Eight years ago, we worked with Patrick to create a trust to ensure that our assets and home can pass to our children with the least amount of friction and loss due to probate. We knew very little about trusts - just some advice provided by friends. Coming into this process pretty raw, Patrick was able to step us through the basics concepts and considerations, making suggestions that we hadn't thought of but made sense. For example, he suggested cliffs in terms of when assets would be made available to our kids depending on their age and average maturity. He also suggested additional contingencies such as backup to guardianship in case of the unavailability of the primary guardian.However, he also highlighted many other aspects relating to the trust but beyond the scope of the trust that can help ensure we maintain control if something adverse happened to us such as the power of attorney and contingencies in the case of either me or my spouse becomes incapacitated. We felt very well protected based on the trust that we drew up with Patrick's assistance. Fast forward 8 years and, again, we looked towards Patrick to help guide us through changes in our trust to fit our current family snapshot, with more properties, more assets, older kids, and aging grandparents who may not be the best fit for guardianship. Based on his guidance and based on the size of the assets we've accumulated, we updated the cliffs for when our children will take control of our assets. We updated our health directives. Most importantly, we revisited a list of to-do items that we failed to carry through with, such as a list of all the financial institutions to provide to our executor and having conversations with executor and guardians about their role and our wishes for how fund may be distributed if they assumed control. Equally important in this entire process is Patrick's very clear, very personable, very disarming approach in conversations concerning the difficult topic of planning for the worst. My wife and I appreciated this aspect of Patrick's service immensely. I highly recommend using Patrick for your trust, will, and estate planning needs. read more

My wife and I were fortunate to be referred to Etchebehere Law group to help us create our living trust and will. Patrick was very informative and easy going, which helped my wife and I who felt like two fish out of water with how this whole Trust and Will thing worked. Etchebehere Law Group made it easy to move forward. I can't lie it took my wife and I a long time to finally get our docs completed and notarized, but that was our own block. When we finally got back to making our final push to get our trust/will complete Allie helped us immensely. She also made us feel calm and gave us chunkable steps to complete our mission. I highly recommend this firm! Such great service, thank you Patrick and Allie! read more

It's been a pleasure to do business with Patrick and Allie Etchebehere. They are super responsive, helpful, and thoughtful in the legal guidance they provide. They are easily accessible for appointments and quick turnaround on questions. They are also very warm people which is icing on the cake. In preparing legal documents, Patrick was thoughtful enough to provide a "cliff's notes" for the legalese-impaired. That allowed me to quickly navigate a lengthy legal document and make sense of all aspects of it. read more

Trusts/Wills/Estate Planning made SO easy. When you are ready to check this box off the " adulting" to dos look no further,. Allie and Patrick are just the best. We went in knowing zero about how to protect our assets for our children and 3 weeks later we were set up for success. Thank You Team Etchebehere for being just the best at what you do! read more

My husband and I met Patrick to discuss getting a trust. It's something we have been putting off for a while. He walked us through the advantages of a trust over a will and answered all our questions. We told him we are moving back to Oregon next year. He said it would be good to have someone in Oregon review the trust or simply wait until we were in Oregon to create the trust. It's nice that he didn't pressure us to buy something now that would have cost us more money later to review in Oregon. I would definitely use Etchebehere Law Group if we were to remain in California. It's nice to know there are some good lawyers out there. read more

I retained the Etchebehere Law Group for help with my parents' estate. My parents had a trust, but forgot to title their home in the trust. My realtor told my brother and me that we would probably have to do a probate in San Mateo county, but referred me to Patrick Etchebehere to see if there was anything that I could do to avoid probate. I was happy to learn that Patrick could do a Heggstad Petition for my mother's property. Patrick explained that this could save me tens of thousands of dollars in fees (potential cost of a probate), plus it could be faster than a probate. He explained his fees, the costs of the court procedure, and answered all my questions. The process took a couple months from start to finish. Patrick was professional in keeping us up to date on progress of the matter, including keeping us informed of hearing dates, asking for our input on the petition itself, and giving a fairly accurate estimations of cost. Overall, we saved approximately $27,000 in statutory attorney's fees by electing to do a Heggstad Pettion instead of a probate. Highly recommended to anyone facing a similar situation. Thank you so much. read more

I was in the beginning stages of buying a home with little knowledge on the entire process. I contacted ELG and was able to get their help from start to finish; and I cannot express how helpful Patrick and Allie were. The beauty of their firm is the virtual aspect. I was able to "meet" with them throughout the process, send them contracts to review, etc, without ever having to leave work or set up an appointment. Their professionalism, and timeliness with all my (many) questions made the process less daunting. I will definitely use their services again. read more

Patrick and Allie did a great job of setting up a family trust, wills, powers of attorney and other important documentation for my wife and me. They were quick and efficient, and also very pleasant to deal with. I recommend them for your estate planning needs. read more

My husband and I would like to thank Patrick for his thoroughness in updating our trust. He brought a level of enthusiasm for this area of law (as well as a level of knowledge) that we had not experienced in our trust creation seven years earlier. We are now quite confident that our future wishes (individually and as a couple) are clearly outlined and articulated. Patrick was also empathetic to our non-traditional "family situation" that included pet family members instead of children and our desire to distribute our estate to various charities. We especially appreciated his expertise in creating a pet trust, and counseled us in Best Practices for ensuring our pets and their future caretakers would be well taken care when we cross that bridge. read more

Patrick and Allie were wonderful when my spouse and I updated our trust. I was referred to ELG through our attorney who was retiring. Patrick returned my initial call immediately and we were able to set up an appointment quickly. When Patrick met with us, he did a phenomenal job explaining the trust and current things that we needed to consider. When we met, Patrick was very professional, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic. He was patient and answered all our questions. We were able to get through our update in one meeting. We received our draft in less than a week and were able to make changes by email before meeting to execute everything. Patrick and Allie make an incredible team. We are thrilled to have found such great attorneys and will refer them every chance we get! read more

Patrick and Allie helped me in creating trust and will for myself and my spouse. I got their reference through Hyatt legal services and was glad to have selected them. I first contacted them over email and they were quick to respond. During our first meeting, Patrick spend enough time in explaining the process and answering all our questions including the naive ones. There was an open question which Patrick didn't know the answer to, but he ensured to research about it and emailed within next few hours. The first draft was sent within a week, and Patrick replied to any queries promptly. We then met again to sign the documents. Allie is a notary and was able to notarize all the signatures (saving of $140). In the end, they provided us a copy of the trust along w/ instructions on how to transfer ownership of financial accounts into the trust. In addition, I took their services to transfer the property ownership to the new trust, which was also done timely and for a reasonable price. I would strongly recommend them to others and wouldn't hesitate in getting their services again. read more

Etchebehere Law Group is amazing. Patrick is extremely knowledgeable and attentive to his clients. He will ask you questions, thinks outside the box. He is very friendly and always keeps his clients in mind. I also was pleased to meet his wife/partner Allie, who carried the same demeanor. The second time my wife and I went in on a follow-up they both sat in the meeting and provided us with different perspectives, they took the time to explain to us the Living Trust and LLC we are establishing, which I think is refreshing and different than what I am used to running into with other attorneys. He is also very responsive and responds back to my emails usually within a day or two. If you want to consult with an attorney, they are my pick for you. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for someone who is looking to start a LLC, Trust or any legal matter. In summary, from my experience they are trustworthy, have integrity, professional, friendly, and extremely knowledgeable. They are worth all the stars I am giving them. They are also a very cute couple :) read more

Patrick and Allie made the process of creating a living will and trust effortless for me and my husband. We found their services through Hyatt Legal Plans and immediately got in touch with them via phone. They were able to meet at whatever time worked best for us - Patrick met with us first and went over all of the information, spending time to explain everything and answering our questions. When we met again to sign everything, Allie and Patrick were very professional, yet down to earth, making the entire process very comfortable. We would highly recommend their services! read more

I am a thirty-something individual with a young family and I needed help preparing a will and planning for my family's future. I had ELG prepare the will for my family and was extremely happy with the results. They were very well informed, thorough and, professional. Above all, they didn't try to overwhelm me with a bunch of legal vernacular that I couldn't possibly understand. The whole experience was great and I have zero need to look anywhere else. read more

My husband and I had such a positive experience with Patrick and Allie! We did our will and trust planning with Patrick and he was patient, very responsive, answered all of our questions, and spent the time to explain the nuances of the process and documents to us. After having several experiences previously with law firms where they weren't willing to invest the time, I really appreciated this. Most importantly, though, it's clear that they are completely honest and trustworthy. I'll definitely go back!! read more

Patrick is honest and knowledgeable. He walked me through the guidelines of estate planning. I highly recommend him.

We live in the Bay Area and, with traffic being what it is now, we avoid driving at all costs. The benefit of living here though is that you can get almost anything delivered to your door-- from groceries to in-home massages and even on-demand exercise classes! The idea of meeting our attorney over the internet was perfect! We met with Patrick using FaceTime, which was SO convenient! Though his main office is in San Mateo, which is only about 20 miles south of SF, Google maps said it would take us over 1.5 hours to get there. Nope, not gonna happen. So we opted for the virtual appointment, and we were so pleasantly surprised. Patrick is friendly and professional, and even though it was an "online service," we felt like we received a high level of attention and a high quality product too. And the best part was that we did it from the comfort of our couch!! read more

I love Allie and Patrick! I wanted to create a living trust and went searching for help. Allie helped me get started. Both she and Patrick made the process so quick and easy. They took the time to answer all our questions and gave us great advice. They are honest, knowledgeable, kind, and attentive. How often can you say that about lawyers?! If I had known that setting up a trust would mean meeting such wonderful people, I would have done so years ago. read more

I am so relieved to have found legal counsel that I can trust. People who take the time to truly understand my business's needs. As a business owner in San Francisco I have experienced the gamut when it comes to advice and counsel on how to correctly manage my business and mitigate risk. Until now, I felt that no one had me or my business's best interest at heart. No one took the time fully understand what my specific business needs are. Finally, I was referred to ELG. The husband and wife team go above and beyond. They have helped me with my business formations and have made sure that I have the protections in place personally to avoid possible risks. I can finally rest easy knowing I have them on my team. I would recommend them to any business owner; large, small, old or new. read more

I highly recommend the Etchebehere Law Group as your choice of attorneys to help you with your estate planning needs. The Etchebehere partners are a friendly and amazing team of professionals who also have a background in tax. Their efficient process helped me create the most suitable living trust and will without feeling rushed or pressured. Patrick gave very intelligent and thoughtful advice, was always very receptive to my questions, and both Patrick and Allie are very pleasant people to work with. They now even offer meetings through Skype that can be very appealing to those who find it more convenient. I feel extremely fortunate and relieved to have chosen this law group, and have already referred them to my relatives and friends. read more

Patrick and Allie helped me get an emergency Power of Attorney in place for myself and my ill mother. They met me at the nursing home! Allie is a notary, so it was literally 1 stop shopping! Thanks so much guys! -Patrick O' read more

Patrick and Allie are a pleasure to work with. Professional, responsive and with great business ethics. Patrick was able to provide great legal advice to my husband and I. He carefully listened to our goals and needs and provided us with solution that fit our needs specifically. He answered many questions very patiently and walked us through everything in an easy-to-understand way. I highly recommend this law group. read more

My wife and I had been putting off getting our Living Trust in the books, but didn't really know where to start. So during some conversation with our Insurance Agent, he gave us Allie's name (of the Etchebehere Law Group). When we finally hooked up with Allie via a phone conversation, we really didn't know what to expect when it came to putting a Trust together. But Allie helped put our minds at ease by walking us through the process, and in a language we could both understand. All of our communication was either through email or phone, which was most convenient for us. And the only time we met in person was to finalize the documentation and wording for the Trust, and settle the payment (of course). Allie and her husband did all the leg work! And their fee for the Trust was definitely within our budget. So if you're ever looking for a firm to help in your Living Trust, I definitely recommend Etchebehere Law Group! read more

We needed to amend our living trust, and we are very happy we hired ELG through Hyatt Legal Plan, a prepaid plan through work. This husband and wife team is very professional. They took the time to make sure we understand, answered so many many of our questions patiently, and always replied to our emails promptly, even after the amendment was done when we came up with more questions! Furthermore, they explained our options and did not pressure us into doing more than what we want. They even have appointments on Saturdays. We would definitely recommend them for anyone who needs estate planning. read more

I'm so glad I found ELG! As a 20-something newbie to legal needs, I found them to be so incredibly welcoming, understanding, skilled and kind -- I really appreciate how they took the time to answer all my questions and thoroughly explain everything to make sure I understood it. It feels like they really care about their clients, and that they do everything possible to ensure I feel taken care of; I'd be happy to trust them with any future needs. Thank you! read more

We used Etchebehere Law Group for our Living Trust. From the beginning, Patrick was so easy to work with and it was so convenient for us to be able to do our initial meeting via Skype. Since my husband wasn't able to meet during the day due to work, we were able to schedule our virtual meeting in the evening and it was great! We felt confident with his knowledge, professionalism, and we felt he truly cared about our best interests. Once the details were ironed out (via email or phone), we went into the office to sign papers. This is where we met his partner Allie. Allie is also awesome! She is very organized and on top of things and in addition to being smart and professional, they are both really great people. We recommend, with enthusiasm, these two attorneys and their firm for your estate planning needs in the Bay Area or anywhere! We now live in Southern California and we continue to be their clients. read more