Resources · Radio Show
Bob’s weekly radio show, broadcasting throughout the San Francisco Bay Area every Monday from 2 to 3 PM. Plain-language estate planning tips, real stories about plans that worked and plans that did not, listener questions, and the occasional guest. Episodes archived as podcasts.
Plan Your Estate Radio is the weekly broadcast Robert P. Bergman hosts on 1220 AM KDOW, airing every Monday from 2:00 to 3:00 PM throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The format is plain-language estate planning: short segments, real-world stories, listener questions, and the occasional guest. Episodes are archived as podcasts at kdow.biz so you can stream past shows at any time.
The Station
Plan Your Estate Radio
Broadcasting throughout the San Francisco Bay Area on 1220 AM KDOW. After each live broadcast, the episode is posted as a podcast at kdow.biz so you can stream the segment again or subscribe for the next one.
What You’ll Hear
Each episode is a mix. Bob keeps segments tight so listeners can drop in mid-show without losing the thread.
Short, practical pointers. Funding the trust, naming the right successor trustee, and the documents people forget about.
Real questions from Bay Area listeners. Anonymized when needed, answered in plain language without the legalese.
Plans that worked. Plans that did not. The decisions families wished they had made sooner.
What California’s parent-to-child reassessment rules mean for your home and how to plan around them.
Heggstad petitions, trust modification under §§15403/15409, and decanting. What they are and when they fit.
Occasional guests from financial planning, accounting, and elder law. Different angles on the same questions.
Meet Your Host
Bob has practiced California estate planning, trust administration, and probate work since 1980 from his Cambrian Park office in San Jose. He has hosted Plan Your Estate Radio on 1220 AM KDOW for years. The same plain-language voice you hear on the air is what clients get in his Plan Design Meetings.
Radio Show FAQ
Plain-language answers on the station, the schedule, where to find past episodes, listener questions, and how the show fits with Bob’s practice. If something is missing, send it through the contact form and Bob may cover it on a future episode.
Don’t see your question?
Email or call the office, or bring it to your free Preliminary Planning Session.
Ask Bob directlyPlan Your Estate Radio is the weekly radio show Robert P. Bergman hosts on 1220 AM KDOW, broadcasting throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The format is a mix of plain-language estate planning tips, real-world stories about plans that worked (and plans that did not), occasional guest interviews, and listener questions. The show is for anyone who wants to understand California planning without the jargon.
Every Monday from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM Pacific. The show runs live on 1220 AM KDOW. Episodes are then posted as podcasts at kdow.biz, usually within a day or two of the live broadcast.
Live on the air at 1220 AM KDOW throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Mondays 2 to 3 PM. After the live broadcast, every episode is archived as a podcast at kdow.biz, where you can stream individual episodes or subscribe so future episodes arrive automatically.
Bob has hosted Plan Your Estate Radio for many years. The show has covered the introduction of California Prop 19, the post-COVID Zoom-meeting era, the Decanting Act, and the changes in the federal estate-tax thresholds. The format has stayed consistent: short segments, real stories, and the same plain-language voice Bob uses in his Plan Design Meetings.
Some episodes take live calls during the broadcast. Off-the-air, you can submit a question through the contact page on this site and Bob will frequently address commonly asked questions on a future episode. Listener questions are one of the most popular recurring segments.
Recurring topics include the four-document California estate plan, Prop 19 planning for inherited homes, Heggstad and trust modification petitions, the successor trustee’s duties under California Probate Code, special needs planning, Medi-Cal eligibility, and the differences between trusts and wills. Real-world stories are a regular feature: Bob talks about (anonymized) situations that show how the law plays out in practice.
No. The show is aimed squarely at people who are starting to think about planning, who have older documents they suspect are out of date, or who have just become the successor trustee on a family trust and need to understand what is coming. If you have specific questions, the show is a great place to start; the next step is a free 30-minute Preliminary Planning Session with Bob.
Next Step
The radio show is the easiest way to learn the framework before you ever sit down with an attorney. The next step is a free 30-minute Preliminary Planning Session with Bob to apply what you heard to your own situation.
Bob is one of less than 1% of California attorneys certified as a specialist by the State Bar.
