Estate Planning
My husband and I are looking to set up a will/trust/estate (not sure exactly what we need) now that we have a toddler, and I'm looking for recommendations for attorneys that can do this. Thank you!
Aug 7, 2025
My husband and I are looking to set up a will/trust/estate (not sure exactly what we need) now that we have a toddler, and I'm looking for recommendations for attorneys that can do this. Thank you!
Parent Replies
Not an attorney rec, but we used Guideway near Fairyland in Oakland to set up a will and living trust, and found them very thorough and helpful in thinking through different options and considerations. The cost was affordable and they handled all of the paperwork, notarization, etc. In between meetings, they had very clear "homework" and instructions on next steps that made the process feel far less daunting. Would definitely recommend them.
We used Summerall Law in Oakland and had a great experience. Very easy to work with.
For living trust.com is really good. Shawn is very knowledgeable in this area and makes everything easy.
We used Summerall Law on Piedmont Ave last year. They were great.
We did a free Zoom workshop on estate planning with Patricia De Fonte/De Fonte Law in the spring that was helpful to start wrapping our minds around this process. Of course, she hopes to gain business by offering these (I think monthly) workshops, but they’re also a really great overview and PSA for anyone, whether or not you choose her to plan your estate.
I used Doris Mitchell (office in Albany on Solano Ave) for my estate planning and had a good experience: https://mitchellprobate.com/. Everything was on paper/in person (not super tech-forward), but it was very smooth and I'm happy with where our plan ended up!
We used Summerall Law in Piedmont. The lawyer we worked (Sarah Summerall) was knowledgeable, efficient and thorough.
https://www.summeralllaw.com
We are currently working with Christina Chung (https://www.christinachunglaw.com/) who we found through BPN recommendations. She charges a flat fee (currently $2800), which we really appreciated. She is kind, responsive, and (from what we can tell!) very competent.
I have used Reece Halpern , Halpern Law, on Solano Ave in Berkeley. He is smart, conscious about cost, grasps goals quickly and also has a great legal assistant, Ed. I’ve used Reece for estates and trusts and trust restatements. Highly recommended.
If you’d like to work with an attorney, I worked with Kelly Kilkenny mostly by phone and email except for when we met in her office in Walnut Creek to sign and have docs notified. She made the entire process incredibly seamless, she was always accessible, responsive and at that time (2021) the fee was reasonable. Kelly works for VAN DE POEL, LEVY, THOMAS, ARNEAL LLP. She was personable, very likable and I cannot tell you the extreme sense of closure that I feel having this very important deed completed. You’re welcomed to share that I referred you.
kkilkenny [at] vanlevylaw.com (kkilkenny[at]vanlevylaw[dot]com)
(925) 934-6102;5269
(925) 274-7653
I do not recommend Doris Mitchell as we worked with her several years ago and it was not a good experience. Had a number of issues with follow ups, completion, and attention to detail. I ended up paying for the incomplete proceedings and finding another attorney. Our financial planner referred us to Absolute Trust Council (https://absolutetrustcounsel.com) and we highly recommend them. We've had an outstanding working relationship with Kirsten and her team. Initial arrangement was a flat fee and they were very understanding and professional throughout the process. They also performed the deed filings for us, which was invaluable.
Surprised nobody has yet recommended Kathleen Hunt in El Cerrito. She is a sole practitioner, this is all she does. Very responsive. We had to fire our first estate planning attorney who never, ever got back to us or incorporated our edits. No such problems with Kathleen.