Living Trusts & Wills Lawyer in Encinitas, CA
Create an estate plan to avoid leaving a mess for your family and ensure your assets pass to your loved ones in the way you desire.
Estate Planning Services for Wills & Trusts in Encinitas
Planning for the future isn’t just about finances and passing on your assets—it’s about protecting the people you love through thoughtful planning. At The Law Office of Emily Hester, we provide personalized estate planning services to families and individuals throughout Encinitas and the surrounding coastal communities.
Whether you’re just starting your estate plan or updating an existing one, our goal is to make the process clear, compassionate, and empowering. We help clients create wills and revocable living trusts that reflect their wishes while minimizing court involvement, reducing stress for loved ones, and keeping assets within the family.
We will create a plan that meets your goals—whether you have a simple estate or more complex needs. We want every client to have peace of mind that they have put in place a plan that will work best for their family.
How We Help you Avoid Probate
Each State has its own probate court process and California’s is time-consuming and expensive. Setting up a revocable living trust is one of the most effective ways to keep families in California out of the probate court system. Assets passing through a trust avoid probate and are distributed to beneficiaries privately, without court involvement.
Take the First Step
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Schedule a complimentary intro call to assess your estate planning needs and learn more about our processes.
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Answer an online questionnaire about your family dynamics and your assets before coming in for a Planning Session.
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Meet with Emily Hester virtually to design a plan that will keep your family out of court and out of conflict.
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Comprehensively review your plan and then sign your plan before a mobile notary at your home or office.
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Meet with Emily Hester virtually for a funding meeting to discuss retitling assets in your Trust and updating beneficiaries to align with your plan.
Frequently Asked Questions about Living Trusts & Wills
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A revocable living trust is a legal tool that holds and manages your assets during your lifetime and allows them to be distributed after your death—without going through probate. You can revoke or modify the trust at any time while you're alive, giving you flexibility and control.
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A Will is a legal document that outlines how your assets should be distributed after you pass away. A Pour-Over Will works alongside a trust and ensures that any assets not already in your trust are transferred ("poured over") into it when you die. It acts as a safety net, making sure everything is handled according to your wishes.
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After you pass away a Will must be filed with probate court and becomes a public document. A Revocable Living Trust, on the other hand, is a private document. A Will is only used after your death, whereas a Trust can hold your assets during your lifetime as well.
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It depends on your goals, but in many cases, YES. While a Will ensures your wishes are carried out after you pass, a Trust offers additional benefits like avoiding probate, privately distributing assets to your beneficiaries in the way you desire, and simplifying the management of your assets if you become incapacitated.
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You should review and update your estate plan whenever there’s a significant life event—such as marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, a major financial change, or a move to a new state. It's also a good idea to review your documents every 3–5 years even if nothing major has changed.
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Yes, you can—and should—update your Will and Revocable Living Trust as your life circumstances or wishes change. Wills and Revocable Living Trusts can be amended over your lifetime. It’s important to work with an attorney to ensure any updates are legally valid and properly executed.
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If you pass away without a valid Will or Trust, the State of California will decide how your assets are distributed through a process called intestate succession. This may not reflect your wishes and can cause unnecessary delays and stress for your loved ones.
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Probate is the court-supervised process of validating a will (if there is one) and distributing a person’s assets, in addition to paying their debts after they die. It can be time-consuming, public, and costly—especially in California. Many families choose to create a trust to avoid the probate process.
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Most people prefer to avoid probate in California since it is a long, expensive, and public process. There is, however, a Small Estate Affidavit Process that allows certain estates to be administered outside of probate if they are valued at less than $208,850 as of April 1, 2025.
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Not at all. Trusts are a smart estate planning tool for anyone who owns a home, has minor children, or wants to avoid probate. Many California families use trusts to protect their assets, simplify inheritance, and plan for the future, regardless of their net worth.
Take the First Step by Scheduling an Intro Call
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Schedule a complimentary intro call to assess your estate planning needs and learn more about our processes.
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Answer an online questionnaire about your family dynamics and your assets before coming in for a Planning Session with Emily Hester.
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Attend a Planning Session with Emily Hester and virtually design a plan that will keep your family out of court and out of conflict.
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Comprehensively review your plan and then sign all of your documents before a mobile notary at your home or office.
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Meet with Emily Hester to discuss retitling your assets and updating your beneficiaries to align with your Trust.
From The Families We’ve Helped
“We highly recommend Emily for estate planning. She made everything smooth, seamless and clear. Emily was always on time, prepared and thoughtfully guided us through the entire process. She answered all our questions carefully and followed up promptly. Everyone should have a plan in place and Emily is the right person to help you!”
̴Vichai P.
“Estate planning was something that my husband and I steadfastly avoided for many years. It all seemed too stressful and fraught with emotional decisions. We are so very fortunate to have met Emily, who guided us through the process with her expertise and good judgment. She handled difficult conversations with the utmost respect and sensitivity, helping us to assess, navigate and formalize a plan that was best for us. Her knowledge, skill and overall thoughtfulness were invaluable. We are forever grateful to her for setting up our family planning in the best possible way.”
̴Tess B.
"We had a wonderful experience working with Emily to design our family's estate plan. She was knowledgable, attentive, and made the process smooth and easy to understand. Her professionalism and clear communication gave us peace of mind about taking care of each other and our children."
̴Christopher J.
“This estate planning process seemed intimidating, but Emily was so reassuring and informed. She made it simple and I feel a huge weight off knowing this is all taken care of. Could not recommend more!”
̴Madeleine V.
Have you named legal guardians for your kids?
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:
Who would take care of my kids if something happened to me and my partner?
Would my loved ones have immediate access to enough financial resources to properly care for my children?