Matthew R. Owens

Overview

Matthew Owens is a partner in the Business Trial Practice Group in the firm's San Diego (Del Mar) office.

Areas of Practice

Matt focuses his practice on trust, estate, and inheritance disputes. He has prosecuted and defended a wide range of private wealth matters, including trust contests, elder abuse actions, accountings, contested conservatorships, foundation disputes, and claims involving breach of fiduciary duty. Matt also advises trustees on complex trust administration. His clients include high net worth individuals and families, corporate trustees, foundations and their board members, and licensed professional fiduciaries.

Matt is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), and a certified specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He frequently speaks and writes on trust and estate litigation topics, is a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (TEXCOM), and served as Chair of the Executive Committee of the San Diego County Bar Association's Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law Section. He was recognized in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2023 for Private Wealth Disputes – California, has been recognized as a Best Lawyers "Ones to Watch" each year since 2021, has been a Super Lawyers Rising Star each year since 2013, and was on Legal Week's Private Client "Ones to Watch" list in 2020-2021. Matt holds a B.A. from the University of Mississippi and a J.D. from Santa Clara University.

Honors

San Diego Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers, 2025

High Net Worth, Private Wealth Disputes, Chambers, 2023-2024

Ones to Watch, Best Lawyers, 2021-2025

Ones to Watch, Private Client, 2018-2021

Rising Stars, Super Lawyers, 2013-2024

Insights

Articles

Goebner clarifies California probate court demurrerdeadline
Daily Journal, 05.15.2025

Probate Handbook, Chapter on Court Appearances (published by Probate Attorneys of San Diego)
Co-Author, "2022 Legislation: New Laws That Trust and Estate Practitioners Should Know," California Lawyers Association's Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Volume 29, Issue 1, March 2023
Co-Author, "Roadblocks on the Road to Probate Trials," California Lawyer's Association's California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Volume 28, Issue 4, September 2022
Co-Author, "Let's Get Digital! ESI in Trust and Estate Litigation, Part II," California Lawyer's Association's California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Volume 27, Issue 3, September 2021
Co-Author, "Let's Get Digital! ESI in Trust and Estate Litigation, Part I," California Lawyer's Association's California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Volume 27, Issue 2, June 2021
Author, "Contested Nonprobate Transfers: When the Estate Plan Trumps," California Trusts & Estates Quarterly 2020, Vol. 26, Issue 3, October 2020

Co-Author, "Litigation Alert," California Trusts & Estates Quarterly
Co-Author, "New Case Alerts," California Lawyers Association, Trusts and Estates Section
Update Editor, "CEB - Chapter 29," Actions by and Against Personal Representative

Speaking Engagements

Speaker, "Contested Nonprobate Transfers: When the Estate Plan Trumps," San Mateo County Bar Association, May 15, 2025
Speaker, “What Planners and Litigators Need to Know for 2025,” North County Estate Planning Council, April 1, 2025
Speaker, “Recent Developments in Trust, Estate, and Conservatorship,” San Luis Obispo County Bar Association, March 26, 2025
Speaker, “2024 Year in Review: Annual Update on Trust & Estate Law,” Professional Fiduciary Association of California, March 12, 2025
Speaker, “2024: The Year in Trust and Estate Litigation,” California Lawyers Association, February 24, 2025
Speaker, “2024 Year in Review: Annual Update on Trust and Estate Law,” Orange County Bar Association, February 11, 2025
Speaker, “2024 Year in Review: Annual Update on Trust and Estate Law,” San Diego County Bar Association, January 9, 2025
Speaker, “Let’s Get Digital! E-Discovery in Trust and Estate Litigation,” Marin County Bar Association, October 10, 2024
Speaker, “Guardians of Legacy: Trust & Estate Experts Unleashing Wisdom & Resolving Battles,” 9th Annual USD School of Law - RJS LAW Tax Institute, July 19, 2024
Speaker, “Annual Update on New Legislation and Case Law,” 29th Annual PFAC Educational Conference, May 17, 2024
Speaker, “Roadblocks on the Road to Probate Trials,” California Lawyers Association, April 3, 2024
Speaker, "Recent Developments in Trust, Estate, and Conservatorship Law," San Luis Obispo County Bar Association, March 20, 2024
Speaker, “Benefits of a Trusts and Estates Practice,” TEXCOM Panel at USD Law, February 27, 2024
Speaker, "Probate and Trust Litigation Year in Review," Bar Association of San Francisco, January 23, 2024
Speaker, “Trust Protectors: Guardians of the (Trust) Galaxy,” San Diego Estate Planning Council, January 16, 2024
Speaker, “2023 Annual Update on New Cases and Legislation (Trusts and Estates),” San Diego County Bar Association, January 8, 2024
Speaker, “What Planners and Litigators Need to Know for 2024,” North County Estate Planning Council, January 2, 2024
Speaker, "Estate Planning for Intellectual Property Rights," myLawCLE, November 27, 2023
Interviewee, “Love and Lies in Idyllwild,” Disappeared TV Show on the Investigation Discovery Network, September 3, 2023
Co-Presenter, "Guardians of The (Trust) Galaxy: Trust Protectors Defined, Explained and Explored," Professional Fiduciary Association of California (PFAC), June 2, 2023
Co-Presenter, "Trust Protectors," Independent Trustee Alliance (ITA) Annual Conference, May 11, 2023
Co-Presenter, "Trust Protectors," California Lawyers Association, April 4, 2023
Co-Presenter, "Estate planning, trust, and probate law: 2022 year in review," Probate Attorneys of San Diego (PASD), March 15, 2023
Co-Presenter, "Overview of Trusts and Estates Practice," University of San Diego School of Law, February 23, 2023
Co-Presenter, "Trust protectors," Professional Fiduciary Association of California (PFAC), January 11, 2023
Co-Presenter, "Recent Developments in California Trusts and Estate Law," California Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, September 17, 2022
Co-Presenter, "Recent Updates on Cases, Statutes and Fiduciary Regulations in Trust and Estate Law," Professional Fiduciary Association of California (PFAC), May 6, 2022
Co-Presenter, "Virtual Lunch with Lawyers," California Western School of Law, August 16, 2022
Co-Presenter, "The Britney Effect: AB 1194 and Conservatorships in 2022," Orange County Bar Association, April 22, 2022
Co-Presenter, "Let's Get Digital! E-Discovery in Trust and Estate Litigation," California Lawyers Association (CLA), April 14, 2022
Co-Presenter, "What's Sacramento Up To? 2021 Legislation and its Impact on Fiduciaries," PFAC, San Diego Region, March 23, 2022
Co-Presenter, "Let's Get Digital! E-Discovery in Trust and Estate Litigation," San Mateo County Bar Association (SMBCA), March 17, 2022
Co-Presenter, "Recent Developments in Estate, Trust, and Probate Law," Probate Attorneys of San Diego (PASD), March 16, 2022
Co-Presenter, "Case and Statutory Updates in Estate, Trust and Probate Law and California Fiduciary Regulations," The 26th Annual PFAC Educational Conference, August 26, 2021
Co-Presenter, "Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law: 2020 Year in Review," Trust & Estate Section of the San Diego Bar Association webinar, April 1, 2021
Co-Presenter, "Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law: 2020 Year in Review," Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Section of the La Jolla Bar Association webinar, March 11, 2021
Co-Presenter, "Contested Nonprobate Transfers - When the Estate Plan Trumps," California Lawyers Association, February 26, 2021
Co-Presenter, "Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law: 2019 Year in Review," Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Section of the San Diego County Bar Association webinar, July 15, 2020
Presenter, "Contested Nonprobate Transfers: When the Estate Plan Trumps," Professional Fiduciary Association of California PFAC 2020 Annual Conference, June 4, 2020
Co-Presenter, "Wine Not? California's New Decanting Act," San Mateo County Bar Association Estate Planning & Probate Section, October 10, 2019
Co-Presenter, "Probate Court: New Attorney Fundamentals," San Diego County Bar Association, September 13, 2019
Co-Presenter, "Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law: 2018 Year in Review," San Diego County Bar Association, March 14, 2019
Co-Presenter, "Wine Not? California's New Decanting Act," First American Trust, February 4 and 6, 2019
Co-Presenter, "Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law: 2017 Year in Review," San Diego County Bar Association, March 1, 2018
Co-Presenter, "Incapacity & Undue Influence," PCT Associate Training, Estate Planning Series, December 14, 2017