Estate Planning for the people you love.
For individuals and families throughout Truckee, Lake Tahoe, and Northern Nevada. Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives, explained in plain language and built around your life.
Planning for the future is one of the most thoughtful things you can do for the people you love, and it doesn't have to be complicated or intimidating. At Donner Summit Law Firm, PC, we work with individuals and families throughout Truckee, Lake Tahoe, and Northern Nevada to create estate plans that reflect your actual life: your goals, your values, and the people who matter most to you.
Whether you're a young family putting your first plan in place, a longtime local thinking ahead to retirement, or someone who has been meaning to get this done for years, you'll work directly with an attorney who takes the time to understand your situation and explain your options in plain language. No jargon. No pressure. Just honest guidance and a plan built around you.
What Your Estate Plan Might Include
Every plan looks a little different, but most of our clients start with some combination of the following:
Last Will and Testament, which directs how your assets are distributed and names guardians for minor children
Revocable Living Trust, which allows your estate to avoid probate and gives you control over how and when assets pass to your beneficiaries
Durable Power of Attorney, which names someone you trust to manage your financial affairs if you're ever unable to do so yourself
Advance Healthcare Directive, which documents your medical wishes and appoints someone to make healthcare decisions on your behalf
Trust funding and asset titling, so the plan you sign actually works when your family needs it
We'll walk through your options together and help you decide what makes sense for your circumstances, whether that's a simple will-based plan or a more comprehensive trust-based plan.
A Process Built Around Clarity, Not Complexity
Estate planning can feel overwhelming from the outside, mostly because it involves thinking about difficult topics like aging, illness, and death. Our job is to make the process itself feel manageable. It starts with a conversation, not a sales pitch. We'll ask about your family, your assets, and what you're hoping to accomplish, then explain the tools available to you and recommend an approach that fits.
Once you've decided on a plan, we prepare your documents, walk you through them line by line before you sign anything, and make sure everything is properly executed under California or Nevada law. If you're moving assets into a trust, we help you get that done too, because a trust that isn't funded doesn't do its job.
Every Client Receives a “Now What?” Binder & A Legal Directives Card
The “Now What?” Binder
A practical, organized resource that gathers everything your loved ones might need in an emergency into one place: financial accounts, insurance policies, important contacts, passwords, and more. It’s the kind of thing families are enormously grateful to have when they need it most.
Every estate planning client receives a “Now What?” binder as part of their plan. In addition, all estate planning clients receive a physical legal directives card, which gives your doctors access to your important medical documents in the event of an emergency.
Serving the Sierra, on both sides of the state line.
Based near the Truckee Tahoe Airport, we work with clients throughout the region, from Truckee and Tahoe City to Reno, Incline Village, and the surrounding communities.
Many of our clients split their time between a mountain home and somewhere else, and we're familiar with the particular estate planning questions that come with owning property in more than one state.
Frequently Asked Questions
What documents are included in an estate plan?
While every person’s needs are different, most estate plans that we prepare include a trust, pour-over will, durable power of attorney, advance healthcare directive, HIPAA authorization, and guardian appointment for minor children (where applicable). In addition, for trust-based estate plans, we provide personalized funding instructions to help ensure that all of the assets you want in the trust actually make it there.
Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?
It depends on your goals. A will alone typically means your estate will go through probate, while a properly funded trust can avoid that process entirely. We'll help you weigh the cost and complexity of a trust against the benefits for your specific situation.
Do you assist with funding a trust?
Yes, and we consider it one of the most important parts of the whole process. A trust only works if your assets are actually retitled in its name, and that step gets missed more often than people realize. We handle the transfer of real property into your trust directly. For other assets, like bank and investment accounts, we'll give you clear, personalized instructions so you can retitle them yourself with confidence.
If you'd rather not deal with that part at all, we also offer full service trust funding, where we coordinate directly with your banks and financial institutions to get those accounts retitled on your behalf. Either way, the goal is the same: making sure the trust you signed actually holds what it's supposed to hold.
I own property in both California and Nevada. Does that change my plan?
Yes, and it's something we see often given our location. Owning real estate in more than one state can complicate probate if you don't have a plan in place, since your estate could end up going through probate in both states. A properly funded trust is often the simplest way to avoid that.
How long does the estate planning process take?
Most plans are completed within a few weeks from our first meeting to signing, though the timeline depends on how quickly decisions are made and documents are returned.
What happens if I move or my circumstances change after I sign my documents?
Your estate plan should grow with you. We recommend reviewing your plan every few years, or sooner if you experience a major life change like a marriage, a new child, or a significant change in assets.
Do you offer a free consultation?
Yes. We're happy to sit down, learn about your situation, and explain your options before you decide how to move forward.
Ready to talk about estate planning?
Schedule a free 30-minute consultation
.webp)
