From tech equity in Palo Alto to vineyard land in Napa — California's most complex estates deserve more than a form document. Martz Law builds family fortresses.
California's highest-concentration wealth corridor has estate planning challenges that generic practitioners routinely miss. We don't.
Tech executive compensation doesn't fit in a standard trust. RSUs, ISOs, NQSOs, carried interest, 409A deferred comp, and pre-IPO equity each carry different tax treatments and transfer restrictions that must be addressed at the drafting stage — not discovered by a successor trustee.
We build trust structures that account for equity compensation timelines, liquidity event planning, and California's community property rules for stock grants that vest over a marriage.
Marin and San Francisco families often hold multi-generational real estate with sub-$10,000 assessed values under Prop 13 — and one improper transfer can trigger a full reassessment at current market value. The stakes are enormous.
We coordinate with your tax advisors to navigate parent-child and grandparent-grandchild exclusions under Prop 19, ensure deed transfers comply with the exclusion requirements, and structure trusts to preserve your family's property tax base across generations.
Vineyard and agricultural property in Napa and Sonoma carries unique estate planning considerations: Williamson Act (Agricultural Preserve) contracts, water rights, conditional use permits, LLC operating agreements, and brand value that isn't captured on a balance sheet.
We structure estate plans that keep vineyard operations intact through transition, protect the assessed value of agricultural land, and give the next generation a clear path to ownership without a forced sale or family dispute.
As a long-time Alameda homeowner, Gunnar Martz understands the East Bay's distinctive mix of long-held family real estate, Oakland business owners, and the Lamorinda corridor's high-net-worth families who've watched their property values multiply while their estate plans collected dust.
East Bay clients benefit from deep local knowledge of Alameda and Contra Costa County property law, title practices, and the family dynamics that make estate planning here different from a Silicon Valley engagement.
San Francisco families face a distinctive combination of high real estate values, complex professional careers, and the city's community of domestic partnerships and blended families — each requiring tailored trust structures that California's statutory defaults don't address.
For North Bay clients in Novato, Petaluma, and Santa Rosa, we provide access to litigation-grade planning that historically required a downtown SF engagement.
Bay Area clients don't need to drive to a law office. Every consultation, intake session, and document review is available via secure video conference — without sacrificing the depth or rigor of an in-person engagement.
Document execution and notarization can be coordinated locally or through a mobile notary service at your location. Your fortress gets built on your schedule.
California's wealthiest corridor has planning complexities that out-of-state attorneys, generalist practices, and online document services routinely miss — with consequences that surface only when it's too late to fix them.
An improper property transfer — even to a trust — can blow your family's Prop 13 base. The Prop 19 parent-child exclusion has been narrowed sharply. One missed step and a $1M assessed property reassesses at $4M overnight.
RSUs vesting over a marriage, ISOs with strike prices, pre-IPO shares in a 409A plan — none of these are addressed in a Nolo form. They need specific trust provisions and coordination with your company's equity plan administrator.
California's community property rules interact with stock grants, separate property real estate, and inherited assets in ways that create significant litigation exposure when blended families are involved and trusts are improperly titled.
Williamson Act contracts run with the land, not the owner. Water rights are a separate legal interest. Brand value and trade names don't transfer the same way as real property. Most estate attorneys don't know what they don't know here.
Aggressive civility — meticulous procedural rigor from intake through funding. Your family's legacy shouldn't depend on whether opposing counsel overlooks a defect that we should have caught.
Every provision reviewed against California's statutory requirements and common challenge vectors. Ambiguous language gets resolved before it reaches a courtroom.
Prop 13/19 exclusion planning, community property analysis, stepped-up basis strategies, and equity compensation provisions — built in from day one.
Complex Bay Area estates require tight coordination between estate planning counsel and your CPA or tax advisor. We work directly with your team, not around them.
Signing ceremonies, notarization, real property deeds, beneficiary designation reviews, and trust funding checklists — every box checked, documented, confirmed.
California law changes. Your family changes. We build trust structures with the flexibility to adapt — without requiring full redrafting every five years.
Secure video consultations on your schedule. No parking in SoMa, no cross-bay commutes. Execution coordinated locally when you're ready to sign.
Every engagement is architected around your specific asset structure — from concentrated tech positions to multi-county real estate holdings and family business succession.
California's cornerstone planning vehicle — drafted to avoid probate, maintain privacy, and survive scrutiny. Full funding coordination included, not an afterthought.
RSU, ISO, NQSO, and carried interest planning integrated into your trust structure. Coordination with your equity plan administrator and tax counsel on tax-efficient transfers.
Structuring transfers — into trust and to the next generation — to preserve your assessed value base under California's parent-child and grandparent-grandchild exclusions.
QPRTs, ILITs, SLATs, IDGTs, and Medi-Cal planning trusts deployed when the asset base and tax exposure justify the structure.
Buy-sell agreements, operating agreement review, and integration of business interests — including vineyard and agricultural assets — into your estate plan without triggering transfer taxes or Williamson Act issues.
Durable financial POA and Advance Healthcare Directives drafted for clarity during incapacity — limiting family conflict by leaving no room for interpretation disputes.
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Gunnar Martz is a long-time Alameda homeowner who understands Bay Area real estate, community, and the unique complexities that come with planning estates in California's most economically diverse region.
Martz Law, A Professional Corporation focuses exclusively on trusts & estates — bringing litigation-grade rigor to every document, every signing ceremony, and every trust funding. This isn't a generalist firm that does estate planning on the side.
Every Bay Area client receives virtual consultations at their convenience and coordinated local execution — with the full attention of the attorney who drafted their plan.
If your estate includes Silicon Valley equity, high-value Bay Area real estate, or a family business, a generic trust isn't good enough. Let's build something that holds up.
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