Business Details
9 Years
experience
Comprehensive Estate Planning & Litigation Services
California Estate Planning Services is a boutique law firm dedicated to providing comprehensive legal solutions in estate planning, trust litigation, and elder law. Our approach prioritizes attorney-client communication, ensuring we fully understand each client's unique family dynamics, business interests, and values to create tailored estate plans. With expertise in Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, and Healthcare Directives, we guide clients through complex legal processes while maintaining a focus on minimizing costs and avoiding unnecessary litigation.Our litigation team specializes in contesting trusts, addressing undue influence claims, and resolving elder abuse cases with a commitment to achieving favorable court outcomes. We emphasize proactive planning for seniors through Medi-Cal assistance, conservatorships, and Proposition 19 property tax strategies, ensuring families maintain control over their assets while protecting vulnerable individuals. Our practice combines technical legal proficiency with compassionate counsel to deliver reliable, ethical representation.
Services
Estate Planning
Trust Litigation
Conservatorships
Probate
Medi-Cal Planning
Elder Law
Details
- Year established: 2017
Highlights and features
- We offer 17+ years of specialized estate law experience since 2017
- Our team includes an LLM-certified estate planning attorney
- We provide personalized planning for complex family structures
- We implement a fiduciary-first approach in conservatorship cases
- Our practice includes advanced Proposition 19 property tax planning
What people say
Deep knowledge
Meticulous approach
Genuine empathy
Thorough explanations
Compassionate counsel
Services
Estate Planning
Our estate planning service creates customized legal frameworks to manage your assets during life and distribute them after death. We specialize in Wills, Living Trusts, Powers of Attorney, and Healthcare Directives that align with California law. Our attorneys help clients avoid probate court through proper asset titling while ensuring guardianship provisions for minor children and healthcare decision-making authority. The process includes comprehensive consultations to understand family dynamics, business interests, and charitable intentions.
Trust Litigation
We represent clients in contested trust matters involving undue influence claims, elder abuse allegations, and trustee accounting disputes. Our litigation process begins with pre-suit resolution attempts through mediation before pursuing court action when necessary. We help beneficiaries obtain trust copies, enforce fiduciary duties, and challenge improperly executed documents. Our team handles discovery processes including financial record examination and witness depositions to build strong evidentiary cases for trial or settlement negotiations.
Conservatorships
Our conservatorship service establishes court-ordered arrangements for managing incapacitated individuals' financial and medical decisions. We guide families through the petition process to become conservators while ensuring compliance with California Probate Code requirements. The service includes preparing court accountings, obtaining Letters of Conservatorship, and advising on fiduciary responsibilities. We also represent parties opposing inappropriate conservatorship petitions and help implement alternative planning solutions when possible.
Medi-Cal Planning
We provide Medi-Cal eligibility planning to help seniors qualify for long-term care benefits while preserving family assets. Our service covers income restructuring strategies, asset protection techniques, and compliance with California's post-2024 regulatory changes. We advise on resource allocation between spouses and help navigate the application process for skilled nursing facility coverage. The planning includes reviewing existing estate documents to ensure alignment with Medi-Cal requirements while maintaining client autonomy.
Probate
Our probate service guides executors through California's court-supervised estate administration process. We assist with will validation, asset inventory preparation, debt settlement, and final property distribution according to testamentary wishes or intestacy laws. The service includes court filing preparation, creditor notice management, and tax compliance guidance. We help streamline proceedings through proper documentation while representing clients' interests in contested probate matters involving will challenges or asset disputes.
People
Joshua Ramirez
Founder
Attorney Joshua Ramirez, with an LLM in estate law, leads our firm with 15+ years of experience in complex estate planning and litigation. He specializes in contested trusts, elder abuse cases, and advanced tax planning strategies while maintaining a client-focused approach to legal representation.
Tessa Roberts
Attorney
Attorney Tessa Roberts focuses on estate administration and conservatorship proceedings. With 8 years of practice experience, she guides families through probate processes and helps implement protective legal structures for aging clients while maintaining clear communication throughout each case.
Kelsey B. Cooper
Attorney
Attorney Kelsey Cooper specializes in Medi-Cal planning and elder law matters. She assists clients with asset protection strategies while ensuring compliance with California's evolving healthcare regulations, combining technical expertise with compassionate counsel for senior clients and their families.
Kim Castaneda
Paralegal
Paralegal Kim Castaneda supports our estate planning and litigation teams with 10 years of experience preparing legal documents, organizing case materials, and maintaining client communications while ensuring procedural compliance with court requirements.
Lyly Aguilar
Paralegal
Paralegal Lyly Aguilar assists with trust administration and probate documentation. She maintains client records, prepares court filings, and coordinates case management activities while ensuring timely responses to client inquiries throughout the legal process.
Questions
What documents are essential for basic estate planning?
Essential documents include a Will, Living Trust, Durable Power of Attorney, and Advanced Healthcare Directive to ensure comprehensive asset management and healthcare decision-making authority.
How does a trust avoid probate court?
Properly funded trusts transfer ownership of assets to the trust during your lifetime, allowing successor trustees to distribute property without court involvement after your passing.
What constitutes elder financial abuse?
Elder financial abuse involves unauthorized use of a senior's assets through coercion, deception, or breach of fiduciary duty by caregivers, family members, or financial institutions.
Can Medi-Cal claims be denied?
Yes, Medi-Cal applications may be denied for incomplete documentation, asset transfer violations, or income exceeding program limits. Our team helps resolve eligibility issues and appeal improper denials.
What happens if someone contests a trust?
Contested trusts require formal litigation where beneficiaries challenge document validity based on undue influence, lack of capacity, or procedural irregularities. We represent both challengers and trustees in these disputes.
How long does probate take in California?
California probate typically takes 12-18 months for straightforward estates, longer for contested matters, involving multiple court hearings, creditor claim periods, and final asset distribution requirements.
