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Estate Planning Attorney in Belvedere, CA | Matthew W. Harris, Esq., LLM

If you own a home on Belvedere Island, a waterfront property near the Lagoon, or have built up significant assets over a lifetime in Marin County, you already know how much is at stake. The question isn’t whether you need an estate plan. It’s whether the one you have — or the one you’re putting off — is actually going to work when your family needs it most.

At the Law Office of Matthew W. Harris, Esq., LLM, we help Belvedere residents, families in Tiburon, and people throughout Marin County protect what they’ve worked hard to build. Matthew is a licensed California attorney with an LLM (a Master of Laws, which is a post-graduate law degree beyond the standard J.D.), and his practice is focused exclusively on estate planning and related matters. You’ll always work directly with him — not a paralegal, not a junior associate.

Why Choose Matthew W. Harris for Your Estate Plan

Matthew W. Harris, Esq., LLM is not a general practice attorney who handles estate planning on the side. This is his focus. He holds an LLM — a Master of Laws — which represents advanced legal study beyond the standard law degree, giving him deeper expertise in the nuances that matter for complex estate plans.

When you work with Matthew, you work with Matthew. He answers your questions. He drafts your documents. He explains your plan in plain language. You won’t be handed off to someone else.

His practice serves families in Belvedere, Tiburon, and across Marin County — communities where the financial stakes are real and where a thoughtful, well-executed estate plan is worth doing right.

Licensed Attorney, State Bar of California LLM (Master of Laws) Focused exclusively on estate planning and related matters Personalized, one-on-one client service Serving Belvedere, Tiburon, Marin County, and surrounding communities

Why Probate Is Such a Big Problem in California

California’s probate process is one of the most expensive and time-consuming in the country. If your estate goes through probate, the court takes over. Attorney and executor fees are set by statute — typically 4% on the first $100,000 of the gross estate, 3% on the next $100,000, and so on. On a $2 million Belvedere home alone, that’s significant money out of your family’s pocket.

Beyond the cost, probate is public. Anyone can look up what you owned and who you left it to. And it takes time — often a year or more in California, sometimes longer.

A well-drafted revocable living trust, properly funded and maintained, sidesteps probate entirely. Your family gets what you intended, on a timeline that makes sense, without a courtroom.

What Estate Planning Actually Does For You

Most people think estate planning is just about writing a will. It’s not. A will alone doesn’t keep your estate out of probate. It doesn’t protect your assets if you become incapacitated. And it doesn’t give your family a clear, legally sound path forward when something unexpected happens.

A real estate plan does all of that. It’s a set of legal documents that work together — each one serving a specific purpose — so that your wishes are honored, your family avoids unnecessary costs and delays, and nothing important falls through the cracks.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

Revocable Living Trust. This is the foundation of most estate plans in California. When your assets are held inside a properly funded revocable trust, they don’t go through probate. Your family doesn’t have to wait months (or longer) for a court to sort things out. The trust also protects your privacy since, unlike a will, it doesn’t become a public record.

Last Will and Testament. Even with a trust, you need a will. It handles anything that didn’t make it into the trust and, critically, it’s where you name a guardian for minor children.

Pour-Over Will. This works alongside your trust. If any assets were left out of the trust at the time of your death, the pour-over will directs them into the trust so everything gets distributed according to your wishes.

Durable Power of Attorney. If you’re ever unable to handle your finances — due to illness, injury, or cognitive decline — this document names someone you trust to step in. Without it, your family may need to go to court to get that authority, which is slow, expensive, and stressful.

Advance Healthcare Directive. This is your living will. It tells your doctors and loved ones what kind of medical care you want if you can’t speak for yourself. Many families skip this. Most later wish they hadn’t.

Beneficiary Designation Review. A lot of assets — retirement accounts, life insurance policies, bank accounts — transfer automatically at death based on the beneficiary you named, sometimes years ago. If those designations are outdated or inconsistent with your trust, things can go sideways fast. We review these as part of every estate plan.

Estate Planning for Belvedere and Marin County Families

Belvedere is a small community, but the financial complexity here is anything but small. Many families on Belvedere Island and along the Lagoon hold significant real estate equity, investment portfolios, retirement accounts, and sometimes business interests. Some have multiple properties. Some have children or grandchildren with different financial situations. Others are thinking about what happens to a family business when they step back.

These aren’t situations where a generic online document or a one-size-fits-all plan holds up. They require careful attention to:

Estate and gift tax planning. The federal estate tax exemption is substantial but not unlimited. High-value estates need strategies like SLATs (Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts), GRATs (Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts), or ILITs (Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts) to transfer wealth efficiently and reduce tax exposure.

Business succession planning. If you own a business, your estate plan needs to address what happens to your ownership interest. Without a clear plan, your business could be tied up in probate or sold under pressure at the wrong time.

Generation-skipping planning. If you want to leave assets to grandchildren or future generations while limiting estate tax at each generational step, a Generation-Skipping Trust (GST) is worth exploring.

Special needs planning. If you have a family member with a disability, leaving them a direct inheritance can disqualify them from government benefits. A Special Needs Trust protects them without jeopardizing the assistance they rely on.

Asset protection. Certain irrevocable trust structures can shield assets from future creditors or divorce proceedings — a real consideration for business owners and high-net-worth families.

We serve clients throughout Belvedere, Tiburon, Mill Valley, Sausalito, Corte Madera, Larkspur, Kentfield, Greenbrae, Ross, and San Rafael. If you’re anywhere in Marin County, we can help.

What to Expect When You Work With Matthew W. Harris

We keep this process straightforward. Here’s how it typically works:

Step 1: Initial Consultation. We sit down (or connect virtually) and talk through your situation — your family, your assets, your goals, and any concerns you have. There’s no pressure. This is about understanding what you actually need.

Step 2: Customized Plan Design. Based on your consultation, Matthew designs an estate plan that fits your specific circumstances. He’ll walk you through each document, explain what it does and why it matters, and answer every question before anything is drafted.

Step 3: Document Drafting and Review. Once you’re comfortable with the plan, Matthew drafts your documents. You’ll review them carefully before signing. Nothing gets finalized until you understand and agree with what’s in it.

Step 4: Signing and Execution. Your documents are signed, notarized, and witnessed correctly. This step matters more than most people realize. A will or trust that isn’t properly executed under California law can be challenged or invalidated.

Step 5: Trust Funding Guidance. Having a trust on paper isn’t enough. The trust has to be funded — meaning your assets need to actually be titled in the name of the trust. We walk you through this process, including deed transfers for real property, to make sure nothing is left out.

Step 6: Ongoing Support. Your estate plan isn’t a one-time event. Life changes — marriages, divorces, new children or grandchildren, major asset changes, moving to a new state. We’re here when you need to revisit or update your plan.

Ready to Put a Real Plan in Place?

Whether you’re starting from scratch or updating a plan that’s been sitting in a drawer for years, this is the right time to act. Your family’s security and your wishes deserve more than a document downloaded from the internet.

Contact the Law Office of Matthew W. Harris, Esq., LLM to schedule your consultation. We serve clients throughout Belvedere, Tiburon, Mill Valley, Sausalito, Corte Madera, Larkspur, Greenbrae, Kentfield, Ross, San Rafael, and all of Marin County.

Frequently Asked Questions

For most California residents, a will alone isn’t enough. A will still goes through probate — which means court supervision, statutory fees, and public disclosure of your estate. In a place like Marin County, where real estate values are high, the cost of probate can be substantial. A revocable living trust lets your family avoid that process entirely. It also handles what happens if you become incapacitated, which a will doesn’t address at all. Most of our Belvedere clients find that a trust-based plan makes far more sense for their situation.

If you die without a will or trust, California’s intestate succession laws decide who gets your assets. That might not match your wishes. Your estate will go through probate, and the court appoints an administrator to handle everything. If you have minor children, a judge decides who raises them. For unmarried partners, the result can be even more severe — they may receive nothing. The state doesn’t know your family or your values. An estate plan does.

A good rule of thumb is to review your plan every three to five years, or whenever something significant changes. Getting married or divorced, having a child or grandchild, buying or selling major assets, a family member dying, a change in your health — any of these can affect whether your current plan still works the way you intended. We also recommend reviewing beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance at the same time, since those can easily fall out of sync with your trust.

Possibly — but it may not reflect your current wishes or current law. Tax laws change. Your assets change. Your family situation changes. A trust drafted 10 or 15 years ago may have gaps or outdated provisions that could create problems. It’s worth having an experienced estate planning attorney review it. Matthew has reviewed many older plans for Marin County clients and found issues ranging from minor updates needed to serious structural problems that would have caused real headaches for the family.

Yes. Everything you share with Matthew is protected by the attorney-client privilege. That’s a legal protection, not just a policy. What you tell your attorney stays with your attorney. This is especially important for sensitive family or financial matters, and it’s one reason why working directly with an attorney — rather than an online document service — makes such a difference.

Honestly, it varies depending on the complexity of your situation. A basic trust-based plan for a married couple is very different from a multi-layered plan involving business interests, generation-skipping trusts, and asset protection structures. What we can tell you is that the cost of proper estate planning is almost always far less than the cost of not having one — in attorney fees, court costs, taxes, and family conflict. We’re transparent about fees upfront so there are no surprises. Contact us to discuss your situation and get a clear picture of what your plan would involve.

A revocable living trust can be changed or cancelled anytime during your lifetime. You stay in control. An irrevocable trust, once established, generally can’t be changed — but that rigidity comes with benefits: assets in an irrevocable trust are typically outside your taxable estate, protected from certain creditors, and may qualify for Medi-Cal planning purposes. Which one is right for you depends on your goals. Many people have both — a revocable trust for day-to-day estate planning and one or more irrevocable trusts for specific tax or asset protection purposes.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER:

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, in any way an attorney-client relationship. Matthew W. Harris, Esq., LL.M is a California lawyer in good standing with the State Bar of California. Matthew W. Harris is admitted to practice only in California. Mr. Harris is not licensed to practice in any other jurisdiction.