Von Rock Law, PC

Focus and practice areas

This San Francisco firm handles four connected areas of law: estate planning, trust administration and probate, business formation and transactions, and real estate. The clients include individuals, families, and businesses. These areas overlap often in practice.

A family trust may hold a home, and a small business may pass to the next generation through that same plan. The overlap also appears when a business owner plans an estate that includes company shares. In my opinion, keeping these threads under one roof suits clients who want the same team year after year.

The firm works with clients in San Francisco and across the Bay Area. Its four practice areas link the assets that families and business owners hold over time, such as homes, trusts, and companies.

How an estate plan comes together

The firm builds estate plans around four documents: a revocable living trust, a will, a durable power of attorney, and an advance health care directive. The mix depends on a client's assets, family, and goals. It changes with each client.

Each document carries a defined job. A revocable living trust holds assets and can pass them to heirs while avoiding probate. A will covers property outside the trust and can name guardians for minor children. A durable power of attorney lets a chosen person manage finances if the client becomes unable to, while an advance health care directive records medical wishes ahead of time.

Building the plan is one step, and funding it is another. A living trust works when the client moves assets into it, such as retitling a home or a bank account in the trust's name. Part of the firm's job is guiding that transfer so the plan does what the client intends.

What probate and trust administration involve

Trust administration and probate both begin after a death, and they split on how much a court takes part. Probate runs through the California Superior Court, which reviews the inventory of assets, notice to creditors, and distribution to heirs. The process can take many months, and the timeline depends on the estate and the court's calendar.

Trust administration usually stays with the successor trustee and avoids that court schedule. Beneficiaries still receive notice along the way, and a dispute can lengthen either path. When a trust is in place and funded, the trustee can often act faster than a probate case allows.

Both routes start with gathering documents and identifying who has authority to act. The firm advises on both. As a reviewer, I read this pairing as a sign that the firm both drafts estate plans and helps carry them out later.

Business and real estate work

On the business side, the firm forms corporations and limited liability companies and then provides ongoing legal counsel. Forming either one in California means filing with the Secretary of State and setting up governing documents, such as bylaws or an operating agreement. The choice between a corporation and an LLC affects taxes, paperwork, and how owners share control.

The firm handles that setup and stays on for the decisions that follow. Common questions include hiring, vendor contracts, and changes in ownership. Owners get one point of contact for the launch and the years after it.

The real estate practice advises owners and investors on buying, selling, holding, and managing property. A sale moves through steps that include a purchase agreement, title review, and closing. Property held in a trust or an LLC passes differently and carries different liability, which ties this work back to the firm's estate and business practices.

How the team is built

Three named attorneys lead the legal work. Deidre Von Rock is President and Managing Attorney. Elizabeth Prehn is Of Counsel, and Kale Heiman is an attorney with the firm. Paralegals and support staff round out the group.

The firm states that its team holds more than 60 years of combined legal experience. That figure adds up the years the attorneys have practiced. In my opinion, it gives a fair sense of the depth behind the firm's work.

A managing attorney sets direction and carries client relationships, while an Of Counsel attorney often brings focused experience on particular matters. That structure lets work move between people as a case needs.

How clients work with the firm

The firm offers three billing structures: flat fee, hourly, and subscription. Clients can meet by virtual appointment, sign documents online, and pay online. A secure client portal holds the shared files, so clients can upload and review documents on their own schedule.

Each billing structure fits a different need. A flat fee sets the terms up front for a defined project, such as an estate plan. Hourly billing covers work whose scope is harder to predict, and a subscription gives a business steady access to counsel across the year.

These tools suit clients who prefer to handle legal work from home or around the Bay Area. The firm's lawyers hold licenses in California only. The work centers on California residents and property held in the state.

Individual attorney backgrounds

Deidre Von Rock completed her undergraduate studies at San Diego State University and earned her law degree from New England Law | Boston in 1996. Her professional focus spans estate planning and probate, along with business, corporate, and real estate law. Those subjects match the types of personal assets and ownership interests that often appear within the same client matter.

Kale Heiman studied at California Western School of Law and graduated in 2008. Her work covers estate planning and probate. Her stated focus places her on matters involving the preparation of plans and the administration of estates after death.

Tax experience within the attorney group

Elizabeth Prehn brings a separate body of tax experience to the attorney group. She earned her Juris Doctor from San Francisco Law School in 2015. Her background includes tax controversy and litigation, criminal tax investigations and defense, bankruptcy tax matters, and business tax and compliance. She also works on estate and probate administration.

Prehn previously practiced at Moskowitz LLP, where she also held the role of firm administrator. She has been associated with the Law Offices of Paley & Prehn, PC in San Francisco. Her published work includes articles about the taxation of virtual currency. These details show experience with both contested tax matters and the administrative side of legal practice.

Tax questions can arise around businesses, estates, and property ownership, although the record describes Prehn's experience rather than promising a particular result or service arrangement. Her work in criminal tax defense and bankruptcy tax matters also reaches beyond routine compliance. For a reviewer, this is a meaningful distinction within the biographies because it identifies subject matter that the firm's general practice description does not explain in detail.

The San Francisco office

Von Rock Law lists its office at 215 W Portal Ave in San Francisco. The address gives local clients a specific place for the firm's California-based work. The record also provides two contact numbers, (415) 517-3706 and (866) 720-0195. The first uses San Francisco's 415 area code, while the second is a toll-free number.