Over 25 years as a Realtor in Los Gatos and Monte Sereno, I’ve worked alongside enough estate planning, elder law, probate, and family law attorneys to know that real estate is rarely just about the transaction. When your clients are settling a trust, navigating a probate sale, helping a parent right-size out of the family home, or dividing property in a divorce, the real estate piece is often the most emotionally complicated part of the process — and the part where a hands-on agent can make your job significantly easier.
This post is written specifically for the attorneys I work alongside and hope to work with more of: a plain explanation of how I support your clients when real estate is part of a bigger family transition.
Family Right-Sizing and Downsizing Is a Specialty, Not an Afterthought
A large share of my practice is working with families moving out of large, long-held properties — often one-acre-plus estates in Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, and Saratoga — into something smaller and easier to manage. This is rarely a simple listing. It usually means:
- Personally sorting through decades of belongings alongside the client or their family — deciding what’s kept, donated, gifted, or sold
- Finding the right buyer or collector for antiques and valuables, rather than letting them go for pennies at a generic estate sale
- Coordinating a trusted crew for large hauling, a gardener to refresh the grounds using what’s already there, and tree trimmers — so the property shows well without unnecessary expense
- Staging the home once it’s cleared, so it’s ready to compete in today’s market
I do this work personally, not by handing a client a list of vendors and stepping back. That matters when your client is grieving, overwhelmed, or simply doesn’t have the bandwidth to manage a move on top of everything else on their plate.
How I Support Your Practice
Whether the situation is a trust settlement, a probate sale, a conservatorship, or a divorce requiring a fair division of real property, here’s what I offer attorneys directly:
Free, No-Obligation Market Analyses
If you need a current market value opinion for a client’s property — for a trust accounting, a probate filing, a buyout negotiation, or simply to help a client understand their options — I’ll prepare a detailed comparative market analysis at no cost, with no expectation that it turns into a listing. Attorneys need accurate numbers to advise clients well, and I’d rather be a reliable resource than a pushy one.
A Hands-On Approach With Clients, As Much or As Little as Needed
Some clients just need a market analysis and a straightforward listing. Others need someone to walk them through an empty house, help make decisions about a lifetime of belongings, or simply be a calm, steady presence during a hard transition. I meet clients where they are, and I coordinate directly with you or your staff so you always know where things stand.
Discretion and Communication
When a property is tied to a legal matter, I understand the need for careful communication, accurate timelines, and documentation you can rely on for the file — not just a handshake and a “trust me.”
Who I Work Best With
I’m most useful to your practice when your clients are facing:
- Downsizing or right-sizing out of a large family property, often as parents age or move into a community like Los Gatos Commons, Ivy Park at Los Gatos, The Terraces of Los Gatos, Saratoga Retirement Community, or Our Lady of Fatima Villa
- Trust or estate real estate that needs to be valued, prepared, and sold
- Probate sales requiring court-compliant process and timelines
- Divorce-related property division requiring a neutral, accurate valuation
Let’s Talk
If you have a client who could use a free market analysis or a hands-on partner for a property transition, I’d welcome the chance to help — and to build a working relationship where you know exactly who you’re referring your clients to. You can reach me directly at (408) 859-5881 or aseaborn@cbnorcal.com, or read more about how I approach downsizing specifically on my Downsizing Specialist page.
