Orange County Estate Planning

Most Estate Plans Are
Built for Today.
We Build Them for the Courtroom.

Litigation-grade trust architecture for Orange County families who have something to protect. Easy process. Meticulous results.

Protect What You've Built → How it works

T&E

Trusts & Estates Only

CA · NY

Dual Bar Member

APC

A Professional Corporation

The Problem

Your Trust Has Gaps.
Opposing Counsel Will Find Them.

Off-the-shelf estate plans are drafted to get signed, not necessarily survive scrutiny.

In California's litigation-friendly courts, a single procedural misstep can unravel decades of planning.

Boilerplate Doesn't Hold Up

Generic trust language fails California's specific community property rules, Prop 13/19 reassessment exclusions, and blended-family edge cases. What works in another state can be disqualifying here.

Process Failures Are Catastrophic

An improperly executed pour-over will, real property not re-titled into the trust, or a missed trustee-succession clause hands opposing counsel their opening.

Your Assets Are More Complex Than You Think

High-value Orange County real estate, business interests, retirement accounts, and blended families each require specific trust architecture. One-size-fits-all planning fails those who need it most.

You Won't Know It's Broken Until It's Too Late

Trust deficiencies don't surface during life, they surface during probate, a contested administration, or after a family dispute. By then, the only people who benefit are the attorneys on the other side.

The Martz Difference

We Draft Every Trust As If
It Will Be Contested.

Litigation-grade procedural rigor applied from the first consultation to the final funding. We call it aggressive civility: an easy process for you, but meticulous on every detail so your heirs never need to be aggressive in court.

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Litigation-Ready Drafting

Every provision is written to withstand challenge. Ambiguous language is the enemy of your family's legacy and we eliminate it before it becomes a problem.

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Procedural Perfection

Proper signing ceremonies, coordinated notarization, real property deeds, beneficiary designation audits, and trust funding checklists. Every box checked, documented, and filed.

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California-Specific Architecture

Prop 13/19 exclusion planning, community property analysis, stepped-up basis strategies, and Medi-Cal look-back considerations built into every plan from the start.

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Living Document, Not a Dusty Binder

Life changes. So does California law. We build plans that account for future uncertainty and stay accessible when you need to update them.

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Creditor & Predator Shields

Properly structured irrevocable trusts create legal barriers that protect your family's wealth from creditors, ex-spouses, and bad actors.

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White-Glove Client Experience

You'll always know exactly where your matter stands. No status-check phone calls needed because you'll get proactive updates at every milestone, from draft to execution to trust funding.

Practice Areas

Comprehensive T&E
for California Families

Every engagement is built around your specific asset structure, family dynamics, and long-term goals, not a template.

Revocable Living Trusts

The cornerstone of California estate planning. Avoid probate, maintain privacy, and ensure seamless transfer, with full funding coordination.

Pour-Over Wills & Testamentary Documents

Coordinated with your trust architecture to capture any assets outside the trust at death. Properly executed under California Probate Code requirements.

Irrevocable Trusts

QPRTs, ILITs, SLATs, IDGTs, and Medi-Cal planning trusts

Powers of Attorney

Durable financial POA and Advance Healthcare Directives drafted to give your agents clear authority and limit family conflict during incapacity.

Business Succession Planning

For Orange County business owners: buy-sell agreements, operating agreement review, and integration of business interests into your trust structure while limiting tax exposure.

Trust Administration & Funding

Post-signing trust funding, deed preparation, beneficiary designation coordination, and trustee guidance, because a trust that isn't funded is just an expensive binder.

A Distinct Practice Niche

Cryptocurrency &
Digital Asset Succession

Most estate attorneys have never opened a hardware wallet. The problem is legal as well as technical. Standard trust language doesn't address digital assets, and getting it wrong means your heirs could inherit nothing but frustration.

The Key Problem

Unlike a bank account, there is no probate court order that unlocks a cold wallet whose seed phrase died with its owner. Your heirs need access, but putting credentials in a public trust document creates its own security risk. We build the right architecture: a private Digital Asset Succession Letter paired with trust provisions that give your trustee clear legal authority without exposing your keys.

Instructions Built Around Your Goals

Some want their holdings passed intact. Others may hold NFTs with ongoing royalty streams. We draft trustee protocols and heir instructions specific to what you hold, how you hold it, and what outcome you want - not a template that assumes every client holds Bitcoin on Coinbase.

What We Cover

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins on hardware wallets and exchanges. NFTs and digital collectibles, including underlying IP rights. Community property analysis for crypto acquired during marriage. Stepped-up basis planning and capital gains coordination at death.

How It Works

Your Path to a Litigation-Resilient Estate Plan

Fortress Assessment

A focused intake session to map your asset structure, family dynamics, and risk exposures. No generic questionnaires.

Custom Architecture

We design a trust structure specific to your situation: California property law, blended families, business interests, and all.

Litigation-Grade Drafting

Every document drafted as if it could be contested.

Coordinated Execution

Signing, notarization, real property deeds, and beneficiary review is coordinated and documented carefully.

Full Trust Funding

We don't hand you a binder and disappear. We follow up on how to transfer real property, financial accounts, and business interests into your trust — confirmed in writing.

About the Attorney

Gunnar Karl Martz

I founded Martz Law on the conviction that every family deserves a trust that can survive a courtroom. Most estate plans are drafted to satisfy a checklist. I structure them to endure.

I work with families from Laguna Beach and Laguna Niguel to Dana Point, Capo Beach, Newport Beach, Irvine, and Mission Viejo exclusively on trusts & estates, with the depth of focus that a generalist practice cannot match.

Every client works directly with me, not a paralegal or a form.

Trusts & Estate Planning

Digital Assets & Future Interests

Prop 19 & Real Estate

Protect What You've Built

Start Your Fortress

Send me a brief note with your name and what you are hoping to achieve.
I wll respond within one business day with next steps.
No obligation or sales pressure.

contact@martz.law

Response within one business day · All communications are confidential

Most Estate Plans AreBuilt for Today.We Build Them for the Courtroom.

Your Trust Has Gaps.Opposing Counsel Will Find Them.