San Diego Estate Planning Attorney
Estate planning attorneys in San Diego
A plan is only as good as the day it is needed. This page covers the local part — where we meet, how the engagement runs, and what San Diego County property adds to the work.
Tresp Law, APC prepares estate plans for San Diego County families from offices at Mission Brewery Plaza in San Diego and in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. A typical California plan pairs a revocable living trust with a pour-over will, an advance health care directive and a durable power of attorney, plus deeds funding local real property.
What each of those documents does, which trust structures exist, and how a will differs from a trust are explained at length on our estate planning page. What follows is the part that page cannot tell you: where you would sit, how the engagement runs, and the two San Diego-specific steps that decide whether the plan actually works.
Estate planning in San Diego
- Offices
- Mission Brewery Plaza, San Diego, and Cardiff-by-the-Sea
- Typical plan
- Revocable living trust, pour-over will, advance health care directive, durable power of attorney
- Funding step
- Deeds for San Diego County real property recorded with the County Recorder
- Property tax
- A change in ownership statement is filed with the County Assessor so the transfer is not reassessed in error
- If planning is not done
- The estate goes through probate under the Probate Code §10810 fee schedule
- Phone
- (858) 248-2779
Why the San Diego office exists
The firm began on the coast, and for years our clients drove to Cardiff. Our Mission Brewery Plaza office at 2150 W Washington St, Suite 203, San Diego, CA 92110 exists so that clients in the city do not have to — and because it is minutes from the county courthouse, which matters when planning turns into administration. Both offices do the same work, with the same attorneys.
What working with us looks like
Planning engagements run in five stages. The one that gets skipped elsewhere is the fourth, and it is the one that determines whether your family avoids probate.
| Stage | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Consultation | We map what you own, how each asset is titled, who should receive it, and who should be in charge if you cannot be | Cardiff-by-the-Sea or Mission Brewery Plaza |
| 2. Design | We recommend a structure — often a revocable living trust, sometimes considerably simpler — and quote it before drafting begins | In writing, after the meeting |
| 3. Drafting and signing | Documents are prepared, reviewed with you line by line, then signed, witnessed and notarised | Either office |
| 4. Funding | Deeds recorded for San Diego County real property, accounts re-titled, beneficiary designations aligned with the plan | Handled by our office |
| 5. Review | We update the plan after a marriage, a birth, a death, a move or a significant change in assets | Either office |
What San Diego County property adds to the work
Two local steps sit between a signed trust and a plan that works. The first is recording a deed transferring your home into the trust; an unfunded trust is the single most common and most expensive planning failure we are called about, and the fix after death is a Heggstad petition if you are fortunate and a full probate if you are not. The second is reporting the transfer to the County Assessor correctly so the property is not reassessed. Neither is difficult. Both have to be done.
Where you would actually meet us
We keep two San Diego County offices. Our Cardiff-by-the-Sea office at 2533 S Coast Hwy 101, Suite 210, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA 92007 is our mailing address and sits in the heart of Cardiff, across the street from the ocean. Our Mission Brewery Plaza office at 2150 W Washington St, Suite 203, San Diego, CA 92110 is in central San Diego, minutes from the county courthouse. A third office serves Wyoming clients at 821 S Main St, Kemmerer, WY 83101. You can see all three on our locations page.
Where to go next
If you want the substance of the documents, read estate planning and trusts. If you are north of the 56, our North County estate planning page covers the coastal and inland communities we serve from Cardiff. If someone has already died, start with trust administration or San Diego probate instead.
Talk to a San Diego estate planning attorney
Tell us what you are dealing with and we will tell you plainly where you stand, which office is most convenient, and what the next step costs. Call (858) 248-2779 or request a consultation online. Tresp Law, APC was founded in 2013 by Elizabeth A. Tresp, JD, LL.M., who reviews every matter the firm takes.
Related services
Common questions
Frequently asked
Do I need a San Diego attorney, or will any California attorney do?
Any California attorney can draft the documents. The local part is funding: the deed transferring your home has to be recorded with the San Diego County Recorder and the transfer reported to the County Assessor. An out-of-area firm that leaves funding to the client is where unfunded trusts come from.
Which office should I book for a planning meeting?
Whichever is easier to reach. Mission Brewery Plaza at 2150 W Washington St, Suite 203, San Diego, CA 92110 suits clients in the city, La Jolla, Carmel Valley, Poway and Rancho Bernardo. Cardiff-by-the-Sea at 2533 S Coast Hwy 101, Suite 210, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA 92007 suits the coast and North County. The work and the attorneys are the same.
Will putting my San Diego house in a trust trigger a property tax reassessment?
A transfer into your own revocable living trust is not intended to be a change in ownership for property tax purposes, but it does have to be reported to the County Assessor on the correct form. Reassessment problems here almost always come from paperwork, not from the trust itself.
How often should a San Diego family update an estate plan?
After any major change — marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, buying or selling property, or a move to another state — and otherwise every few years. California law changes too; a plan drafted for a different tax regime may no longer do what it was built to do.
What happens in San Diego County if I do no planning at all?
The estate is administered by the Superior Court’s Central Division under the intestacy rules, attorney and representative fees follow the statutory schedule in Probate Code §10810, and the court decides who administers the estate and who cares for minor children.
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.