Estate Planning Attorney in Citrus Heights, CA
If a typical Citrus Heights home goes through full probate, California’s statutory attorney and executor fees alone amount to about $25,200. This number is based on Probate Code § 10810, which is charged on the full value of the home, the mortgage does not reduce it, and the case is heard in Sacramento on Power Inn Road.
A few properly signed and funded documents make that bill unnecessary. Filippi Law Firm, P.C. builds wills, trusts and complete estate plans for Citrus Heights families, keeping house, accounts and hard decisions out of court.
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Without a Plan, Your Estate Goes to the Ridgeway Courthouse
Citrus Heights is located in Sacramento County, not Placer County. This may surprise people, as the city is situated right on the border between Roseville and Granite Bay. The Sacramento County Superior Court handles probate cases at the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse, located at 3341 Power Inn Road in Sacramento, CA 95826. Most estate petitions are scheduled in Department 129 of the court.
The venue follows where you were living when you died, under Probate Code §7051. It doesn’t matter where your children are living.
Here’s what this means for the people who are left behind:
- All information becomes public. Your will, petition, and inventory of your belongings become court records that anyone can access.
- Court officials review every page. Before each hearing, court officials post notes about the case in the online file under Local Rule 4.02. If there is a missing bond waiver or an incomplete notice, the hearing must be postponed.
- The process doesn’t move quickly. Notice must be published in a local newspaper before the first hearing, and creditors have four months after the letters are issued to file claims. Many estates in Sacramento County take a year or more to complete.
Plenty of homes around Sunrise Mall, Sylvan Corners, Rusch Park and Stock Ranch belong to the same families for decades. Homes that have been held for a long time under one person’s ownership are exactly the type of assets that end up in probate files.
What AB 2016 Changed, and What It Didn’t
Assembly Bill 2016 gives modest estates a genuine shortcut. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, families can transfer a primary residence worth up to $750,000 through § 13151 petitions instead of full probate.
| Procedure | Covers | Deaths 4/1/2022 – 3/31/2025 | Deaths on or after 4/1/2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Estate Affidavit (§ 13100) | Bank accounts, vehicles, investments | $184,500 | $208,850 |
| Petition to Determine Succession (§§ 13151–13154) | Decedent’s primary residence only | $184,500 | $750,000 |
| Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value (§ 13200) | Low-value real property | $61,500 | $69,625 |
Helpful, yes. But here’s where it falls short:
- It’s still a court case. The petition is filed at Ridgeway, with a filing fee, notice to heirs, and an appraisal by a probate referee.
- Only your primary residence qualifies. A rental in Antelope or a cabin in Tahoe needs a different route.
- Accounts are handled separately, under a different and much lower limit.
- Value is measured at death, at gross value. A mortgage doesn’t lower it.
- It does nothing while you’re alive but unable to manage your own affairs.
AB 2016 is a safety net. It is not a plan.
The § 10810 Statutory Fee Schedule, in Dollars
California is one of the few states that determines attorney fees for probate cases based on a formula rather than by the hour. The Probate Code, Section 10810, sets the fee for attorneys. Section 10800 provides the personal representative with an equal amount.
Here are the percentages:
4% of the first $100,000
3% of the next $100,000
2% of the next $800,000
1% of the next $9 million
0.5% of the next $15 million, and an additional amount determined by the court for amounts over $25 million
Applied to the range most Citrus Heights estates actually fall into:
| Gross estate value | Attorney fee | Executor fee | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| $300,000 | $9,000 | $9,000 | $18,000 |
| $500,000 | $13,000 | $13,000 | $26,000 |
| $750,000 | $18,000 | $18,000 | $36,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $23,000 | $23,000 | $46,000 |
| $1,500,000 | $28,000 | $28,000 | $56,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $33,000 | $33,000 | $66,000 |
What a Citrus Heights Estate Plan Includes, Document by Document
“Estate plan” can mean anything from a one-page will to a full binder. For Citrus Heights homeowners, our estate planning work usually consists of eight pieces. Each piece does a specific task.
Revocable Living Trust
Hold your home and major accounts. You stay in control as trustee. At your death, the successor trustee transfers everything without court filing.
Trust Transfer Deed
Move title to your Citrus Heights home to the trust. It is recorded with the Sacramento County Clerk / Recorder at 3636 American River Drive, together with a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report. DIY kits skip this step and an unfunded trust still leads to probate.
Pour-Over Will
Catches anything left outside the trust. It’s also where you can nominate a guardian for minor children.
Durable Power of Attorney
Someone should pay bills, manage accounts and deal with the IRS if they can. California’s statutory form is a starting point, but ours goes further.
Advance Health Care Directive
Your health care agent’s name and records of your treatment wishes are under Probate Code § 4701.
HIPAA Authorization
Let’s have doctors speak with the people you choose, even before anyone has to make a decision.
Certification of Trust
A short summary that banks and title companies accept in place of the full trust under § 18100.5. Your family’s details remain private.
Beneficiary Designation Review
Retirement accounts and life insurance are passed to beneficiaries, not through your trust. We check each one to make sure it matches the rest of the plan.
Why Citrus Heights Families Call Jim Filippi
Before he practiced law, Jim Filippi was a California police officer. That career ended during a narcotics detail when a suspect trapped him in a vehicle and accelerated, dragging him down the street. The injuries healed, but the career did not return.
What he found next was estate law. And the connection was not as strange as it sounded. Both jobs were about showing up for people on their worst day of the year. Clients handing over their parents’ files were not signing documents; they were trusting someone with something their family had spent a lifetime building.