About The Law Office of Emily Hester

A coastal scene with sandy beach, ocean waves, and cliffs in the foreground, and distant shoreline under a clear sky.

The Law Office of Emily Hester was founded to help families in Encinitas and throughout California protect what matters most. Emily’s goal is to provide clients with the knowledge and tools they need to protect their families, assets, and futures. We strive to make the estate planning process simple and streamlined, especially for busy parents.

Many parents understandably feel overwhelmed when thinking about the possibility of dying or becoming incapacitated while they still have young children at home, and thus they procrastinate completing their estate plan even though they know it is something they “should” do.

Emily opened her firm to serve families differently from the traditional estate planning attorney, and to provide parents with the peace of mind that comes with knowing their children will be cared for even after they are gone. Here are a few ways we serve our clients differently —

  1. Nothing is billed on an hourly basis. We bill on a flat fee that is agreed to in advance. 

  2. We support you every step of the way to ensure your plan will protect your loved ones exactly as intended and to make sure that your money is well spent. 

  3. We prepare a detailed asset inventory and letters to your appointed fiduciaries (ex. guardians and successor trustees) to ensure they understand the role they will plan in your estate plan.

Our office is the best fit for people who don’t just want to leave their family a set of documents, but instead want to use the estate planning process to love their family well by proactively keeping them out of court and out of conflict.  

What to Expect Working with Us:

  1. Schedule a 15 minute introductory call to understand your goals and needs and to explain our processes

  2. Attend a Planning Session with Emily to review your family dynamics, your assets, and California law that pertains to you

  3. Confirm in writing the important decisions you made when designing your plan

  4. Inventory all your assets (bank accounts, real estate, retirement accounts, life insurance, investment accounts, etc.)

  5. Virtually review your draft documents with Emily and discuss any last-minute changes

  6. Sign your documents at your house or office with a mobile notary

  7. Meet with Emily for a Funding Meeting to review your personalized instructions for how to retitle assets and update beneficiaries

  8. Review your plan every three years to ensure it stays up to date and still works for your family

Meet Emily Hester, Esq.

Black and white portrait of Emily Hester, a smiling woman with long hair wearing a dark shirt, standing indoors with a blurred background and a wooden structure behind her.

Hi, I’m Emily Hester, a local estate planning attorney in Cardiff-by-the Sea, California.

I’m here to help you protect what matters most—your family, your assets, and your peace of mind—by creating an estate plan that keeps your loved ones out of court and out of conflict. Together, we’ll take a comprehensive look at your family dynamics, inventory your assets, and design a personalized plan that aligns with your values, goals, and unique circumstances.

Have you named legal guardians for your kids?

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Download Our Free Kids Protection Planning Guide

When thinking about whether this is the right time to do your estate planning, ask yourself these questions:

  1. Who would take care of my kids if something happened to me and my partner?

  2. Would my loved ones have immediate access to enough financial resources to properly care for my children?