“My mother signed her trust from a hospital bed. Rocío came on a Sunday, read every page aloud in Spanish, and waited while Mamá asked the same question twice.”
Eloísa M.Daughter of a client, Santa Maria
Estate planning and elder law · Santa Barbara
Ask for Rocío
I'm Rocío Belmonte. With two associates, I write wills, trusts and long-term care plans for Santa Barbara families, and I'm still the one you call when it's time to use them. In English or in Spanish, at our office on Garden Street or at your kitchen table.
From the families
Overheard after the signing
A few words from clients once their plans were signed, or once a parent's estate was finally settled.
“We put off our wills for eleven years. Roland had us done in three meetings, and the binder actually lives in the kitchen drawer now.”
Garrick and Annette K.Goleta
“After Dad died I didn't know what probate even was. Yolanda sent me a one-page update every month until it was over.”
Itzia V.Carpinteria
“Rocío had my brothers in Oxnard and me in Lompoc on one call, half in English and half in Spanish. Nobody felt left out.”
Maricruz G.Lompoc
“When my wife needed memory care, they laid out what it would cost and what our choices were, before we had to decide anything.”
Ernesto R.Santa Barbara
Every family and every estate is different. These comments describe individual experiences and don't predict how your matter will turn out.
Why it matters
Who the paperwork is really for
A plan is a stack of signatures. What it protects looks more like this.
Practice
Four kinds of work, all day long
Everything here is estate and elder work. We don't do divorces, car accidents or anything else on the side.
Wills and living trusts
Who inherits, who's in charge and how your family stays out of probate court. Written plainly and signed in one visit.
Wills and trustsPowers of attorney
Who pays the bills and talks to the doctors if you can't. The two papers adult children ask us about most.
Powers of attorneyProbate and trust administration
When a parent dies, we take the estate from the first court filing or trust notice to the last check written.
ProbateLong-term care planning
Paying for help at home, assisted living or a nursing home, and protecting what the spouse at home needs to live on.
Long-term care
Bring the folder you've been avoiding
Ninety minutes at the office or at your home. You leave knowing what we'd draft, what it costs and when you could sign.