How to Fight Gentrification: Estate Planning

Legal representation is a resource needed regardless of the background you come from. But often only those who can afford it go after it.

I come from a large Muslim community. My personal mission is to be a supportive factor in this community. So if the community is a boat, where are the holes in the boat, so that we can plug them? I determined several years ago that law was a significant hole that needed to be met. I started law school and estate planning courses.

Through Open Door Legal, I realized that a significantly larger population needs a service that is often used exclusively for the wealth.

Not many think about preserving legacy or legacy in general. It is like a hole in the boat, a hole that is in the backroom of the boat that no one goes into. It’s already flooding.

Estate planning for your legacy is worth it. After you pass away, if there is no estate plan, your property goes to probate court. People don’t realize how much probate court resembles hell. It’s tedious. It’s six months to two years, easily, and that’s if everyone is in agreement. Often with our clients, the family without the estate plan will have to sell the home, leave the area, and then that adds to gentrification. The wealth does not stay in the community of the family.

Estate planning goes against gentrification.

Working with Open Door Legal has expanded my vision significantly. Since joining, I’ve been a part of closing over 10 estate plans for the vulnerable communities of San Francisco, and I’m determined to close more.

Ali Tofigh is an Elder Law Legal Aid Attorney with Open Door Legal