Represents executors, trustees, and beneficiaries across San Mateo, San Francisco, and Santa Clara counties from a downtown Redwood City office near the courthouse, handling probate and trust administration, probate and trust litigation, and estate and gift tax questions. Michael E. Pitts has practiced in San Mateo County for more than 30 years and offers a free half-hour consultation.
Probate in San Francisco County
Probate Court Record
San Francisco County Superior Court - Probate Court
San Francisco County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-noon and 1:00 PM-4:00 PM
Office
400 McAllister Street, Room 103, San Francisco, CA 94102
Website
E-filing
Filing in person
Walk-ins accepted
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in San Francisco County →
Verified October 15, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in San Francisco County? →Settling an estate in San Francisco County →
Trust Administration Firms Serving San Francisco County
Redwood City solo practice serving San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Alameda, and Santa Cruz counties. Rebecca Matthias drafts revocable and irrevocable trusts, wills, powers of attorney, health care directives, and HIPAA authorizations, and handles probate and trust administration after a death.
Los Angeles-headquartered probate and trust litigation firm representing trustees, executors, heirs, and beneficiaries in will contests, trust disputes, and breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims. Also handles estate and probate administration, conservatorships, and financial elder abuse, from offices in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Costa Mesa, San Diego, Walnut Creek, and Fresno. Free consultation.
Oakland boutique focused exclusively on trust and estate law, serving Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco Counties. Represents trustees and personal representatives through probate and trust administration, including special needs trusts, and handles gift and estate tax planning. Partners Carolyn Henel and Agnieszka Adams are Certified Specialists in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law.
Roseville firm handling probate and decedent estate administration, including ancillary probate, plus trust administration, conservatorships, and litigation in those areas — will contests and beneficiary disputes. Marlene Sanborn, a retired Air Force flight engineer, opened the firm in 2006 and has practiced law in California since 1998.
Brisbane practice with a Central Valley office, serving the Bay Area plus Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties with probate and trust administration alongside estate planning. Emily Wirowek guides executors and successor trustees through inventories, creditor claims, tax returns, and distribution, and makes house calls. Free initial consultation.
All 44 California trust administration firms serving San Francisco County →
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in California
Free California forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for California.
$12/month
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
Get Started
Free
Pour-Over Will
In California, a pour-over will is signed before 2Cal. Prob. Code § 6110Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.
Get Started
Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in California
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in California: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool for California.
How Do I Settle a Trust?
Settling a trust in California happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's trust statuteCal. Prob. Code § 15000 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries within 60 daysCal. Prob. Code §§ 16061.7, 16061.8, 16064, 16460Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.
See the Steps
What's Fair Trustee Compensation?
In California, trustee compensation follows "reasonable compensation" (UTC § 708 or equivalent)Cal. Prob. Code §§ 15680-15688Verified Sep 18, 2026View source unless the trust instrument sets a different amount.
Calculate the Fee
How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in California: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 120 daysCal. Prob. Code §§ 8800-8804, 8900-8903Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 4 monthsCal. Prob. Code §§ 9050-9054, 9100-9104, 9150, 9153, 9256, 9353, 11420; CCP § 366.2Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 9 months to 12 months.
See the Steps
Do I Have to File Tax Returns for Someone Who Died?
California requires a final state income tax return for the decedent alongside the federal Form 1040Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §§ 17041, 17043; Cal. Const. art. XIII, § 36(f)(2)Verified Sep 20, 2026View source; a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only for estates above $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Get the Answer
How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?
Inherited assets in California take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death26 USC § 1014Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the gain on a later sale faces ordinary income tax at the state's regular ratesCal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 17041(a), (e), (h) — rate schedule; estates/trusts taxed at individual rates; annual bracket indexingVerified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Calculate the Tax
