a San Diego trust & estate attorney
Let’s protect what you’ve built.
Whether you are planning ahead, administering a trust or estate, or facing a dispute, our attorneys will tell you plainly where you stand and what your options are.