Trusts & Estates Associate Attorney

Description

Legal Norcal P.C. is hiring an experienced trusts and estates associate attorney to own probate, trust administration, and estate administration matters from intake to closing, with an estate planning caseload alongside.

This is a remote role for an attorney with active California State Bar admission. Travel to Chico is occasional and as needed for court hearings or in-person matters that require it. Most hearings are conducted remotely unless the judge orders otherwise. The firm pays for required travel.

Our practice has grown to a point where we need to add an experienced trusts and estates associate to continue serving the families who come to us at the standard they deserve.

The role carries a 1,500-hour annual billable target structured as a sustainable workload. Compensation is $130,000 to $160,000 base salary, depending on experience, plus production bonus and a full benefits package.

Responsibilities

• Run probate matters from petition through final distribution, including intake, fee planning, petition drafting, court appearances throughout Northern California (Glenn, Butte, Tehama, Yuba, Sutter, Shasta, Plumas, Lassen, Modoc, and statewide as needed), notices, inventory and appraisal coordination with the probate referee, creditor claims, accountings, and final distribution
• Administer routine and complex trusts, including initial trustee guidance, beneficiary notices, asset inventory and valuation, sub-trust funding for A/B and A/B/C structures, ongoing accountings, distributions, and final closure
• Handle estate administration matters that fall between probate and trust administration, including small-estate affidavits, spousal property petitions, summary procedures, and matters that require attorney judgment to characterize correctly the first time
• Manage estate planning matters (approximately 25 to 35 percent of time), including design meetings, attorney review, and signing meetings, supported by the legal team behind you
• Coordinate with the firm's CPA and finance partners on complex matters involving tax allocation, basis decisions, and sub-trust splits
• Communicate with clients during emotionally significant moments with clarity, empathy, and steady professionalism, leaving clients calmer and more in control after every conversation
• Track time contemporaneously and write task-based, value-conveying time entries that reflect the substance of the work for each client

Qualifications

• Active California State Bar license in good standing
• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from a California-accredited or ABA-accredited law school
• Three or more years of substantive trusts and estates experience, with depth in at least two of estate planning, trust administration, and probate, and meaningful exposure to the third
• Working knowledge of the California Probate Code, the California Revenue and Taxation Code, the California Rules of Court, and the California Code of Civil Procedure as they apply to probate and trust administration, including Proposition 19 and Medi-Cal recovery
• Excellent bedside manner with clients during emotionally significant moments, with the ability to explain complex legal concepts in plain language
• Technologically fluent and comfortable in modern legal software (MyCase, WealthCounsel, Clio Draft, DecisionVault, Lawmatics, Microsoft 365, CEB, LexisNexis)
• Bilingual English and Spanish, strongly preferred but not required