# Ridley Law — California Estate Planning, Trust Administration & Probate

> Law Office of Eric Ridley. California estate planning, living trusts, trust administration, and probate. Office in Port Hueneme; serving Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles Counties, and statewide by phone or Zoom. Attorney Eric D. Ridley has practiced estate planning since 2010. The firm works directly with clients in plain English and does the trust funding and follow-through that most plans skip. Phone: (805) 244-5291.

## Start here
- [Estate Planning overview](https://ridleylawoffices.com/estate-planning/): what a California estate plan includes and who needs one.
- [Living Trusts & Wills](https://ridleylawoffices.com/practice/living-trusts-wills/): the core documents, explained plainly.
- [Living Trust vs. Will in California](https://ridleylawoffices.com/will-vs-living-trust-california/): what each does and does not do.
- [Trust Funding](https://ridleylawoffices.com/trust-funding/): why an unfunded trust still lands a family in probate.
- [Estate Planning Glossary](https://ridleylawoffices.com/estate-planning-glossary-california/): plain-English definitions of common terms.

## Settling an estate (trust administration & probate)
- [Successor Trustee: what to do first](https://ridleylawoffices.com/successor-trustee-california/): the first 90 days when you are in charge of a trust after a death.
- [Trust Administration](https://ridleylawoffices.com/trust-administration/): the work of settling a trust, and what the firm takes off your plate.
- [California Probate](https://ridleylawoffices.com/probate/): the public court process when there is no trust.
- [California's $750,000 home probate shortcut (AB 2016)](https://ridleylawoffices.com/simplified-probate-california-primary-residence/): the 2025 simplified petition for a primary residence, and the updated small-estate limits.
- [Heggstad petition](https://ridleylawoffices.com/heggstad-petition-filing-lawyer-california/): a faster fix when a house was left out of the trust.
- [When estate plans fail: real situations](https://ridleylawoffices.com/when-estate-plans-fail-california/): composite examples of how signed plans still cost families.

## Key questions
- [What an estate plan costs in California](https://ridleylawoffices.com/living-trust-cost-california/): what drives the price and what probate costs instead.
- [Incapacity planning](https://ridleylawoffices.com/incapacity-planning-california/): power of attorney, health directive, and avoiding conservatorship.
- [Inherited IRA 10-year rule](https://ridleylawoffices.com/inherited-ira-10-year-rule-california/): how beneficiary forms and the SECURE Act affect heirs.
- [Prop 19 planning](https://ridleylawoffices.com/prop-19-planning/): the inherited-home property-tax rules and the move-in clock.
- [Trust Health Check](https://ridleylawoffices.com/trust-health-check/): a seven-question self-diagnostic for whether a plan actually works.

## Guide libraries
Every published article is organized into a topic library. Each library opens with a plain-English overview and links every guide on that topic.
- [California Probate guides](https://ridleylawoffices.com/probate-guides/): when probate is required, how the process runs, and what it costs.
- [Trustee and beneficiary guides](https://ridleylawoffices.com/trust-administration-guides/): what to do when you become successor trustee and what beneficiaries can ask for.
- [Living trust and will guides](https://ridleylawoffices.com/living-trust-guides/): what a will does, how a living trust works, and what a complete plan includes.
- [Trust funding guides](https://ridleylawoffices.com/trust-funding-guides/): retitling assets into a trust, changing or revoking a trust, and why DIY trusts fail.
- [Estate and inheritance tax guides](https://ridleylawoffices.com/estate-tax-guides/): the federal estate tax, step-up in basis, capital gains, and Prop 19 for 2026.
- [Inheriting a house guides](https://ridleylawoffices.com/inherited-property-guides/): the mortgage, reassessment, title transfer, and sibling buyouts.
- [Retirement and beneficiary-asset guides](https://ridleylawoffices.com/retirement-beneficiary-guides/): IRAs, 401(k)s, annuities, POD accounts, and the inherited-IRA 10-year rule.
- [Family-situation guides](https://ridleylawoffices.com/family-estate-planning-guides/): blended families, minor children, special needs, pet trusts, and disputes.
- [Incapacity and POA guides](https://ridleylawoffices.com/incapacity-guides/): durable powers of attorney, health care directives, and planning for incapacity.

## Contact
- Book a consultation with Eric Ridley: https://ridley.click/eric-60
- Phone: (805) 244-5291
- Service area: Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles Counties, plus statewide California by phone or Zoom.

Attorney advertising. Content on this site is general information, not legal advice.