Thoughtful planning for the people you love and the life you have built.
Estate planning, living trusts, and guidance after a loss for California families.
The decisions you make today can offer clarity and reassurance to the people you love. We help you put your wishes into a carefully prepared estate plan, prepare for the possibility of incapacity, and make the responsibilities ahead more manageable for your family.
Attorney Cynthia Lee personally designs and reviews every plan, with clear explanations and attention to the details that matter to you. Consultations are available in English, Cantonese, or Mandarin, by Zoom or at our San Jose and San Francisco offices.
Client reviews · Legal plans accepted
Living trust education for Bay Area families since the 1980s
A clear plan today. Family harmony for generations.
When the paperwork is settled, families spend less time worrying and more time on what they love: travel, wellness, the family home and simply being together.
Planning ahead, and help when it matters most.
Plans built around your stage of life.
Our practice focuses on California families with U.S.-based assets.
- Young familiesNominate guardians for your children and plan for what they inherit.
- Engineers & tech professionalsRSUs, stock options, ESPP shares and 401(k)s, organized into one clear plan. For highly appreciated company stock, a GRAT may direct future growth to your children.
- Physicians & medical professionalsDoctors, dentists and practice owners: protect what you've built with trust and asset protection planning, and plan for your practice and retirement accounts.
- Real estate ownersHold your home and rentals in trust and spare your family probate.
- Business ownersHold your company interests in trust and plan how they are managed if something happens to you.
- RetireesUpdate an older trust, plan for incapacity and pass on the family home.
Strategies for larger estates.
Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts
Direct the future growth of appreciating stock to your children, with a calculated gift that can be small or close to zero.
See how a GRAT works →
Inheritor’s Trusts
Hold what you give or leave your adult children in a trust you create for their benefit, rather than passing it to them outright.
See the comparison →
Irrevocable & Dynasty Trusts
ILITs and dynasty trusts that hold wealth for children and grandchildren on your terms.
Learn more →
Rental LLCs & Family Partnerships
Coordinated entity and trust planning to help separate certain liabilities and protect what you leave to heirs.
Explore asset protection →In our clients' words.
“My parent-in-laws are Cantonese speaking only… Cynthia and her team explained the process to my parent-in-laws in Cantonese and helped me and their mostly English speaking son in English… I recommend Cynthia Lee for anyone who has parents who don't speak English as she has the cultural competency and patience to work with families of bilingual households.”
“She is very detailed and thoughtful in her trust design advice laying out lots of possibilities that needed to be considered, beyond what my simple ideas were… I feel well cared for by this team.”
Testimonials describe individual experiences. Results depend on the facts and law applicable to each matter and will differ when those facts differ.
Your employer’s legal plan may provide benefits toward estate planning services. We can help identify the services to review with your plan provider; coverage and any client responsibility depend on your benefits and the work involved.
- MetLife Legal Plans
- ARAG
- LegalEase
- Exemplar Legal
From first call to signed plan in four steps.
- Step 1Gather your informationOur team sends a simple questionnaire and organizes your family, property and account details before we meet.
- Step 2Design consultationWe meet, usually by Zoom, to design your plan: who receives what, who is in charge and how to protect your children.
- Step 3Review your documentsYour completed plan is prepared from our design meeting and sent to you to review before signing.
- Step 4Sign & fund your planWe guide you through signing with the witnesses and/or notary appropriate to each document, then explain how to place the right assets in your trust. For clients who prefer the convenience of our assistance, California deed preparation and recording services are available for a separate fee.
A member of our staff will call you to learn about your needs, explain our fees, and schedule your appointment.
When circumstances change, help is available.
When your life changes
As your circumstances evolve, we welcome the opportunity to review your plan with you and recommend thoughtful updates. We discuss the scope and fee for that work before proceeding.
Trust amendments & restatements →When the time comes
Your successor trustee is welcome to contact us. Trust administration is a separate engagement, and we explain its scope and fee before any work begins.
Trust administration →About American Trust Institute.
American Trust Institute's roots reach back to the 1980s, when educational seminars on living trusts brought families together in San Francisco and San Jose. Education offered a gentle way to begin conversations that were often left unspoken.
Today, ATI serves individuals and families through estate planning, trust administration, and probate. Attorney Cynthia Lee, who has practiced law since 2001, brings sound judgment and a calm, considered approach to the firm’s work.
Our story & team →
Guides for California families.
Two Bay Area offices. Clients across California.
Licensed throughout California. We serve families in every Bay Area county and work with many clients in Southern California by Zoom.
San Jose
2055 Junction Avenue, Suite 210
San Jose, CA 95131
888.380.2288 · 415.693.8882
By appointment only · Mon–Fri, 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM
San Francisco
505 Montgomery Street, 11th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
888.380.2288 · 415.693.8882
By appointment only · Mon–Fri, 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Start with a conversation.
Meetings are by appointment, weekdays 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM, by Zoom or at our offices. Call 888.380.2288 or 415.693.8882, or request a time online. Consultations in English, Cantonese or Mandarin.