Estate Planning Lawyer Oakland, CA
At Davidson Estate Law, we have helped Bay Area families with wills, trusts, and estate planning for more than 25 years. Our Oakland office sits at 1300 Clay Street, a short walk from downtown and Lake Merritt. If you live in Oakland or the surrounding East Bay, we can help you create a first estate plan, update documents that no longer reflect your wishes, or decide whether a living trust makes sense for your property and family.
Oakland Property and Living Trusts
For an Oakland homeowner, deciding what should happen to their home after death is only part of the question. The way the property is titled and whether it has been transferred into a trust can affect how it ultimately reaches the intended beneficiaries.
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 42.3% of Oakland housing units were owner-occupied in 2020–2024, with a median owner-occupied housing value of $929,900. A will can state who should receive a home, but it does not by itself keep that property out of probate.
A revocable living trust offers another way to hold and transfer property. The California Courts Self-Help Guide explains that assets placed in a living trust can pass to beneficiaries without going through probate court.
That depends on whether the assets are actually placed in the trust. Signing trust documents does not automatically transfer everything you own into the trust. Real estate and other assets intended to be governed by it need to be properly connected to the trust. We help clients create living trusts, address trust funding, and coordinate the trust with the rest of their estate plan.
A trust is not necessarily the right answer for every asset or every family. We look at what you own, how it is titled, who should receive it, and what you want to accomplish before determining the role a trust should play in your plan.
When an Oakland Estate Requires Probate
When property belonging to an Oakland resident requires formal probate, the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, handles the proceeding. The court's Probate Division handles estate distribution and administration, as well as certain disputes and proceedings involving wills, trusts, and powers of attorney.
Alameda County requires probate documents to be filed with the Clerk's Office at the Berkeley Courthouse. The court also currently lists the Berkeley Courthouse and the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland as probate court locations, with the Oakland location serving Department 103.
California Courts' Overview of formal probate explains how a probate case begins and how the court appoints a personal representative to administer the estate. Whether an estate requires that process can depend in part on what property the person owned and how it was held.
This is also where planning and estate administration can intersect. Our attorney at Davidson Estate Law handles estate planning, trust administration, and probate. We can help you put a plan in place now and, when necessary, assist a trustee or personal representative with the responsibilities that arise after a death.
Estate Planning Services We Provide
Not every Oakland client needs the same combination of documents. Your family circumstances, property, and decisions about who should act on your behalf all help determine what belongs in your estate plan.
Our estate planning services include:
Wills
Revocable Living Trusts
Powers of Attorney
Advance Healthcare Directives
Guardianship Planning
A will can direct the distribution of property and name a guardian for minor children. Powers of attorney and advance healthcare directives allow you to designate people to handle financial or healthcare decisions if you cannot make those decisions yourself. A trust may become part of the plan when you want assets to be held and ultimately transferred under its terms.
We also review existing estate plans. A plan created years ago may no longer reflect your current property, family circumstances, beneficiaries, or choices for trustees and agents. We can help you identify what needs to change and update the documents accordingly.
An Oakland Law Firm with Broader Bay Area Access
From our Oakland office, we provide local access for clients throughout the East Bay, including Berkeley, Alameda, Walnut Creek, and El Cerrito, while our Larkspur office serves clients in Marin. We also work with clients in San Francisco and elsewhere in the Bay Area.
For those who prefer not to travel to an office, we also offer remote consultations. This allows us to serve clients across a broad geographic area while maintaining a physical presence in the communities where we practice.
Our attorney, Eric E. Davidson, earned his B.A. from U.C. Berkeley and began his legal career as a paralegal working with his father. After earning his J.D. from Golden Gate University in San Francisco in 2016, he joined the firm as an attorney and continues the family practice serving Bay Area clients.
If you need to create your first estate plan, make changes to an existing one, or discuss how your Oakland property fits into your planning, contact us at (510) 405-3505 to schedule an in-person or remote consultation with Davidson Estate Law.