In matters such as trust and estate planning--where legal expertise intersects with family, emotion, and long-term responsibility--I initially expected legal services to be professional, accurate, and error-free. What Summerall Law, PCand its entire team provided went far beyond that. I would like to extend my special thanks to Albert Wu. His thoughtfulness, patience, and genuine kindness made every interaction smooth and reassuring. More importantly, he is fluent in Chinese and was able to explain and confirm complex legal concepts in the language I am most comfortable with. The feeling of being truly heard, understood, and respected is invaluable to a client. It is clear that he not only understands the law, but also understands people. I was equally impressed by Patrick's professionalism throughout the document revision process. He did not simply "make edits," but carefully reviewed and refined the documents word by word, patiently addressing every concern until everything met my standard of clarity, confidence, and peace of mind. This level of respect for a client's expectations and dedication to detail reflects a rare and admirable professional integrity. During the final signing stage, Man, the signing assistant, also demonstrated exceptional responsibility and professionalism. The entire signing process was well-organized, clearly explained, and handled with great care, leaving no stress--only trust--at such a critical moment. Looking back, what truly stands out is that this was never the work of a single individual, but of a highly collaborative, professional, and accountable team. Their respect for the law, seriousness toward client matters, and commitment to professional responsibility genuinely moved me. I can say with complete confidence that Summerall Law, PC is the most professional, diligent, and genuinely compassionate legal team I have ever worked with. In matters as important as one's life and family, encountering such a team is a rare and meaningful good fortune. read more

Be extremely careful. They say you get what you pay for, and that's actually true. This place is like the McDonald's of law firms. For a flat fee, you can buy the worst, least personalized, and most incorrect will/trust thrown together using a template that doesn't even closely approximate what was discussed. My husband and I had a terrible experience with Summerall law recently. when we told our friends, TWO of them had had the exact same experience with this exact same firm. This firm didn't spend any time explaining major legal issues, they skipped important questions, and they left major details out of our will and trust documents. They got names wrong, they got details wrong, entire paragraphs were left out. When we brought it to an ACTUAL attorney, he was horrified. For something this important, it couldn't be more critical to find an attorney that will spend time on your plans for your family after you die. Skip Summerall Law, they are a disaster. p.s If you need further evidence, the owner of this McDonald's lawfirm ADMITS in her reply below that she *doesn't even remember* having us as clients. That's what happens when you spend zero time with your clients, rush them out the door, and cobble together a template estate plan that doesn't reflect their wishes. DO BETTER. read more

Professional. Courteous. Accurate. Fast. Very satisfied with their services and cost affordability.

From beginning to end, estate planning was a very easy and smooth with Summerall Law. I highly recommend them!

Ms. Summerall did a poor job in representing my interests in the settlement of an estate. She came to meetings unprepared, not having read the documents to be discussed. She treated my concerns as trivial. Her office staff was incompetent, sending me documents to sign off on court submissions, without sending me the court submissions themselves. In the end I had to do my own negotiating to achieve what I needed and missed an opportunity that would have achieved more of what I needed because I didn't understand what was happening. She really didn't represent my interests, despite being retained by me. read more

My husband and I recently worked with Summerall to create our trust and wills, and we had a very positive experience from start to finish. The entire process was smooth, efficient, and clearly explained. We were able to schedule a free consultation with an estate attorney just a few days after reaching out. He clearly explained the options for various parts of these documents and provided well-reasoned recommendations. Based on our input, he prepared a draft of the documents and just one week later, we returned for the signing and notarization. At that appointment, another attorney at the firm walked us through the final version and made sure we were comfortable with everything in it. At the end, we received hard copies of our documents, and digital versions had already been sent to our inboxes by the time we were done. The next business day, we received the recorded deed for our property -- the final step in completing the trust. It's worth noting that our situation was fairly straightforward, which likely helped keep the timeline short. More complex estates may require additional time. That said, we were very impressed by the professionalism of everyone we worked with and how seamless the entire process was. We highly recommend Summerall for estate planning, especially if you have a legal plan through MetLife, which significantly reduces the cost. read more

The entire process was smooth and straightforward. From the initial Zoom consultation--where we discussed our priorities and expectations--to the draft stage, communication was clear and efficient. Their team made it easy to fine-tune our trust via email, ensuring everything reflected our wishes. Scheduling the signing appointment was simple, and during that session, they walked us through each document so we felt confident about every detail, including the follow-up tasks. Afterward, the Summerall team remained highly responsive, guiding us through the post-signing steps without stress. I strongly recommend Summerall Law for their professionalism and support. read more

I had a great experience with Summerall Law. They helped me with my estate plan and they are very thorough and professional. The follow up was also great. Overall I recommend them for your estate planning needs. read more

I went to Summerall to do a Living Trust with my husband. Albert Wu was our original contact, and he was incredibly efficient, informative, sympathetic and straight forward about it all. A week later we had a draft. We made a few small changes, and then we went in to sign the documents. So easy. Last year we went to another estate attorney and 6 months later we didn't have a draft, but did have bills for about $1500 for an initial consultation and 3 emails. It was hard to walk away, but we did....and I am so happy that we did! Thank you to Albert Wu and thank you to Sarah Summerall :) read more

We used Summerall Law for establishing our initial family trust and estate, to ensure we had the basics in place as we became parents. Everyone at Summerall Law was great to work with, and walked us patiently though all the areas that normally trip people up, as well as areas more specific to us and our situation. We did all the convos and prep via video call (great to minimize commuting time), and they have multiple locations for signing the final copies in person. We haven't used them for more detailed or custom work but will happily do so when the time comes, and have friends who have used them for this and are very happy. If you're looking into will, trust, or estate needs, would definitely suggest checking out Summerall Law! read more

We recently worked with Summerall law to draft our estate plans and it was one of the smoothest experiences we've had when it comes to legal paperwork! The people we worked with (Sarah and Kate) were warm, professional, and timely - which made it the whole process very easy for us. They also accept a range of legal insurance which also made it more affordable for us! read more

We just completed a new Estate Plan (Living Trust, Pour-Over Will, Medical Directives, etc.) to replace our existing ones that was 15 years old and outdated because of life changes. Summerall Law was great and made the process easy from start to finish. We are now confident that everything will be legally taken care of when the time comes. It was great working with Danielle, Annika and Christian. We were sent several drafts and they incorporated all our comments into the final documents. They took the time to answer our questions and explained the various sections of documents. We will go to them again if we ever need legal help with our estate. read more

They were terrific. The process of creating a trust was easy; the lawyers and staff were wonderful; the process was affordable. I would definitely use them again. read more

My partner and I engaged Summerall to help with a Living Trust. They made the whole process so smooth and helped to guide us along the way. The entire staff was communicative and customer-focused. We even had a hiccup (of our own doing!) and they were so gracious in assisting us with rectifying. I've referred them to numerous friends. I would definitely recommend them! read more

Two stars for a quick turnaround for an available consultation, but it feels like we had a very green staff member working with us who was consulting with their colleague the whole time. We wanted to do a living trust for our parent and they didn't have any translators available and said they would find one and get back to us. We didn't hear back since, so the follow through and service was not on par. I understand that lawyers are busy, but this is why there are paralegals and support staff. They surely didn't need our business. read more

We recently hired Summerall to draft my family's first estate plan after the birth of our first child, and help us with an interspousal deed. I was originally very overwhelmed by the idea of both but the Summerall team made it very easy. I was on a zoom call with a lawyer within minutes. Then two calls later, we were meeting in person with Sarah Summerall to sign! It was way less daunting than I imagined. AND it was mostly covered by my work's legal insurance benefit. 10/10 would recommend to anyone! read more

They were able to create my living trust and were very kind, patient, and professional. Not much else to say really. Smooth transaction with an incredibly warm staff. read more

Cannot speak highly enough about our experience creating a Family Trust with Summerall Law. As folks that felt intimidated by the process and understanding what would be best- their free consultation and responsiveness and patience put us at complete ease. They were patient and responsive and it was a painless and quick process. read more

The staff at Summerall Law were super helpful and attentive. I expected finalizing our estate plan was going to be an arduous process, because we had a bunch of questions and corrections. However, Sarah managed all our corrections in about 20 minutes and was very patient with our questions. We managed all that and got everything signed, notarized and paid for very quickly. read more

After putting off getting a trust created for many years, a series of family events/impending doom of the pandemic (only sort of kidding) that led me to think, "Why tf don't I have a trust yet?!" I finally decided to start the process. I have simple trust needs. Even so, it was overwhelmingly difficult finding the proper support. I started with a recommendation to a pretty big shot trust attorney that I thought would take great care of me, but after the first meeting I got billed even though they said they'd take the info and not bill yet. Completely rubbed me the wrong way. It was also expensive! $495-695 for the first meeting per hour, depending on the time it took (luckily they waived this), initial deposit of $1500, total fees came out to a WHOPPING $3302!!! I was shocked! I have very basic trust needs. I set up an appointment with Summerall Law. Was very easy to set up a time on their website. I talked to two of their trust attorneys (who both knew a bit more than the other firm regarding trusts and recent updates to laws surrounding trusts in CA) and went with Norell. She was amazing, efficient, calming and super helpful. I actually enjoyed the process, took two appointments if I recall correctly. Also, the cost was significantly lower, $1500 total for the trust. Got my refund from the previous folks for JUST MY DEPOSIT and paid for the ENTIRE TRUST after it was completed at the Summerall office in Oakland. Front desk lady was sweet and gave me hella snacks lol this is the stuff that really counts to me. The notary who worked with me was also very cool. He printed a fresh hardcopy of the docs in a nice blue folder and sent an electronic version to me as well. Overall, I'd highly recommend Summerall Law!!!! Major win, no struggles. read more

Hands down the most miserable experience I've had working with any professional organization. If you want a boiler plate estate plan with your personal details filled in, then it might work out better for you. If your estate is in any way more complicated (e.g. overseas assets that need to be handled differently), then you can expect: 1. complete unwillingness to deviate from the standard document 2. patronizing suggestions for why your situation doesn't matter 3. steady stream of condescending e-mail 4. constant pressure to sign an estate plan that does not work for you Unless you love aggravation, I strongly recommend looking somewhere else for help. read more

I had a great experience working with Summerall Law to set up my trust. Great service, they explained everything clearly and were very efficient. read more

Summerall Law was the most professional group of people full of integrity and personal compassion. They made it easy, and helped me understand. I absolutely recommend them. read more

We worked with Summerall Law for our trust and they were excellent! Highly professional, trustworthy, knowledgable, and approachable. We couldn't recommend them more! read more

I found Summerall here on yelp, and have had a greay experience with them (Jihyun was the lawyer with whom I worked, and she was great)-- easy, clear, efficient, and supportive, for not-such-fun-task! I highly recommend them! read more

How they deal with customer are excellent. Quick response, answers all the questions. My job was through summerall in best price and well. Thank you! read more

I really had high hopes working with this firm but unfortunately, our first meeting with Sarah Summerall...she was a no show. Keep in mind this meeting was scheduled almost a month in advance. In addition, I had to proactively call and inquire about rescheduling. Front desk, "took a message" and said she would call me back ASAP. Nothing... Biggest pet peeve is when people don't respect your time. read more

I had a legal question about my Mom's will and emailed the address on the website. I got what I think was an automated response that said "we'll read what you have and tell you if there's a problem for $500 but if there's a problem we're not taking new clients so you'll have to go to another lawyer to fix it". I guess that's fine (see three stars above).... but why would I pay $500 so that I can just find another lawyer? Seems silly. So I just found another lawyer. read more

Despite all the COVID hoo-ha, I was able to get my will and trust sorted out just fine. I'd looked at other attorneys' websites. One of them was into astrology and silly stuff like that. I told a friend I did not want an attorney who was into "woo woo". Another one was big on sci-fi and hard to get hold of. I like "sciffy" people and would buy her a beer, but not do business with that. Summerall (despite the insanely cute logo) seemed very professional. I wound up working with Albert Wu remotely, which caused a friend of mine to rightly mock me for going from "woo woo" to "Wu". Albert and I did a zoom call and I met the capable assistant, Che, to sign paperwork in their parking lot out back, which seemed kind of weird and fun and gangster. Anyway, my will and trust are sorted. If I croak, my relatives don't have to go through probate hell. Life is good. read more

Everything is laid out nice and simply so that the process and pricing are easy to understand. The staff are all bery nice and friendly and communicative. I took a long time to respond and they were always kind and accommodating :-) read more

I couldn't thank the owners and the team enough for how amazing they were through one of the most difficult times in my life. Every probate is different and when my dad passed I had no idea what probate even was or how long his would take. For a little over 2yrs I had the help of the amazing Summerall law to get my dad's estate handled the best way it could've been. Sarah was pregnant at the time of taking me on as a client and I was so stubborn and didn't know who to trust or what steps were right or wrong. Luckily for me Sarah was very sure of her company's work she gave it to me straight! We can either help you or let you find someone else but we can't work with you if you aren't going to let us do our job. I loved the confidence so I decided to let my guard down and trust her. BEST DECISION I MADE OF BEHALF OF MY DADS ESTATE!!! Kelly was very amazing as well!!! With the good communication and helping me understand every step of the way I grew to trust everyone's word which again wasn't a mistake at all. Renee jumped through every hoop possible to make things easier for me! We had to work hand in hand the most because of the money and items left behind in the estate! She practically became family over this long journey. The teams they have in place are also super trust worthy as well. The lady Cathy they connected me with when it came to handling the property was so amazing. She too had to deal with my stubborn ways but they all had one goal which was to help me get probate done. Cathy was a wonderful connection to make im thankful for her. As thing came to an end it was bitter sweet because I had worked with the Summerall team so long I felt like I was moving on from friendships or something. That's how amazing they treated me! If you're having second thoughts there's no need to have those! This team or family I should say, That they've built at Summerall will not let you down. If you can't trust any other reviewer trust me because I'm the most difficult when it comes to letting outside people in. Probate is a very personal thing so for me to speak so highly of people who were once strangers and spend time leaving this detailed review.... Please understand it's not for nothing and I truly appreciate how hard Summerall worked for me and all the battles we overcame in this probate!!! -Jenelle W read more

We sought Summerall Law out after a coworker recommended them. We just had our first child and only vaguely knew that we should pursue estate planning. But we had no idea what to do. They turned something that can be intimidating, opaque, and even scary into a quick, confidence-building, and simple process. We are happy we worked with them and recommend them to other. read more

TL;DR: revocable trust in a few hours over the course of a week, friendly people. Long version: I found Summerall Law through my legal insurance (ARAG) and reached out on a Thursday. Kelly replied and we discussed my situation (a pretty simple estate) via email, and I filled out an intake form. I met with Kelly online the next Monday. He helped me understand the implications of some of the whims in my form and worked with me to balance my wishes of directing events after my death and making things easy for my successor trustee. Kelly found a time for me to get my trust notarized that Thursday. I biked over and signed. Kelly and the notary, Che, were both cool. Weirdly, it was kind of a fun experience. They also provide reader-friendly instructions on what to do to include your property in the trust, which is really helpful. read more

Incredibly easy to work with, quick to respond, great value for price. Would highly recommend!

Summerall came highly recommended from coworkers at Google and they didn't disappoint. Everything was easy, clear, and quick. Very glad to have our Will & Trust checked off the bucket list before I kick the bucket! read more

Excellent Experience. We completed our estate planning for our family and Team Summerall were great. From start to finish. Highly recommended!! read more

Albert and Che helped me draft a new trust for my first home, shortly after I purchased it. I was fortunate enough to have legal coverage through my employer, so the process was cheap and seamless. Albert and I met for an exploratory phone call to set up the trust, we exchanged one or two emails to confirm the details, and within weeks I met Che to sign the papers! Couldn't have been any easier and now I have a new trust, and a deepened understanding of my rights and abilities via this legal document! read more

I went here to do my living trust a few years ago. I've been sending a few family members to them ever since.

Jihyun Kim is an excellent attorney experienced in living trusts. I recommend her highly without hesitation. She made the entire experience very easy and produced high quality work. read more

So glad my friend recommended Summerall to assist us with our estate plan. My experience was extremely positive as my attorney was extremely knowledgeable and efficient, and was supportive as we had to make some difficult decisions. They made the entire process so easy. read more