Trusted Estate Planning Attorney in San Diego
Jack Stephens J.D., LL.M. established our San Diego-based law firm to help clients avoid costly legal proceedings and tax burdens through Trusts and estate planning.
He has successfully created thousands of Trusts over the years, saving clients significant money and frustration with his Trust strategies and planning.
At our firm, we offer services from the creation of the Trust through the closing of the Trust at the Decedent’s Trust Administration. Jack Stephens has provided his expertise at educational seminars for attorneys and other professionals and has been recognized with numerous awards for these accomplishments.
Why Jack E. Stephens?
At Stephens Law Group, our founding attorney will handle all aspects of your case. Legal matters aren’t passed off to a lesser-experienced associate or paralegal. For his clients, he serves as both an advocate and resource, providing legal information to them via his access to articles from the law library at his alma mater, the University of San Diego.
Jack E. Stephens spends time with his clients, getting to know them and their families. He builds not just rapport, but long-term relationships. He is a California lawyer who understands that complex estate and capital gains tax issues and probate coupled with the catastrophic nature of health laws can quickly drain an estate of assets needed to avoid a future of destitution. That level of commitment has led to a multigenerational practice at his firm – an experienced estate planning attorney San Diego you can trust.
Certifications
How We Work: From First Call to Funded Trust
Estate planning feels overwhelming to most people because they don’t know what to expect. We make the process clear from the start, and we stay involved until the work is actually done — a fully funded, legally sound plan your family can rely on.
Step 1
Free Consultation
Every new client relationship begins with a no-cost, no-pressure consultation. We take the time to understand your family, your assets, your concerns, and what matters most to you. This conversation shapes everything that follows.
Step 2
Personalized Plan Design
There is no template. Every estate plan at Stephens Law Group is designed around the specific details of that client’s situation, including family structure, property holdings, tax exposure, incapacity planning needs, and the protections that matter most. Jack Stephens handles every aspect of the design personally. Nothing is passed to a paralegal or associate.
Step 3
Document Drafting & Explanation
We draft the complete set of estate planning documents and walk you through each one before signing. You should understand what you are signing and why each provision is written the way it is. That explanation is part of our job, not an optional extra.
Step 4
Signing & Execution
All documents are executed in compliance with California law, including proper notarization and witness requirements. For clients who cannot travel to our office, we make home visits and travel to hospitals and care facilities.
Step 5
Trust Funding
A Trust that is not funded is not complete. We handle the deed transfer for your real property and provide specific instructions for financial institutions so that every account and asset is retitled in the Trust’s name. Funding is part of the engagement, not something left to figure out later.
Step 6
Ongoing Support
Our clients come back when they remarry, when their parents need elder law guidance, when their adult children are ready to plan, and when a law change requires an update. That long-term relationship is what this practice is built on.
Ready to see what a fully funded, personalized plan looks like for your family?
Practice Areas
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Languages
English
ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEY IN SAN DIEGO
Publications
As an active contributor to continuing education in Estate Planning, Jack Stephens has authored and edited quarterly newsletters, pamphlets, and contributed articles to the Continuing Education of the Bar of California. Additionally, he has gained endorsement by Kiplinger’s Retirement Report for his book, Avoiding Tax Traps in Your IRA.