Hunsberger Dunn LLP

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Hunsberger Dunn LLP

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“Today’s planning is tomorrow’s protection.” Genene N.

Dunn and her team provide estate, probate, trust, and business planning across Southern California—with skilled care, thorough prep, and personal service.
📞 (714) 663-8000 | hunsbergerlaw.com Hunsberger Dunn LLP attorneys craft estate and business plans
that maximize net worth, reduce taxation and avoid costly court
interference.

09/14/2026

If you've been named trustee in Orange County, here's roughly what the next several months look like.

The first two weeks are about paperwork: locating the trust document and getting certified copies of the death certificate. California law gives the trustee 60 days to formally notify beneficiaries and heirs, and once that notice is served, they have 120 days to contest the trust, so getting it out early protects you. From there, you're into the real work: opening a trust bank account, inventorying everything the trust owns, paying legitimate debts, and if there's real estate, managing the sale. Final tax returns and any outstanding creditor claims usually come next. Only after all of that is resolved should assets actually go out to beneficiaries.

Most trustees in Tustin, Irvine, and the rest of Orange County are surprised this isn't a four-week process. It's closer to six to twelve months for a typical trust, longer if there's real estate or disagreement among beneficiaries.

Hunsberger Dunn LLP handles trust administration for families throughout Orange County, start to finish.

📞 Tustin: (714) 663-8000 | Riverside: (951) 369-1335

Hunsberger Dunn LLP, California State Bar licensed attorneys. General information only, not legal advice.

09/10/2026

Being named successor trustee sounds like an honor until you're actually holding the paperwork and realize nobody explained what to do first.

Here's the order that actually works. Get several certified copies of the death certificate, you'll need them more than you expect. Send formal written notice to every beneficiary and heir, California requires the trustee to do this within 60 days, and once that notice is served, beneficiaries have 120 days to contest the trust. Apply for a tax ID number for the trust itself, it's separate from your own. Then build a full inventory of what the trust owns: the house, the accounts, any investments.

Skip the order and you'll end up circling back. A lot of trustees in Riverside County try to distribute assets before the 120-day window closes, and it creates problems that are avoidable.

If you were just named successor trustee and you're not sure where to start, that's exactly what Hunsberger Dunn LLP handles every week.

📞 Riverside: (951) 369-1335 | Tustin: (714) 663-8000

09/01/2026

More Irvine and Santa Ana families are searching for probate help this year, and there's a reason: losing a parent is hard enough without also becoming the point person for a court case you've never dealt with.

Orange County probate is handled through the Lamoreaux Justice Center and works a little differently than in other counties. A probate examiner reviews your filing before the hearing and posts their notes online. If something's missing- a date, a signature, a required form- you'll see it posted rather than hear about it directly. Families who don't know to check often show up to a hearing that gets continued for a problem they could have fixed weeks earlier.

That's the kind of detail that separates a smooth probate from one that drags on for an extra six months.

If you're an executor in Irvine, Santa Ana, or anywhere in Orange County, Hunsberger Dunn LLP can help you stay ahead of the examiner's notes instead of reacting to them.

📞 Tustin: (714) 663-8000 | Riverside: (951) 369-1335

Hunsberger Dunn LLP, California State Bar licensed attorneys. General information only, not legal advice.

08/25/2026

How long is this going to take?" is the first question almost every executor asks us.

In Riverside County, probate typically takes 12 to 18 months from the day the petition is filed to the day assets are distributed. That's the baseline for a straightforward case. A few things push it longer: a house that needs to be appraised, listed, and sold through the court; a beneficiary who can't be located right away; family members who disagree about how assets should be split; or simply a full court calendar at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

None of that means you're doing something wrong. It's just how the process works. What helps most is knowing which parts you can move quickly and which parts are out of your hands.

If you were just named executor of a Riverside County estate and you're staring at a stack of paperwork, you don't have to figure it out alone.

Hunsberger Dunn LLP guides Riverside families through probate from the first filing to the final distribution.

📞 Riverside: (951) 369-1335 | Tustin: (714) 663-8000

Hunsberger Dunn LLP, California State Bar licensed attorneys. General information only, not legal advice.

08/22/2026

Walking into an estate planning meeting without any prep is like showing up to a tax appointment without your W-2s. It can still work, it just takes longer and costs more.

Here's what actually helps: a list of what you own (home, bank accounts, retirement funds, life insurance), a list of who you want to receive it, and names of people you'd trust to manage your affairs or raise your kids if you couldn't. Bring your home's deed if you have it. Bring account statements. Write down questions as they come up, even the ones that feel obvious.

We work with families across Tustin, Irvine, Anaheim, and Santa Ana, and the ones who come prepared walk out with a real plan on the first visit instead of a to-do list.

Estate planning matters for more than complicated finances. If you own a home in Orange County, you need a plan.

Hunsberger Dunn LLP can tell you exactly what to bring before you book your first appointment.

📞 Tustin: (714) 663-8000 | Riverside: (951) 369-1335

Hunsberger Dunn LLP, California State Bar licensed attorneys. General information only, not legal advice.

08/15/2026

If something happens to you, does your family go straight to court, or straight to what you left them?

That's the real difference between a will and a living trust. A will has to pass through probate before anyone gets anything, and in Riverside County that process regularly runs 12 to 18 months. A living trust holds your assets outside of probate entirely. Your successor trustee steps in and distributes what you've left, without a judge involved.

We talk to a lot of Riverside County families, from Wood Streets to Orangecrest to Alessandro Heights, who assumed their will was enough. It's a common assumption. It's also the one that costs families the most time and money after a death in the family.

A living trust isn't right for everyone. But if you own real estate in California, it's worth a real conversation before you decide.

Hunsberger Dunn LLP helps Riverside families set up trusts that actually keep their estate out of court.

📞 Riverside: (951) 369-1335 | Tustin: (714) 663-8000

Hunsberger Dunn LLP, California State Bar licensed attorneys. General information only, not legal advice.

07/28/2026

Someone died. You've been named executor. Now what?

Here are the real numbers for a California estate:

💰 $500K estate: $13,000 attorney fee + $13,000 executor fee = $26,000 before anything else

⏱ Timeline: 9-18 months for a typical case
📋 Every case has a mandatory 4-month creditor claim window — no exceptions

📍 Riverside County: Probate Division at the Hall of Justice
📍 Orange County: Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange

One thing most executors don't know: those fees are based on gross estate value, not equity. A house worth $800,000 with a $400,000 mortgage still generates $23,000 in attorney fees alone.

And if the estate is small enough — under $239,700 as of April 2026 — formal probate may not be required at all.

This isn't something to figure out alone. Deadlines are real, paperwork is specific, and mistakes create personal liability.

📞 Riverside: (951) 369-1335 | Tustin: (714) 663-8000

🔗 hunsbergerlaw.com/riverside-ca-probate-attorneys

07/23/2026

People ask us: what does an elder law attorney actually do?

Short answer: help families protect what they've built when aging makes things complicated.

Here's what that actually looks like:

→ Medi-Cal planning so nursing home costs don't drain everything
→ Asset protection before the crisis hits
→ Veterans benefits — up to $2,300/month for qualifying families
→ Protecting the healthy spouse when the other needs care
→ Stopping financial exploitation of older adults
→ Conservatorships when someone can no longer manage their own affairs
→ Special needs planning for adult children with disabilities

Riverside and Orange County families are dealing with all of this. California's 2026 Medi-Cal changes made planning more urgent — asset limits are back and a look-back period is phasing in.

Most families wish they'd called 18 months earlier.

📞 Riverside: (951) 369-1335 | Tustin: (714) 663-8000
🔗 hunsbergerlaw.com/elder-law

07/16/2026

A question we hear from families across Riverside and Orange County more than any other:

"Mom needs a nursing home. They said she has too many assets for Medi-Cal. Do we really have to spend everything down first?"

The answer most facilities give: yes.

The real answer: not necessarily.

California Medi-Cal has strict asset limits — $130,000 for individuals, $195,000 for married couples as of 2026. But there are legal strategies to protect assets, qualify for benefits, and avoid watching a lifetime of savings disappear in nursing home bills at $8,000 to $12,000 a month.

What changed in 2026:
→ Medi-Cal asset limits came back January 1st after two years with no limits
→ A 30-month look-back period is phasing in for nursing facility Medi-Cal
→ Strategies that worked in 2024 may not work the same way now

The families who protect the most are the ones who call before the crisis — not after the application has already been submitted.

📞 Riverside: (951) 369-1335 | Tustin: (714) 663-8000
🔗 hunsbergerlaw.com/elder-law

07/09/2026

As of September 2024, a Special Needs Trust can pay for groceries without affecting SSI benefits.

For families who spent years working around that rule, it's a real change.

Here's what the trust can pay for without reducing benefits:
→ Private therapy and specialists
→ Food and groceries (new since Sept. 2024)
→ Transportation and vehicle modifications
→ Technology, electronics, phone
→ Recreation and vacations
→ Education and tutoring

What still requires caution: rent, mortgage, and utilities. Housing costs can still reduce SSI by up to ~$331/month if paid directly by the trust.

A well-run Special Needs Trust supplements the benefits provided by SSI, Medi-Cal, IHSS, and the Regional Center. It fills the gaps that government programs don't.

We help Riverside County and Orange County families set up trusts that work — and keep working as the rules change.

📞 Riverside: (951) 369-1335 | Tustin: (714) 663-8000
🔗 hunsbergerlaw.com/special-needs-trust-attorney

Address

14751 Plaza Drive, Suite G
Tustin, CA
92780

Telephone

+17146638000

Website

https://hunsbergerlaw.com/

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