VGK Law

What VGK Law does

VGK Law is a privately held boutique law firm headquartered at 999 Fifth Avenue, Suite 350, San Rafael, California, founded by Valerie Gerard Kushel and specializing in estate planning, trust administration, and probate services for individuals and families. The firm delivers a standardized estate planning package consisting of four core documents — a Living Trust, Pour-Over Will, Advance Health Care Directive, and Durable Power of Attorney — alongside ongoing trust administration and probate representation for successor trustees and beneficiaries. Its client base consists of individual and family clients in Marin and Sonoma counties seeking to avoid probate, protect minor children, plan for incapacity, and structure intergenerational wealth transfer.

The firm's service model is sales-led and highly personalized, beginning with an initial consultation booked through an online scheduling system (cliogrow.com) and continuing through 6-10 weeks of follow-up meetings culminating in a document signing session. VGK Law operates with a lean team of three professionals — the founding attorney, one associate attorney, and one paralegal — and generates revenue through professional service fees on estate planning engagements. The founding attorney's LL.M. in Taxation and Chair role at the Marin County Bar Association Probate and Estate Planning Section differentiate the firm on technical estate planning expertise, while community education events, op-eds, and the 2021 North Bay Business Journal Forty Under 40 award underpin its regional brand.

VGK Law is a founder-owned entity with no institutional investors, parent company, or external funding. The firm does not disclose pricing publicly, has no disclosed technology platform beyond its website and online booking tool, and shows no AI or automation capabilities in its current operations. Its competitive position rests on local reputation, the founding attorney's tax-specialist credentials, and the natural stickiness of estate planning engagements that generate ongoing trust administration work.

Name

VGK Law

Legal name

VGK Law

Website

https://vgklaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

VGK Law is a privately held boutique estate planning law firm in San Rafael, California, serving individuals and families in Marin and Sonoma counties with living trusts, wills, advance directives, trust administration, and probate services. The founder-owned three-person practice operates on a personalized, consultation-based model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Estate Planning Legal Services

NAICS

Legal Services (5411), Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Estate Planning, Trust Structuring & Governance (FSAAADAF), Estate Administration & Probate Services (FSAAANAE)

Keywords

• Estate planning
• Living trusts
• Trust administration
• Probate services
• Wills and estates

Headquarters

HQ city

San Rafael

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Estate Planning Legal Services: Professional legal services for estate planning including living trusts, pour-over wills, advance health care directives, durable power of attorney, and trust administration. Revenue generated through legal service fees, likely hourly or fixed-fee arrangements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

VGK Law provides estate planning and trust administration legal services for individuals and families in Marin and Sonoma counties, California. The firm's core offering is a complete estate planning package comprising a Living Trust, Pour-Over Will, Advance Health Care Directive, and Durable Power of Attorney, designed to help clients avoid probate, name guardians for minor children, and direct healthcare and financial decisions in the event of incapacity. The firm also provides Trust Administration and Probate representation for successor trustees and beneficiaries.

Product overview

VGK Law is a Marin + Sonoma estate planning firm offering a comprehensive suite of estate planning and trust administration services. The firm provides a typical estate planning package consisting of four core legal documents: Living Trust, Pour-Over Will, Advance Health Care Directive, and Durable Power of Attorney. These documents work together to protect families and assets in the event of incapacity or death, allowing heirs to avoid probate court, naming guardians for minor children, directing healthcare decisions, and enabling financial management through appointed agents. The firm also offers Trust Administration and Probate services, representing successor trustees and beneficiaries through estate proceedings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Living Trust A Living Trust allows heirs to avoid the expense, delay, and public nature of probate court when the gross estate exceeds $184,500, and enables successor trustees to manage assets for the benefit of the owner and loved ones according to detailed instructions. Designed for individuals and families in California seeking to streamline asset transfer and avoid probate.
• Pour-Over Will A Pour-Over Will accompanies every living trust, naming a legal guardian for minor children in the event of incapacity or death and enabling successors to put omitted assets into the trust after death. Designed for families, especially those with minor children.
• Advance Health Care Directive An Advance Health Care Directive allows individuals to direct the kind of medical care decisions their health care agent will make if they can no longer make those decisions, including a HIPAA authorization for communication with medical personnel. Designed for adults who want to plan for potential incapacity.
• Durable Power of Attorney A Durable Power of Attorney allows individuals to name an agent who can exercise certain financial rights in the event of incapacity, including filing insurance claims, taxes, applying for public benefits, taking retirement distributions, and signing legal documents. Designed for adults planning for potential incapacity.
• Trust Administration Legal and tax advice for successor trustees on critical and time-sensitive steps following a grantor's death, ensuring compliance with state and federal law and proper handling of estate administration. Designed for successor trustees administering an existing trust.
• Probate Legal representation for beneficiaries if there are questions about or disputes regarding the actions of a trustee in probate proceedings. Designed for beneficiaries needing counsel in probate disputes.

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• Justia: Legal information portal and attorney directory with a substantial wills and estates practice area. Functions as an upstream consumer-education and referral channel rather than a direct service competitor.
• Avvo: Online legal directory and Q&A platform that helps consumers find estate planning attorneys. Acts as a marketing and lead-generation channel adjacent to VGK Law's own online booking approach.
• California Lawyers Association (Trusts and Estates Section): Professional section that supports California estate planning attorneys through CLE, publications, and policy work. Provides the professional ecosystem in which VGK Law and similar boutique firms operate and source referrals.

Regional players

• Epstein Holtzapple Christo LLP: Bay Area law firm with a trusts, estate, and fiduciary litigation practice where VGK Law's associate attorney Shelley Clark previously worked. Operates in overlapping geography and practice area but with a heavier litigation focus.

Emerging players

• FreeWill: Free online will-making platform often distributed through employer and nonprofit partnerships. Touches VGK Law's market at the entry-tier will and basic estate planning level, with potential to refer complex matters to attorneys.
• Wealth.com: Estate planning platform built for financial advisors that produces wills, trusts, and supporting documents at scale. Competes indirectly by enabling wealth managers to bundle estate planning services that may otherwise route to firms like VGK Law.

Direct peers

• Trust & Will: Modern online estate planning service providing wills and trusts with optional attorney support. Targets the same family-and-individual segment as VGK Law via a digital-first experience that competes on speed and cost.
• LegalZoom: Online legal services platform offering wills, living trusts, and estate planning documents directly to consumers. Competes with VGK Law for first-time estate planning customers on convenience and price, particularly among younger and lower-complexity clients.
• Rocket Lawyer: Subscription-based online legal services platform with estate planning document offerings and on-demand attorney access. Overlaps with VGK Law's core service area while emphasizing self-serve and lower-touch delivery.

Broad incumbents

• Nolo: Long-standing legal information and DIY document publisher with extensive estate planning content and forms. Sits in the same consumer-facing estate planning space but competes primarily through self-help content rather than bespoke representation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/vgklaw

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VGK Law