VGK Law is seeking an experienced Trusts and Estates Paralegal to manage estate planning, trust administration, and probate matters from intake through completion. This is a senior, highly autonomous position for a paralegal who knows how to organize complex matters, anticipate next steps, communicate compassionately with clients, and move work forward without constant direction. You will serve as a key continuity partner to the Managing Attorney and assume ownership of an established trust-administration workflow. The ideal candidate brings substantial California trusts and estates experience, excellent judgment, meticulous follow-through, and a genuine desire to provide responsive and compassionate service to clients navigating significant life transitions. What You Will Do Trust Administration Manage California trust administrations from opening through final distribution under attorney supervision. Maintain clear matter plans, deadlines, checklists, client files, and status updates. Prepare notices, certifications, affidavits, petitions, inventories, accountings, receipts, releases, transfer documents, beneficiary communications, and related materials. Coordinate asset collection, valuation, retitling, creditor and beneficiary notices, tax-information gathering, funding, distributions, and matter closing. Communicate with trustees, beneficiaries, financial institutions, accountants, appraisers, title and escrow professionals, and government personnel. Identify missing information, deadline risks, unusual circumstances, and potential disputes requiring attorney review. Keep files sufficiently organized and documented so that another team member can readily understand each matter's status. Estate Planning Draft and revise attorney-approved estate planning documents, including revocable trusts, wills, powers of attorney, advance health care directives, certifications of trust, assignments, deeds, and related documents. Prepare plan summaries, signing packages, funding instructions, asset schedules, and client correspondence. Coordinate signing meetings, notarization, recording, document delivery, and post-signing follow-up. Review client questionnaires, existing plans, asset information, and attorney notes for completeness and consistency. Support trust funding, deed preparation, beneficiary-designation follow-up, and the maintenance of complete client records. Probate and Court Support Support California probate matters from initial filing through closing. Prepare petitions, notices, inventories, accountings, status reports, proposed orders, and closing documents under attorney direction. Track statutory deadlines, hearings, publication, service, bond, probate-referee, creditor, and distribution requirements. Coordinate e-filing, service, certified copies, hearing materials, and communications with court staff and outside vendors. What You Bring At least seven years of progressively responsible paralegal experience, including substantial recent experience with California estate planning, trust administration, and/or probate. Exceptional candidates with at least five years of directly relevant experience may be considered. Demonstrated ability to independently organize and advance multiple trusts and estates matters under attorney supervision. Meaningful tenure and depth in prior trusts and estates roles. Working knowledge of California trusts and estates processes, terminology, deadlines, filings, and document conventions. Exceptional accuracy, proofreading, organization, written communication, discretion, and follow-through. Sound judgment about what may be handled independently and what should be escalated to an attorney. Qualifications and continuing education that satisfy the requirements applicable to California paralegals. Preferred Experience End-to-end trust administration involving complex assets, real property, beneficiary issues, accountings, or tax coordination. WealthCounsel or comparable estate-planning document automation software. Clio, Microsoft 365, Adobe Acrobat, e-filing platforms, and secure remote-work systems. Experience in a boutique or small-firm environment where team members take broad ownership and adapt as needs evolve. Who Will Thrive in This Role You may be an excellent fit if you are dependable, proactive, compassionate, and comfortable taking ownership of your work. You enjoy creating order, keeping matters moving, and supporting clients through processes that can be both technically complex and emotionally difficult. This is an individual-contributor position with no direct reports. It is designed for an experienced paralegal seeking stable, long-term work with a small firm where reliability, sound judgment, and excellent client service are highly valued. This position must be the employee's primary professional commitment.

Pay:

$100,000.00 - $120,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Flexible schedule Opportunities for advancement Paid time off Work from home

Work Location:

Hybrid remote in San Rafael, CA 94901