Last updated: October 2026

Ryan R. Wong is a California attorney at Bay Legal, P.C. who handles probate and trust litigation, trust administration, court-supervised probate administration, and estate planning. Ryan represents beneficiaries, trustees, executors, and families in disputes over trusts and estates, including petitions to compel an accounting, remove a trustee, and recover property that belongs to a trust. Ryan has practiced in the probate courts of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties and holds an LL.M. in Taxation.

Practice snapshot: probate and trust litigation; trust and estate administration; revocable and irrevocable trust planning; trust mediation and settlement. Licensed in California. LL.M. in Taxation.

What does Ryan Wong handle at Bay Legal?

Ryan’s work centers on trusts and estates after a death: moving assets to the right people, and resolving the disputes that start when the people involved disagree. That covers California probate proceedings, trust administration for successor trustees, and contested matters between beneficiaries and fiduciaries. A fiduciary is a person, such as a trustee or executor, who is legally required to act in someone else’s interest. Ryan also drafts revocable and irrevocable trusts for clients who are planning ahead.

What kinds of trust and probate disputes does Ryan handle?

Most California trust and estate disputes are filed as petitions in the probate department of the superior court, not as ordinary civil lawsuits. Probate Code section 17200 lets a trustee or beneficiary ask the court to rule on almost any question about a trust’s internal affairs. Ryan has prepared and litigated petitions including:

• Petitions to compel a trustee to serve the notification required by section 16061.7 and to provide copies of the trust and its amendments
• Petitions to compel an accounting under section 16062 and section 17200
• Petitions to suspend or remove a trustee under section 15642, and to surcharge a trustee personally for losses caused by a breach of trust under section 16440
• Section 850 petitions to recover property held by another person, including Heggstad petitions, which ask the court to confirm that an asset the decedent meant to place in a trust belongs to the trust
• Claims for twice the value of property wrongfully taken in bad faith under section 859
• Spousal and domestic partner property petitions under section 13650, which can pass property to a surviving spouse without a full probate

Ryan’s litigation work runs through the full sequence: demand letters, a notice of pendency of action (lis pendens) when real property is at stake, ex parte applications, written discovery, depositions, mediation, settlement negotiations, and bench trial. Over the course of practice, Ryan has handled more than 80 depositions.

Trust and probate administration

When a living trust becomes irrevocable at the settlor’s death, the successor trustee takes on duties owed to every beneficiary. The settlor is the person who created the trust. Within 60 days, the trustee must serve the notification required by section 16061.7. That notice starts the deadline for contesting the trust under section 16061.8.

Ryan advises successor trustees through notification, asset collection, accountings, and distribution. On the estate side, Ryan represents executors and administrators in court-supervised probate, from the opening petition through the order for final distribution. Many California estates and trusts hold a house. Ryan also holds a California real estate broker license and has worked on the sale of residential property held in probate estates and trusts.

Does Ryan handle estate planning?

Yes. Ryan drafts and reviews estate planning documents, including the revocable living trust that anchors most California plans. Ryan has also drafted irrevocable trusts, including irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs), and qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trusts used in planning for married couples. Ryan’s LL.M. coursework emphasized estate, gift, and real estate tax planning, which informs how trusts are drafted and funded. Ryan’s work does not include tax-return preparation or tax controversy.

Who does Ryan represent?

• Trust beneficiaries who have not received a notification, an accounting, or a distribution
• Successor trustees and executors who need help administering a trust or estate, or defending their administration
• Heirs and family members in disputes over a trust, a will, or property held outside the trust
• Surviving spouses and domestic partners passing property without a full probate
• Individuals and married couples planning revocable or irrevocable trusts

When can a beneficiary take a trustee to court?

A beneficiary can usually petition the probate court when a trustee fails to perform a duty the Probate Code imposes. Common triggers are no notification, no accounting, no distributions, and self-dealing, such as a trustee living in a trust-owned house without paying rent. Section 17200 allows a beneficiary to petition to compel an account when the trustee has not provided one within 60 days after a written request. A written demand before filing often builds the record the court will review.

Several of these requests are often combined in one petition, and many settle before a hearing. Mediation lets the parties reach terms without waiting for a ruling.

How does Ryan work a new matter?

1. Intake and conflicts check. Bay Legal’s intake team gathers the basic facts and clears conflicts before the consultation.
2. Document review. The trust and every amendment, any will, notifications received, account statements, deeds, and correspondence get read before any strategy discussion.
3. Deadline check. Ryan identifies the contest window, any creditor-claim period, and the limitations periods that apply.
4. Demand and negotiation. A written demand, a request for an accounting, or mediation resolves many matters without a contested hearing.
5. Petition and litigation. When resolution fails, the matter proceeds by petition in the probate department of the superior court for the proper county.

What matters has Ryan handled?

• Represented a trust beneficiary on a verified petition in Orange County Superior Court to compel a successor trustee to serve the trustee’s notification and trust documents, compel an accounting, suspend and remove the trustee, appoint the beneficiary as successor trustee, surcharge the trustee, recover trust property under Probate Code section 850, and impose double damages under section 859
• Guided probate clients from the initial petition through final distribution in Southern California probate courts
• Prepared spousal property petitions, section 850 and Heggstad petitions, notices of pendency of action, and ex parte petitions in trust and estate matters
• Represented a party in the mediation of a contract dispute with a multinational outdoor power equipment manufacturer, resolved by settlement
• Handled a high volume of workers’ compensation defense cases earlier in practice, including depositions and medical lien claims

Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any other matter. Every case turns on its own facts and the applicable law.

Education, bar admissions, and licenses

• LL.M. in Taxation, 2020, Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law, with an emphasis on estate, gift, and real estate tax planning; ABA Tax Law LL.M. Student Tax Challenge competitor, 2020
• Juris Doctor, 2014, Trinity Law School; Law Review Editorial Board, 2013–2014; American Jurisprudence Award, Civil Procedure I; Student Bar Association President, 2013–2014
• Bachelor of Science, Finance, Real Estate, and Law, 2010, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
• Admitted to practice in California. State Bar of California licensee number 320324 — verify on the State Bar attorney search.
• California real estate broker, Department of Real Estate license number 02020342

Frequently Asked Questions

What kinds of cases does Ryan Wong take?

Ryan handles probate and trust litigation, trust administration, court-supervised probate administration, and estate planning with revocable and irrevocable trusts. Clients include trust beneficiaries, successor trustees, executors, administrators, and families planning ahead. Ryan does not handle criminal, immigration, divorce, or workers’ compensation matters, and does not prepare tax returns. If your matter falls outside this list, Bay Legal’s intake team can route it to the right attorney.

Is Ryan Wong licensed to practice law in California?

Yes. Ryan is a member of the State Bar of California, licensee number 320324. You can confirm any California attorney’s license status, and see any public discipline, through the State Bar of California attorney search. Ryan also holds a California real estate broker license issued by the Department of Real Estate, which is a separate license from the law license.

How does Ryan Wong’s real estate background help in a trust or probate case?

Many California trusts and estates hold a house, and disputes often turn on it. Who may live there, what it is worth, when it should be sold, and how the proceeds are split are common questions. Ryan has worked as a licensed broker on sales of residential property held in probate and trusts, so the practical side of a sale is part of the legal analysis from the start.

How much does it cost to work with Ryan Wong?

It depends on the matter. Bay Legal offers flat-fee pricing on many estate planning matters, and trust and probate litigation is usually billed hourly. In court-supervised probate, the attorney for the personal

representative is paid a fee set by Probate Code section 10810 based on the estate’s value, subject to court approval. Many consultations are free, and a paid consultation is often credited toward flat-fee work.

Does Ryan Wong work with clients throughout California?

Yes. Bay Legal serves clients statewide from offices in Palo Alto and Los Angeles, and works with clients by video and secure document exchange. Ryan has practiced in the probate courts of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties. A probate case is usually filed in the county where the decedent lived, and a trust case where the trust is administered.

Related Questions

What is a successor trustee?

A successor trustee is the person or institution named in a trust to take over management when the original trustee dies, resigns, or can no longer serve. The successor trustee owes legal duties of loyalty, prudence, and disclosure to every beneficiary.

How long do you have to contest a trust in California?

Generally 120 days after the trustee serves the notification required by Probate Code section 16061.7, or 60 days after a requested copy of the trust is delivered during that period, whichever is later. Missing the deadline usually ends the right to contest.

What is a Heggstad petition?

It is a petition under Probate Code section 850 asking the court to confirm that an asset belongs to a trust even though title was never formally transferred. It is commonly used for real property the settlor listed on a trust schedule but never deeded.

Can a beneficiary remove a trustee in California?

Yes, by petition. Probate Code section 15642 lets the court remove a trustee who commits a breach of trust, is unfit, fails to act, or whose hostility toward beneficiaries impairs administration. The court can also suspend the trustee while the petition is pending.

Work with Ryan Wong

To discuss a trust, probate, or estate planning matter with Ryan, call the office nearest you or email intake.

Bay Legal, P.C. — serving California statewide

• Northern California office — 667 Lytton Ave Ste 3, Palo Alto, CA 94301 · (650) 668-8000
• Southern California office — 3211 Cahuenga Blvd W Ste 212, Los Angeles, CA 90068 · (213) 668-8000
• Intake: intake@baylegal.com · Fax: (650) 963-0041

This page is general information about California law and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. For advice on your specific situation, contact a licensed California attorney.