Liza Matthews
San Diego Probate & Estate Planning Study
University of Pennsylvania | Department of Sociology
About Me
I'm Liza Matthews, a senior honors student in Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. I'm originally from El Cajon.I am conducting a study on estate planning and experiences with probate in San Diego County. By getting your participation, I hope to write about how the probate system can better serve families like yours.
About The Study
San Diego probate cases can take months or years to resolve, and the process (along with its costs) can look be different depending on whether a family had an estate plan in place. This study examines how families in San Diego County navigate probate, using both court records and firsthand interviews, to understand what happens during the process and why. The findings may help inform future conversations about improving access to estate planning and the probate system for middle-class families.
Your Participation
If you choose to participate:
You will participate in a 30–45 minute interview about your experience with the probate process.
The interview will take place remotely via phone call, Zoom or Google Meet.
You will receive a $50 gift card of your choosing as a thank you for your time.
Participation is entirely voluntary.
Your responses will be treated confidentially.
Your name will not appear in my thesis or in any publication resulting from this research.
Who's Involved
Researcher: Liza Matthews, a senior in the Department of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, as part of a senior honors thesis.The study is supervised by:
Dr. Roberto G. Gonzales, Faculty Advisor https://sociology.sas.upenn.edu/people/roberto-gonzalesThis study has been reviewed and approved by the University of Pennsylvania Institutional Review Board (IRB Protocol #26-6184).
Ready to Schedule? Get in Touch
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (619) 663-6093
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liza-qjmatthews/