San Francisco Trust and Estate Litigation

In brief: Hackard Law represents San Francisco families in trust, estate, probate and elder financial abuse disputes on a contingency fee. San Francisco trust and probate matters are handled at the Civic Center Courthouse at 400 McAllister Street. Probate appearance hearings are generally in Department 204; ex parte appearances are in Department 202. Deadlines can be short: a trust contest may need to be filed within 120 days after the trustee’s notice.

By Michael Hackard, California trust and estate litigation attorney. Last reviewed October 28, 2026.

San Francisco estates are built from flats, Victorians, tenancy-in-common shares, co-op apartments, art collections and private company stock. When a parent dies or loses capacity, the people closest to those assets are often the people who control them. That is where disputes begin.

Michael Hackard has spent fifty years representing families who believe a trustee, executor, agent or caregiver has taken what was meant for them. This page explains how San Francisco cases work and links to guides for 18 San Francisco neighborhoods and topics.

Why San Francisco cases are different

San Francisco is a consolidated city and county, so there is one probate court for every neighborhood. Its housing is unusual too. According to U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, only 38.2 percent of homes are owner-occupied, the median owner-occupied home value is $1,394,500, and 18.8 percent of residents are 65 or older. A single house can be the whole estate, and a single deed or amendment can decide it.

• Property held in unusual forms. Tenancies in common on Russian Hill, stock cooperatives on Nob Hill and multi-unit family buildings in North Beach each raise different questions about ownership and control.
• Heirs who live far away. Trustees and beneficiaries are often out of state or abroad, which makes California jurisdiction and remote hearings important.
• Long ownership. Many Sunset, Richmond, Mission and Bayview homes have been in the same family for generations, often without an updated plan.

A San Francisco family

Michael Hackard’s family story runs through San Francisco. His great-grandparents John O’Connor, from Tralee in County Kerry, and Rose Dolan, from Belcoo in County Fermanagh, were married in San Francisco on February 10, 1885. They raised their children in the city, buried five who died young, and lived here for the rest of their lives.

His other great-grandparents, John Fuller of Drimoleague and Ellen Donovan of Rossmore, both in County Cork, married in 1892. Their children were born in San Francisco between 1893 and 1905. Both families were raising children in the city in the years around the 1906 earthquake and fire.

Their children, James Joseph O’Connor and Ellen “Nellie” Josephine Fuller, both born in San Francisco, were married at St. Peter’s Church in the Mission on September 3, 1919. Their daughter, Michael’s mother, Rose O’Connor, was born in San Francisco in 1923. Today, a new generation of the family is being born in San Francisco.

Michael grew up hearing how these families built their lives one flat and one parish at a time. He knows that a San Francisco home often carries more than its value. It carries a family’s history, and that is why disputes over it run so deep.

Disputes we handle in San Francisco

• When the family advisor becomes the trustee — Pacific Heights
• Art, antiques and collections that disappear — Presidio Heights
• When the trustee lives out of state or abroad — Sea Cliff
• Stock cooperative apartments in trusts and estates — Nob Hill
• Tenancy-in-common interests and partition — Russian Hill
• The sibling trustee and the family building — North Beach and Telegraph Hill
• Late beneficiary designation changes — Marina and Cow Hollow
• The survivor’s trust and the stepparent — St. Francis Wood
• The trustee’s notification letter and the 120-day clock — West Portal
• Caregivers, helpers and the family home — Sunset District
• Power of attorney misuse — Richmond District
• Forged and questionable deeds to family homes — Mission District
• When someone is added to the deed — Noe Valley
• Deathbed signings and capacity — Haight-Ashbury and Cole Valley
• Startup equity and founder stock in trusts — SoMa and Mission Bay
• Inherited family homes and heirs’ property — Bayview–Hunters Point
• The San Francisco probate court — Civic Center
• No-contest clauses — Laurel Heights and Lake Street

We also handle trust contests, will contests, trustee removal, accountings, elder financial abuse and wrongful transfers anywhere in San Francisco.

How a San Francisco trust case moves through court

1. Petition. Most trust disputes begin with a petition under Probate Code section 17200. Under Local Rule 14.43, a petition about an existing trust is filed under that trust’s case number.
2. Notice. Interested persons must receive notice at least 30 days before the hearing under Probate Code section 17203.
3. Examiner review and tentative ruling. Probate examiners review the petition and post any issues in the tentative ruling, available online or at (415) 551-4000 one to three days before the hearing.
4. First hearing. Appearance hearings are in Department 204, generally at 9 a.m. Monday through Wednesday. Non-evidentiary hearings may proceed remotely.
5. Contested matters. Matters expected to take more than 20 minutes may be specially set. The court may refer estate and trust disputes with assets of $3,000,000 or less to its Pro Bono Mediation Program.
6. Evidentiary hearing or trial. These are in person unless the court orders otherwise. Parties generally arrange a private court reporter for probate evidentiary hearings and trials. Fee-waiver recipients may request a court-provided verbatim record by submitting a written request at least two weeks before the proceeding.

Deadlines that matter

• 120 days to contest a trust after the trustee’s notification is served, or 60 days after delivery of a copy of the trust terms if that delivery occurs during the initial 120-day period, whichever is later (Probate Code section 16061.8).
• 60 days for the trustee to serve that notification after a trust becomes irrevocable on a death (Probate Code section 16061.7).
• 30 days of notice before a hearing on a trust petition (Probate Code section 17203).

Other claims, including elder financial abuse, wrongful transfer and will contests, have their own limits. Get advice early.

How contingency fees work

Hackard Law handles qualifying trust, estate and elder financial abuse cases on a contingency fee. You pay no hourly fees. The fee is a percentage of what is recovered, set out in a written agreement before work begins.

The firm advances the costs of the case. Those costs are repaid from the recovery before the fee is calculated. If there is no recovery, you owe no fee and no costs, unless your written agreement provides otherwise.

When the client is a personal representative, guardian or conservator, San Francisco Local Rule 14.54 requires court approval of a contingency fee agreement on a noticed hearing.

Why families call Michael Hackard

Michael Hackard has practiced law for fifty years. He has held an AV Preeminent rating for more than 40 years and has been recognized by Super Lawyers. He is the author of six books, including Stolen Inheritance and Alzheimer’s, Widowed Stepmothers & Estate Crimes, and he has testified before the House Ways and Means Committee. He is a graduate of McGeorge School of Law and a member of the California State Bar (#71067).

“After thousands of cases, I see the patterns others miss.” — Michael Hackard