Hollister practice serving San Benito, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and south Santa Clara counties. Handles probate administration and trust administration alongside wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts including special needs trusts, powers of attorney, and business formation. Christine Breen has practiced since 1996 and started the firm in 2013.
Probate in Santa Cruz County
Probate Court Record
Santa Cruz County Superior Court - Probate Division
Santa Cruz County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-3:00 PM
Office
701 Ocean Street, Room 110, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Website
E-filing
Filing in person
Walk-ins accepted
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Santa Cruz County →
Verified October 15, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Santa Cruz County? →Settling an estate in Santa Cruz County →
Trust Administration Firms Serving Santa Cruz County
Central Coast firm serving Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties since 1998, with offices in Salinas, Monterey, and Hollister. Its estate attorneys guide trustees and executors through trust administration and probate, including the court-supervised process for estates over the small-estate threshold. Bilingual assistance for Spanish-speaking clients.
Pacific Grove solo practice serving Monterey County and the Central Coast, handling probate from the petition through inventory, appraisal, and final distribution, plus trust administration for successor trustees. Also covers special needs planning, asset protection, and Medi-Cal planning. Kyle A. Krasa is a Certified Legal Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law.
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.
Serves San Francisco and the greater Bay Area from downtown San Francisco, and handles probate proceedings in every California county. Guides executors, administrators, and trustees through probate and trust administration alongside estate planning, billing probate work at California Probate Code statutory rates. Founded in 2018.
Serves Marin County from San Rafael, with offices across Northern and Southern California and statewide service by phone and video. Handles probate, trust administration, and Medi-Cal and elder law matters alongside estate and tax planning. Founder Jim Cunningham heads the San Rafael office and is a State Bar certified specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law.
All 34 California trust administration firms serving Santa Cruz 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.
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Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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