Trust Me

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. In this episode of Trust Me!, our guest Bill Sias, who works for the Office of County Counsel in Los Angeles, will discuss the basics of LPS Proceedings.  He will review how an LPS conservatorship begins and the general processes that follow.  He will also discuss how an LPS conservatorship is different from other types of conservatorships.  About Our Guest:William (“Bill”) Sias has extensive experience in conservatorships in Probate and Mental Health Court.  Bill currently works for the Office of County Counsel in Los Angeles.  He has had a series of published opinions under the LPS Act, including Conservatorship of K.P (2021) before the California Supreme Court.About Our Host:Host Anna Soliman is a member of the Executive Committee of the Trust and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association.    Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Cat Hammons and Todd Gajdusek

Show Notes:Licensed Professional Fiduciaries play a key role in the trusts and estates ecosystem in California. In this episode, we discuss the role that professional trustees play in trust administration, and the skills and experience they bring to bear in order to secure the legacies and wishes of the clients they serve.   About Our Guest: Marguerite Lorenz is a California Licensed Professional Fiduciary and a Master Certified Independent Trustee. Marguerite is a managing partner at Lorenz Private Trustees. Marguerite serves as Vice Chair of the Board of the Independent Trustee Alliance, a national organization for trustees across the country. She speaks and writes frequently, and she authored the books Ethics for Trustees and Ethics for Trustees 2.0.Look for Marguerite's new books, “Luck or Control”, and “How to be a Successful Ninety-Year-Old”, scheduled for release in late 2025.Marguerite can be reached at mlorenz@mytrustee.net or on LinkedIn.About Our Host:  Matt Owens is a partner in the San Diego (Del Mar) office of Sheppard Mullin. His practice is focused on trust, estate, and inheritance disputes. Matt is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), and he is a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (TEXCOM). Matt can be reached at mowens@sheppardmullin.com or on LinkedIn.Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Cat Hammons and Todd Gajdusek

New laws were enacted in 2024 that affect California trust and estate practitioners. Join our two speakers, attorneys Jadene M. W. Tamura and Mara M. Mahana, on this episode as they describe the highlights of the new laws and how they affect trusts and estates practice, estate and trust litigation, incapacity proceedings, and more.About Our Podcast Speakers:Jadene M. W. Tamura is a Shareholder and Co-Chair of the Trusts & Estates Department at Parker Milliken, practicing in the areas of trust and estate planning, administration, and litigation. Jadene is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (TEXCOM). Jadene may be reached at jtamura@pmcos.com.Mara M. Mahana is a Senior Wealth Strategist and Executive Director at Wells Fargo Bank. Mara works with high- and ultra-high net worth clients to review, develop, and consult on estate and wealth transfer plans, taking into consideration clients' unique values, needs and circumstances. Prior to joining Wells Fargo Bank, Mara was a practicing attorney with 20 years of experience in trust and estate law.  Mara is a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (TEXCOM).Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Cat Hammons and Todd Gajdusek

Complicated clients need complicated planning.  And as years go by, those complications may have led to the creation of multiple trusts for the next generation.  Children and grandchildren who benefit from those multiple trusts often come to their attorneys and ask, “What can we do to simplify?”  The top-of-mind answer for many planners is to find a way to combine these trusts.  In this episode of Trust Me!, our guests, Andrew Katzenstein and Cary Robbins of Proskauer Los Angeles, discuss what to consider when combining trusts.  About Our Guests:Andrew Katzenstein is a partner in the Private Client Services Department of Proskauer Los Angeles where he assists high net worth individuals, companies and charitable organizations with all aspects of tax and estate planning. He focuses his practice on tax planning matters, which include estate, gift and generation-skipping tax planning, as well as income tax of trust planning, probate and trust administration matters, resolving disputes between fiduciaries and beneficiaries, and charitable planning. Andrew can be reached at: akatzenstein@proskauer.com Cary Robbins is a partner in the Private Client Services Department of Proskauer Los Angeles.  Cary provides sophisticated estate and tax planning advice to individuals and families, with an emphasis on the multigenerational transfer of wealth.  She works with clients from a variety of backgrounds, including real estate investors, entrepreneurs, business owners, private equity principals, and individuals with inherited wealth.  She also routinely counsels clients on their charitable giving and assists clients with the formation and administration of private foundations to meet their charitable goals. Cary can be reached at: crobbins@proskauer.comAbout Our Host:Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Chief Fiduciary Officer of Fiduciary Trust International of California. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals.  She is also a TEXCOM member and the Vice-Chair of the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar Association. Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Cat Hammons and Todd Gajdusek

Show Notes:Breslin and Smith and Farrant, oh my! The road to speedy probate trials has become more challenging over the last few years due to recent case law. Practitioners who intend to steer their trust and estate litigation matters to trial must be prepared for the roadblocks they will face along the way. In this episode, two trust-and-estate litigators identify such roadblocks, as well as effective strategies for getting through them or avoiding them altogether.About Our Guest:Golnaz YazdchiGolnaz is a partner in the San Diego (Del Mar) office of Sheppard Mullin. Her practice focuses exclusively on disputes over trusts, estates, conservatorships and other fiduciary matters. Golnaz is a graduate of Loyola Law School and she is member of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association. She has been selected by Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers in the practice area of trust and estate litigation.Golnaz can be reached at gyazdchi@sheppardmullin.com.About Our Host: Matt OwensMatt is a partner in the San Diego (Del Mar) office of Sheppard Mullin. His practice is focused on trust, estate, and inheritance disputes.Matt is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He 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 is ranked by Chambers in Private Wealth Disputes.Matt can be reached at mowens@sheppardmullin.com or on LinkedIn.Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Cat Hammons and Todd Gajdusek

The aftermath of trust litigation brought by beneficiaries against trustees is too often a lawyer malpractice claim against the drafting lawyer.  Listen to Sean McKissick and Kristin Yokomoto discuss the 1958 balancing test applied to lawyer malpractice cases and the messages from the courts in recent cases. About Our Guest:  Sean McKissickSean McKissick is a partner at Downey Brand LLP in Sacramento, California, where he specializes in trust and estate litigation.  He serves as the Vice Chair of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the Sacramento County Bar Association.  He is the current Editor of Trust on Trial, a blog focusing on trust and estate litigation in California that was founded by the Honorable Jeffrey Galvin prior to his ascension to the bench.  Listeners can receive Sean's blog posts via email as they are posted by subscribing at https://www.trustontrial.com/subscribe/.  About Our Host:  Kristin YokomotoKristin Yokomoto, Esq., is a partner at Baker & Hostetler LLP in Costa Mesa, California. She practices in the areas of estate planning for high net worth clients, business succession planning, trust administration, and probate. She is a Legal Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law certified by the State Bar of California. Kristin is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Executive Committee Member of the CLA Trust and Estate Section (TEXCOM), and Committee Member of the Orange County Bar Association Professionalism & Ethics Committee.Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek and Cat Hammons

Land Back is an Indigenous-led movement focused on returning land to Indigenous Tribes in a way that strengthens Indigenous sovereignty and communities. This episode features a discussion about how Land Back comes up in the context of estate planning and introduces key concepts for estate planners, financial advisors, and tax advisors to assist clients in taking suchaction.About Our Guests:Alma Soongi Beck is an attorney in  Lathrop GPM Private Client Services Practice Groups. Beck is certified as a specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law by the State Board of Legal Specialization, and her practice focuses on trusts, charitable planning, gift and estate tax planning, and post-death administration including trust administration and probate. She speaks regularly on estate planning issues affecting LGBTQ+ and unmarried couples, on the evolution of gender and parentage in estate planning and administration, and on Land Back to Indigenous Tribes. She has previously served on the boards of the Transgender Law Center, Our Family Coalition, Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF) and the Korean American Bar Association of Northern California (KABANC). Prior to joining Lathrop GPM (formerly Hopkins & Carley), Alma was a partner at Lakin Spears, LLP, as well as founder and principal attorney for The Beck Law Group, P.C. A Korean American child of immigrants, Beck had led workshops on implicit bias for legal professionals, college students, and climate organizations since the 1990s, most recently for the Climate Reality Project Bay Area Chapter. Jo Carrillo JD/JSD is Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Indigenous Law Center (ILC) at UC Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings). For over three decades, Carrillo has taught and written extensively in property and property-related subjects, including Federal Indian Law. Carrillo earned her BA from Stanford University, her JD from the University of New Mexico, and her JSD from Stanford Law School. She is a member of the Order of the Coif, the American Law Institute, and a former Trustee of the Law & Society Association; she was aVisiting Scholar at The Center for the Study of Law & Society at UC Berkeley Law, and a Visiting Professor at Stanford Law School. As Faculty Director of the UC Law Indigenous Law Center, Carrillo facilitates a seminar series called Law &. This series brings lawyers, students, and California Tribal leaders into the law school classroom to discuss land back and land stewardship issues. Recently, again with assistance from the Resources Legacy Fund, Carrillo has undertaken to study land back transfer documents. Carrillo has served on the UC Law SF Legacy Committee. She now serves on the UC Law SF Restorative Justice Advisory Board, which counsels UC Law SF Chancellor and Dean David Faigman on decanal initiated restorative justice efforts for Indigenous communities in California. As a long-term project, Carrillo is co-editing a volume, with UCLA Professor of History Benjamin Madley, on redressing 19 th century state sponsored harms against California Indigenous Peoples..About Our Host:Erika Gasaway is a trust and estate litigation partner who was fomerly with Hopkins Carley, which is now LathropGPM. She is on the nationwide Private Client Services team and co-chairs the Trust & Estate Litigation Task Force. She is based in San Jose, California where she represents ultra-high and high net worth families, fiduciaries, and family offices to resolve disputes as various phases of their life cycles. Erika is a member of the California Lawyer's Association Trust and Estate Section's Executive Committee (“TEXCOM”).Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek and Cat Hammons

Estate planners not only help clients plan for what happens at death. Nowadays, especially with the high divorce rates, trust and estate lawyers also need to be mindful of how certain planning will play out in the event of a divorce.  In this episode of Trust Me!, we discuss what estate planners should know about the basics of family law.About Our Guest:Vanessa Soto Nellis is a Shareholder and Chair of the Family Law Practice Group of Lewitt Hackman.  She is also a Certified Specialist in Family Law.  She prides herself on bringing “calm to crisis” in family law matters, by focusing clients on the big picture, even in high-conflict divorce and child custody situations. Representing individuals in all aspects of family law in Southern California, Vanessa counsels and litigates for clients in dissolution (or divorce) matters, spousal support, child support, visitation rights, cohabitation, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and other family law matters.Vanessa was designated one of the Best Lawyers in America in Family Law in 2024 by Best Lawyers Magazine, and a Southern California Super Lawyer (2018-present) and Rising Star (2007-12 and 2015-17) by Super Lawyers Magazine. The publication also named her one of Southern California's Up-and-Coming 50 Women Attorneys, as well as one of the Up-and-Coming 100.Vanessa is a member of the State Bar of California, San Fernando Valley Bar Association (SFVBA), SFVBA Family Law Executive Committee, Los Angeles County Bar Association, and the Ventura County Bar Association. She co-founded Women To Women, a professional network here in Los Angeles.Vanessa can be reached at: VNellis@lewitthackman.comAbout Our Host:Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Managing Director for Fiduciary Trust International of California out of the Los Angeles Office.  She is also the Chief Fiduciary Officer of their California trust business. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals.  She is also a member of the Trust and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association and is a Vice-Chair of the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar Association. Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek and Cat Hammons

What enhanced remedies are parties entitled to recover under Probate Code section 859? Is it double damages, triple damages, or something else? There has been a district split, and now even a division split, on whether parties can receive “double damages” under Section 859. Recent case law sheds light on this issue, and the guests on this episode were counsel of record in two of those recent cases, enabling them to share key insights and an overview of where the law stands now on Section 859. About Our Guests: Cheryl Walsh Cheryl is an attorney at the Law Offices of Cheryl Walsh in San Juan Capistrano, California. She handles estate planning, trust and estate administration, trust and estate litigation, conservatorships, and elder law. Cheryl is a graduate of Loyola Law School and she is member of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association.  Cheryl can be reached at cheryl@walshseniorlaw.com. Scott Ingold Scott is a partner at Higgs Fletcher & Mack in San Diego. He is a trust and estate litigator, licensed in both California and Nevada. Scott is a graduate of California Western School of Law, is a board member of the Probate Attorneys of San Diego, and is a member of the Trusts and Estate Section of the California Lawyers Association.  Scott can be reached at ingolds@higgslaw.com. About Our Host:  Matt Owens is a partner in the San Diego (Del Mar) office of Sheppard Mullin.  His practice is focused on trust, estate, and inheritance disputes. Matt is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He 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 is ranked by Chambers in Private Wealth Disputes. Matt can be reached at mowens@sheppardmullin.com, on LinkedIn, or on X.Sound Engineer: Cat HammonsThank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

Haggerty vs. Thornton is a case that made its way to the California Supreme Court with an eagerly anticipated decision. This case concerns an area of law that is of great interest to planners, administrators, and litigators: the method of amending trust and whether the method of revocation can be considered the same as the method of amendment.About Our Guests:Jennifer Campbell is a partner at Carlin and Peebles LLP in Southern California. She focuses her practice on estate planning and trust administration. She assists clients in drafting estate plans, advising fiduciaries in the administration of trust in estates, addressing fiduciary legal risks, advising fiduciaries about trust funding and distributions, preparing estate and gift tax returns, negotiating and drafting settlement agreements, and drafting legal pleadings and orders.  She emphasizes deep personal relationships with her clients, allowing her to understand and meet their specific objectives.  Her practice is enhanced by her extensive experience in both law firms and the legal departments of financial institutions. She has presented and written on this topic for the California Lawyers Association and in other venues.Jenny can be reached at jcampbell@karlinpeebles.com.Howard Kipnis has over 40 years of experience representing corporate fiduciaries, financial institutions, and many small businesses and individuals in dispute resolution and litigation arising from banking, brokerage, and probate and trust services.  He has co-authored an attorney practice guide and, over the years, has been a featured speaker at several seminars and trade conferences, including statewide CEB programs on topics such as trust and probate administration and litigation practice.He's also testified as an expert witness in several cases, including issues arising from probate, trust, litigation, administration, and banking and fiduciary issues. For six years, he served on the executive committee of the trust in the state section of the California Lawyers Association,  and he's been lead counsel on several published opinions.  He was counsel of record in the case of Haggerty v. Thornton.Howard can be reached at hkipnis@as7law.com.About Our Host:Ciarán O'Sullivan is a trust and estates litigator in the San Francisco Bay Area.  He is a member of the executive committee of the trust and estates section of the California Lawyers Association. Ciarán can be reached at ciaran@cosullivanlaw.com.Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

When does a trust beneficiary's cooperation with a trustee to modify, reform, or decant a trust become a taxable gift by that trust beneficiary? In late 2023, the IRS Office of Chief Counsel answered that question in CCA202352018. In this episode, our guest Jenny Hill Bratt discusses the CCA and its impact on trust and estate practitioners and their clients.   About Our Guest:Jenny Hill Bratt is a partner in the San Diego (Del Mar) office of Sheppard Mullin.  Her practice is focused on US and international estate and income tax planning, trusts and estates administration, family and closely-held business planning and charitable planning and exempt organizations.Jenny is a fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and is certified as a specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. She served on the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (TEXCOM), and was involved in the passing of the California Uniform Trust Decanting Act effective January 1, 2019. She is ranked by Chambers in Private Wealth Law.Jenny can be reached at jbratt@sheppardmullin.com or on LinkedIn.About Our Host: Matt Owens is a partner in the San Diego (Del Mar) office of Sheppard Mullin.  His practice is focused on trust, estate, and inheritance disputes.Matt is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He 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 is ranked by Chambers in Private Wealth Disputes.Matt can be reached at mowens@sheppardmullin.com, on LinkedIn, or on X.Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

There are many things to consider when choosing a trustee or successor trustee for a trust. The trustee will face a number of challenges over the course of their service and will need to plan ahead to avoid the inevitable pitfalls.  In this episode of Trust Me!, we discuss a proactive plan for a trustee to successfully administer a trust, and an overview of primary things to consider to mitigate the risk of adverse action against a trustee. About out Guests: Herbert A. Stroh, Esq. is a partner at McCormick and Barstow in San Luis Obispo, California, where he assists clients in trust and estate litigation, administration, planning, and conservatorships. He has also served as a mediator in trust and estate disputes. Josh Yager, Esq., CFP is the managing partner of Anodos Advisors, a fiduciary consulting firm in Santa Barbara, California, where he is a recognized content expert on the issues of fiduciary duties relating to the management and oversight of trust assets. About Our Host:Daniel C. Lorenzen is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Venable LLP, where he advises  individuals, families, and closely held businesses that have contacts in California, the United States, and around the world. He advises clients on all of the traditional tools of wealth planning, with an eye for holistic planning to minimize federal, international, state, and local taxes.Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

When a client passes away, one of the most important items on our to-do list is to file certain tax returns.  In this episode of Trust Me!, we will be discussing an overview of things to consider during the period of post-death administration, mainly focusing on filing the federal estate tax return (Form 706).  About Our Guests:Lisa M. Piehl is the Program Manager for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Estate and Gift Tax Policy division.  Lisa has been with the IRS Estate and Gift Tax division since 1994 in different roles, such as: Estate and Gift Tax Attorney, Supervisory Attorney, and Attorney Advisor.  Lisa works out of the Woodland Hills, CA office. Robin L. Klomparens is a tax attorney and a Director at Fennemore Law.  Renowned for her expertise in tax law, Robin excels in navigating complex tax code changes, providing her clients with up-to-date and effective legal counsel. She has contributed significantly to legal education as an adjunct professor at USF's LLM program, Golden Gate University's MS program, and currently at McGeorge School of Law. A prior member and current advisor to CLA's Tax Section Executive Committee and Estate and Gift Committee, and a member of ACTEC, she also contributes to various charitable boards. Her extensive lecturing and publications further establish her knowledge in tax law.About Our Host:Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Managing Director for Fiduciary Trust International of California out of the Los Angeles Office. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals.  She is also a TEXCOM member and is involved with the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar Association. Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

In this episode of Trust Me!, Bette Epstein discusses the magic of the trust and estate mediation process to informally resolve disputes, which includes party engagement, active listening, patience and problem solving. About Our Guest:Bette Epstein is a mediator, arbitrator and referee with ADR Services, Inc.  Ms. Epstein has been mediating trust and estate disputes since 2000.  Following a remarkable career as a trust and estate litigator, she turned her focus to alternative dispute resolution 24 years ago and has been helping parties settle their disputes since. Ms. Epstein is located in Northern California and mediates disputes virtually throughout California.bepstein@adrservices.comhttps://betteepstein.com/About Our Host:Kristin Yokomoto is a partner at Baker & Hostetler LLP in Costa Mesa, California and focuses on tax and estate planning for high-net-worth individuals, trust administration and probate. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the American Bar Association. Ms. Yokomoto is a member of the Executive Committee of the California Lawyer Association's Trusts and Estates Section.kyokomoto@bakerlaw.comThank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

California just passed a directed trust statute! In this episode of Trust Me!, Michael Rosen-Prinz and David Khanjyan will go over the basic structure of a directed trust, along with the specifics of California's new directed trust statute.About Our Guests:Michael Rosen-Prinz is a partner at Loeb & Loeb LLP (Los Angeles office). Michael maintains a broad trusts and estate practice, including wealth transfer planning, planning for family governance and business succession, cryptocurrency and QSBS planning, and estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax matters. Michael also has deep experience forming and operating single family offices and private trust companies; advising on governance, succession, tax, regulatory and operational issues. In addition, Michael devotes a substantial portion of his practice to cross-border planning for domestic and international families. In this area, he advises clients on foreign trusts, pre-immigration planning and expatriation, as well as inbound and outbound investments and compliance matters related to structuring investment vehicles in the U.S. and internationally. Michael is also a member of TEXCOM. Michael can be reached at: mrosenprinz@loeb.comDavid Khanjyan is an associate at Loeb & Loeb LLP (Los Angeles office). He advises clients on the domestic and international aspects of income, estate and gift tax planning. He works with U.S. and non-U.S. individuals, families, trustees and businesses with multijurisdictional issues to structure tax-efficient plans. David is a member of the Pro Bono Committee and helps orchestrate various pro bono projects throughout the firm. He also is a member of the Armenian Professional Society and was a graduate editor of the Tax Law Review at NYU School of Law. David can be reached at: dkhanjyan@loeb.comAbout Our Host: Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Managing Director for Fiduciary Trust International of California out of the Los Angeles Office. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals. She is also a TEXCOM member and is involved with the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar AssociationThank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

In this episode of Trust Me!, Kristin Yokomoto discusses ethical considerations in the estate planning world. She covers issues relating to engagement letters, conflicts, communication, capacity and more.About Our Guest:Kristin Yokomoto is a partner at Baker & Hostetler LLP in Costa Mesa, California and focuses on tax and estate planning for high-net-worth individuals, trust administration and probate. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the American Bar Association. Kristin is a member of the Executive Committee of the California Lawyer Association's Trusts and Estates Section and the Orange County Bar Association Professionalism and Ethics Committee. She is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law with the California Bar Association of Legal Specialization. Kristin recently published an article on the Trusts and Estates Mediation and the Role of the Mediator for the Trust and Estates Quarterly and is earning an LL.M. in Dispute Resolution.About Our Host: Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Managing Director for Fiduciary Trust International of California out of the Los Angeles Office. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals. She is also a TEXCOM member and is a Vice-Chair of the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar AssociationThank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

Clients have grown to be more charitably inclined and want to incorporate charitable giving as part of their estate plan. In this episode, we discuss the basics of charitable planning, as we review the ABCs of those great acronyms: the CRUTs, CRATs, and CLATs.About Our Guest:Amy Takeuchi Wanlass is a Senior Wealth Advisor for Northern Trust based in their Pasadena office. Amy has over a decade of experience in delivering estate planning and tax advice, as well as financial planning services. Amy works with individuals and their families on complex wealth transfer strategies, estate and income tax planning, and charitable planning goals.Prior to joining Northern Trust, Amy was with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., as a Senior Wealth Planner. Amy was also previously a practicing trusts and estates attorney at nationally recognized law firms including Venable LLP and Mitchell Silberberg and Knupp LLP.Amy can be reached at: akt3@ntrs.comAbout Our Host: Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Managing Director for Fiduciary Trust International of California out of the Los Angeles Office. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals. She is also a member of the Trust and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association and is a Vice-Chair of the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar Association.Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

What must be, and what should be included, by the trustee of a trust in an accounting? And, who is entitled to receive what kind of information? In this episode, our guest Denise Riley discusses the details of what is required in an accounting.  About Our Guest: Denise Riley is the Senior Fiduciary Officer of the West Region in the San Francisco office of Northern Trust.  In addition to being the fiduciary practice leader, she is responsible for the development and implementation of fiduciary strategies to serve the needs of Northern' s private clients. Denise has broad estate planning and fiduciary experience. Prior to her career at Northern Trust, she practiced law, specializing in tax, estate and charitable planning, estate and trust administration, and tax controversy, most recently at Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe. She also headed the Northern California fiduciary practice at U.S. Trust and served as the Chief Fiduciary Officer at Morgan Stanley Trust Company. She is a member of the State Bar of California and American Bar Association, where she has been active in several estate planning and taxation committees. She is past president of the San Francisco Area Women Tax Lawyers, and has written and spoken on a variety of tax and estate planning topics About Our Host:   Erika Gasaway is a shareholder at Hopkins & Carley, a premier trust and estate planning, administration, and litigation firm in downtown San Jose and Redwood Shores, California.  Erika represents clients in trust and estate disputes such as trust contests, will disputes, and enforcing trusts at all stages from pre-litigation counseling and negotiations all the way through trial or settlement. She is a member of the Trust and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association and several other associations for estate panning and professional fiduciaries.  She can be reached at egasaway@hopkinscarley.com  or via Linked In. Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

A revocable trust is an essential part of an estate plan in California. And when clients ask why they need a revocable trust, our answer is always: to avoid probate! We know that probate is time consuming and costly, but have you ever wondered how our system came to be? In this episode of Trust Me!, Anne Rudolph and Ralph Hughes discuss their recent article published in the Trusts & Estates Quarterly -- The Rise of Revocable Trusts in California.About Our Guests:Ralph E. Hughes is a founding Shareholder of Hughes and Pizzuto, APC focusing on Probate and Trust Administration, Probate and Trust Litigation, and related mediation. Ralph received his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1976. Shortly thereafter, he moved to San Diego. Since that time, he has been involved in all aspects of probate, estate planning, trust and probate administration, and related litigation. He is a member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), and is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law. Ralph is affiliated with West Coast Resolution Center and conducts mediations through that organization. He has participated in well over 100 mediations.Anne M. Rudolph is a Shareholder of Hughes and Pizzuto, APC focusing in Probate and Trust Administration, Probate and Trust Litigation, and Appeals. Anne is the Chair of the Firm's Appellate Section. Anne received her law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law where she graduated in the top 5% of her class. She has been a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law since 2013. Anne has earned an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell for legal experience and knowledge as well as ethical standards. She has also been named a Top Rated Estate and Trust Litigation Attorney by San Diego Super Lawyers® since 2018, an honor that is reserved for the top 5% of attorneys in California. She is a frequent speaker on legal ethics issues that arise in the fields of trusts, estate planning, and probate.About Our Host: Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Managing Director for Fiduciary Trust International of California out of the Los Angeles Office. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals. She is also a TEXCOM member and is involved with the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar Association.Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

Join estate-planning attorney Elizabeth Bawden and trust-and-estate litigator Matt Owens for a discussion about the Corporate Transparency Act. About Our Guest: Elizabeth Bawden is a partner in Withers Bergman's Los Angeles office. Elizabeth focuses her efforts on estate planning, planned giving, and tax-exempt organizations. Elizabeth represents clients in matters related to family wealth transfers for large estates, sophisticated estate and gift tax saving techniques, charitable planned giving, and complex probate and trust administrations, including matters involving digital assets and cryptocurrencies. She also regularly represents tax-exempt organizations in formation, organizational and operational issues. Her practice also includes advising socially minded entrepreneurs and business owners on their options for dedicating their companies to philanthropic causes. Elizabeth is certified by the California Board of Legal Specialization as a legal specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law and a fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). She received the 2019 Distinguished Service Award from the Los Angeles Council of Charitable Gift Planners, where she has served as president and has been a member for 15 years. Elizabeth has been recognized in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide in the area of Private Wealth Law – Southern California since 2021. Elizabeth can be reached at elizabeth.bawden@withersworldwide.com About Our Host: Matt Owens is a partner in Sheppard Mullin's San Diego (Del Mar) office. Matt focuses his practice on trust, estate, and inheritance litigation. He has prosecuted and defended a wide range of matters in probate court, including trust contests, elder-abuse actions, accountings, contested conservatorships, and claims involving breach of fiduciary duty. His clients include high-net-worth individuals and families, corporate trustees, and licensed professional fiduciaries. Matt is certified by the California Board of Legal Specialization as a legal specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, he is a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (TEXCOM), and he was recognized in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2023 for Private Wealth Disputes – California. Matt can be reached at mowens@sheppardmullin.comThank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

Join Deputy District Attorney Scott Pirrello and Estate Planning Attorney Melissa Raneri Karlsten for a conversation about elder abuse, including internet and technology scams that everyone, no matter their age, is being bombarded with on a daily basis. Scott and Melissa discuss shipping notifications, product subscriptions, and why you should not click on links, or pick up the phone if you do not recognize the caller. In addition to finding out the scammers' old and new tricks, you will also learn ways to protect yourself and others from being a victim of financial scams. And, Scott and Melissa discuss how trusts and estates attorneys can help to protect their clients from financial scams. About Our Guest:Guest Scott Pirrello is a Deputy District Attorney at San Diego's District Attorney's Office where he is the head of Elder Abuse Prosecutions and is a member of the San Diego Elder Justice Task Force. Scott is a frequent speaker on elder abuse crimes and how the community can help better protect victims. Scott's work on an instrumental case in San Diego revealed a nationwide elder fraud network and he continues to work to bring information about these scams to the public in an effort to protect others. About Our Host:Host Melissa Raneri Karlsten is a trusts and estates attorney at the law firm of Aaron, Riechert, Carpol & Riffle, APC in Redwood City, California. She is also a member of the Trusts and Estates Section Executive Committee of the California Lawyers Association.Links:60 Minutes: Cyber Scammers Target Parents, Grandparents for Digital Theft: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2r1MJk85Zo  FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): https://www.ic3.gov/ County of San Diego, HHSA, Don't Get Hooked: https://www.sdcda.org/content/helping/dont-get-hooked.pdf Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

Are irrevocable trusts truly irrevocable?  One way to change the terms of an irrevocable trust is by decanting.  In this episode, our guest Michael Rosen-Prinz will be discussing the particulars of California's decanting statute. About Our Guest:Michael Rosen-Prinz is a partner at the Los Angeles office of Loeb & Loeb LLP.  Michael maintains a broad trusts and estate practice, including wealth transfer planning, planning for family governance and business succession, cryptocurrency and QSBS planning, and estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax matters.  Michael also has deep experience forming and operating single family offices and private trust companies; advising on governance, succession, tax, regulatory and operational issues. In addition, Michael devotes a substantial portion of his practice to cross-border planning for domestic and international families. In this area, he advises clients on foreign trusts, pre-immigration planning and expatriation, as well as inbound and outbound investments and compliance matters related to structuring investment vehicles in the U.S. and internationally.Michael is also a member of the Trust and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association.  Michael can be reached at: mrosenprinz@loeb.comAbout Our Host: Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Managing Director for Fiduciary Trust International of California out of the Los Angeles Office. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals.  She is also a member of the Trust and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association and is involved with the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar Association. Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

Most attorneys are able to identify clients who clearly have mental capacity to make decisions and those who clearly lack such capacity.  But what about the clients in the middle part of the spectrum?In this episode, geropsychologist Bonnie Olsen provides practical guidance on dealing with clients who may have mental function deficits.  She explains how capacity is situational, what attorneys can do to optimize client decision-making ability, and how to get beyond the label of a diagnosis.  Dr. Olsen's article entitled “What Attorneys Need to Know About a Client's Cognitive Capacity” will appear in Volume 29, Issue 2, of California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, which is available to all members of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association.About the Guest:Dr. Bonnie Olsen is clinical psychologist who often works with elderly patients.  She is a Professor of Clinical Family Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.  In 2020-2021, she led a project funded by the U.S. Department of Justice to develop and test an evidence-informed tool for judges to adjudicate guardianship/conservatorship petitions.  In addition, she has a consulting practice in which she evaluates a person's mental capacity to make estate planning changes, either before or after they are made.About the Host:When this episode was recorded (August 3, 2023), Jeffrey Galvin was an attorney with Downey Brand LLP in Sacramento, where he litigated trust and estate disputes involving mental capacity and undue influence issues, and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association.  Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

The world is getting smaller and smaller.  As estate planners, we need to be aware of cross-border issues when it comes to estate planning and taxation.  In this episode, our guest Chris Nason will be discussing a basic and practical overview of international estate planning and tax planning issues.   About Our Guest:Chris Nason is a partner at McDermott, Will & Emery based in their San Francisco office. Chris focuses his practice on private client matters.  He is the managing editor of International Estate Planning, a multi-volume guide to US estate and income taxation of foreign nationals published annually by LexisNexis/Matthew Bender Elite. Chris teaches classes on Trusts and Estate Planning at Stanford Law School.While in law school, Chris served as an editor for the Yale Journal of International Law and was a fellow at the China Law Center and was also a co-president of the Law and Africa Society. Prior to law school, he attended Peking University as a CSC Scholar, where he studied Chinese language and law. Chris can be reached at: Cnason@mwe.comAbout Our Host: Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Chief Fiduciary Officer for Fiduciary Trust International of California out of the Los Angeles Office. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals.  She is also a TEXCOM member and is a Vice-Chair of the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar Association. Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

In January of 2009, the infamous and anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto launched the Bitcoin Network. Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency, which is a digital asset that lives on a decentralized public ledger, also known as the blockchain. Over a decade later, crypto has solidified itself as a legitimate asset class and a major player in the financial space. There are now thousands of different crypto assets—like Ethereum, Litecoin, and even Dogecoin—many of which hold significant value. This has made proper estate planning for crypto even more critical.Some still might ask though: What is crypto? What is blockchain?  How do crypto owners properly plan for their crypto if they lose capacity or die? Our Guest, Jonathan Mintz, Esq., answers these questions and helps us navigate the intersection of crypto and estate planning!About Our GuestJonathan Mintz, Esq. is a Founding Partner of Evergreen Legacy Planning LLP, a national law firm based in Evergreen, Colorado with offices in Newport Beach, California. Jonathan helps entrepreneurs and crypto-affluent individuals implement complex legal structures that maximize wealth protection and minimize taxes. He is also a Founder of The Bespoke Group, a multifamily office that offers custom-tailored services to crypto-affluent individuals, including providing access to crypto custodians in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.Jonathan is a frequent national speaker, and he has authored and co-authored articles appearing in some of our industry's most prestigious publications including the Estate Planning Journal, the AICPA's Tax Adviser, and the Journal of Financial Service Professionals.Personally, Jonathan and his wife are both avid cyclists who enjoy combining world travel and cycling. They've ridden mountains throughout the United States, Canada, France, Italy, and Switzerland.You can contact Jonathan at the information in the following link: https://evergreenlegacyplanning.com/You can find Jonathan's most recent webinar with the California Lawyers Association on the intersection of estate planning and crypto assets at the following link: https://cla.inreachce.com/Details/Information/188f9fe0-e657-4064-8198-26f28ad0bafaAbout Our HostKevin Bryce Jackson, Esq. is an attorney in the Private Client and Tax Division at Withers Bergman LLP. Kevin's practice focuses on Trusts and Estates, with an emphasis on Trusts and Estates Litigation. Kevin is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (TEXCOM). You can contact Kevin at the information in the following link: https://www.withersworldwide.com/en-gb/people/kevin-bryce-jacksonThank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

In this episode, our guests, Marguerite Lorenz, Master Trustee, and Todd Stephenson, estate liquidator, will be discussing the difficulties that are encountered in dealing with personal property after someone has died. This episode is geared towards estate planners who are looking to create a well-rounded plan to avoid unnecessary family strife after a client's passing, as well as to the general public to get ideas on how to keep children from fighting after their passing. We will share stories of good and bad plans as well as provide ideas on how best to create a plan to keep families out of court and in harmony. About Our Guests:Marguerite Lorenz, Master Trustee, Managing Partner at Lorenz Private Trustees, and author of Ethics for Trustees 2.0, available on Amazon. Marguerite is in her 20th year as a professional trustee, executor and agent.Marguerite can be reached at 877-630-8448, www.MyTrustee.net.Todd Stephenson, owner and founder of Estate Sale Warehouse. Estate Sale Warehouse has been providing personal estate liquidation solutions since 1994 in San Diego and surrounding areas.Todd can be reached at (760) 433-6549, estatesalewarehouse.comAbout Our Host:Host Kimberly R. McGhee is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, and V.A. Certified Accredited Attorney. She is a Member of the California Lawyers Association, Trusts and Estates Executive Committee (TEXCOM), former President of the Southern California National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Member of the Board of Directors for Palomar Health Medical Group, Member of the Board of Directors for Southern Caregiver Resource Center, contributing author and editor for CEB (Continuing Education of the Bar's) Trusts & Estates practice guide and Vice-Chair of the North County Bar Association California Conference of Delegates. She also serves as a Court Appointed Attorney and Guardian Ad Litem in the Superior Court of San Diego County, California.  Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

Trust and estate lawyers have a keen interest in state legislation.  The California Lawyers Association gives them a voice in Sacramento.  When conservatorships became a hot topic in the Legislature, the Trusts and Estates Section of CLA was there to provide real-world input from experienced practitioners.  The Section regularly sponsors bills to advance the fairness and efficiency of California law.  Get the inside scoop from Saul Bercovitch, who leads CLA's advocacy efforts, and Mary deLeo, Chair of the Section's Executive Committee.  They discuss recent legislative initiatives, peer into a crystal ball regarding the future of electronic wills in California, and explain how lawyers can participate in the Section's advocacy.About Our Guests:Saul Bercovitch is the Associate Executive Director for Governmental Affairs of the California Lawyers Association.  He joined CLA in 2018, shortly after it was established.  Saul previously worked for the State Bar of California, as Legislative Counsel and as an attorney in the Office of General Counsel.  He also practiced civil litigation for over a decade.  He can be reached at saul.bercovitch@calawyers.org.Mary deLeo is a Shareholder at Weintraub Tobin in Sacramento.  Her practice focuses on trust and estate litigation, trust and estate administration, conservatorships, fiduciary representation, special needs trust administration, and planning for incapacity.  Mary is the current Chair of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (Texcom).  She can be reached at mdeleo@weintraub.com. About Our Host:Jeffrey Galvin is a partner at Downey Brand LLP in Sacramento.  He litigates trust and estate disputes across Northern California.  Jeff created and edits the blog Trust on Trial, which covers California trust and estate litigation.  He is also a member of Texcom.  He may be reached at jgalvin@downeybrand.com.Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

Private letter rulings (PLRs) are one of many tools that tax and wealth planning professionals can employ to benefit their clients, but many professionals are unaware of the benefits of PLRs or don't know how to obtain PLRs.  Our guest, S. Eva Wolf, will provide us with guidance on the PLR process as it relates to common estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax issues.   About Our Guest:S. Eva Wolf's 15-year legal career has followed an atypical path; she has twice moved between private practice and government practice. Towards the beginning of her legal career, she worked as an Attorney (Estate Tax) in the IRS Estate & Gift Tax division, then returned to private practice where she advanced from associate to partner at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, one of the oldest and most respected law firms in Los Angeles. Prior to joining the IRS Office of Associate Chief Counsel (PSI) as a Senior Attorney (Tax) in April 2020, Eva was a partner at Withers Bergman LLP, an award winning, global law firm. An Arizona native, Eva earned a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Philosophy from Arizona State University and a J.D. from the University of Arizona. Eva also earned a Tax LL.M. from Loyola Law School, where she now teaches Estate & Gift Tax.  Eva also presented a webinar for CLA on the subject of this podcast episode, which can be found here:  Nuts & Bolts of Private Letter Rulings (inreachce.com)About Our Host: Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Managing Director for Fiduciary Trust International of California out of the Los Angeles Office. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals.  She is also a TEXCOM member and is involved with the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar Association. Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

Join us for a conversation with neuropsychologist Jonathan Canick about the interplay between aging and an elder client's capacity to execute estate planning documents.  Aging itself has no direct effect on mental capacity, but ageist stereotypes and implicit biases abound.  Indeed, many physicians mistakenly assume that advancing age results in cognitive decline.  At the same time, mental function deficits are often overlooked in clinical settings and may inhibit a person's ability to make decisions.  How then, if at all, should estate planners consider the age of their clients when undertaking estate planning?  About Our Guest:Dr. Jonathan Canick has practiced neuropsychology for over 30 years.  He is a member of the departments of psychiatry and neuroscience at California Pacific Medical Center and an associate clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco.  He evaluates, consults, and testifies on matters related to mental capacity, undue influence, and elder financial abuse.  He also provides education and training to health care, legal, and financial professionals.  Dr. Canick may be reached at jc@drcanick.com.  About Our Host:Jeffrey Galvin is a partner at Downey Brand LLP based in Sacramento.  He litigates trust and estate disputes around Northern California, representing trustees and beneficiaries.  His cases often involve mental capacity and undue influence issues.  Jeff created and edits the blog Trust on Trial, which covers California trust and estate litigation.  He is a member the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association.Thank you for listening to Trust Me!Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosEdited by Todd Gajdusek

What is a conservatorship? Over the past few years, “conservatorship” has become a popular buzz word and the topic of many discussions in the media. With this new-found attention on conservatorships, California lawmakers have been busy, passing multiple bills and changing the landscape of how conservatorships are established, managed, and supervised in California Probate Courts. Although there is some criticism of the restrictive nature of conservatorships, these proceedings are designed to protect California residents who cannot properly manage their own affairs. Our guest, Joseph Gruber, Jr., Esq., answers our initial question—what is a conservatorship—and so much more. About Our GuestJoseph Gruber, Jr., Esq., is an attorney with Aaron, Riechert, Carpol, and Riffle, APC. The Board of Legal Specialization of the California State Bar Association has certified Mr. Gruber as a specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law. Mr. Gruber frequently handles conservatorship matters and is often appointed by the superior courts of San Mateo County and Santa Clara County to serve as independent counsel for various conservatees. Mr. Gruber is also the chair of the Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Section of the San Mateo County Bar Association. You can contact Mr. Gruber at the information in the following link: https://www.arcr.com/attorneys-staff/joseph-e-gruber-jr/You can find Mr. Gruber's recent webinar on conservatorship basics at the following link: https://calawyers.org/event/webinar-the-nuts-and-bolts-of-conservatorship-law/About Our HostKevin Bryce Jackson, Esq. is an attorney in the Private Client and Tax Division at Withers Bergman LLP. Mr. Jackson's practice focuses on Trusts and Estates, with an emphasis on Trust and Estate Litigation. Mr. Jackson is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (TEXCOM). You can contact Mr. Jackson at the information in the following link: https://www.withersworldwide.com/en-gb/people/kevin-bryce-jacksonTrust Me is produced by Foley Marra Studios Thank you for listening to Trust Me!

In this episode, our guest Josie M. Porras Corporon, CELA, will be diving into the misunderstood world of elder law.  This episode is geared towards practitioners who don't know what an elder law attorney does and when they need to refer their clients to an elder law attorney; as well as to the general public as a guide for where to start when they want to plan for a long term disability in addition to their passing.  We will discuss the basics of long term care planning and public benefits and provide examples of when and how to best plan for a crisis. About Our Guest:Josie M. Porras Corporon, CELA is a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, Certified Specialist, Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, Certified Dementia Care Practitioner by the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners. As a Certified Elder Law Attorney, she is well-versed in creating a plan to protect families in the event of crisis as well as helping families deal with the crisis with or without planning.  Josie received her BA/BSW in Social Work from California State University, Chico, and her JD from the University of Iowa College of Law. Josie was a medical social worker prior to becoming an attorney and has incorporated those skills into her law practice. She is the appointed attorney representative on the State's Advisory Committee on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias; is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Past President of the Northern California Chapter; and is appointed to the Executive Board for Legal Services of Northern California. Locally, she sits on the Advocacy Committee for the Chico Chapter of the Northern California and Northern Nevada Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association and is a Board Member at the Peg Taylor Center. Josie can be reached at (530) 892-2421.About Our Host:Host Kimberly R. McGhee is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, and V.A. Certified Accredited Attorney. She is a Member of the California Lawyers Association, Trusts and Estates Executive Committee (TEXCOM), former President of the Southern California National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Member of the Board of Directors for Palomar Health Medical Group, Member of the Board of Directors for Southern Caregiver Resource Center, contributing author and editor for CEB (Continuing Education of the Bar's) Trusts & Estates practice guide and Vice-Chair of the North County Bar Association California Conference of Delegates. She also serves as a Court Appointed Attorney and Guardian Ad Litem in the Superior Court of San Diego County, California.  Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra StudiosThank you for listening to Trust Me!

Probate matters and general civil matters can sometimes be seen as operating in two separate worlds.  However, in practice, these worlds often interact with one another.  In this episode, we are covering probate and civil crossover issues.  We discuss a lot of the basic concepts and considerations given when choosing to file either a probate or civil case and dealing with concurrent litigation.  We also briefly address some new legislation as well as other practice tips that may prove helpful in tackling these issues.About Our GuestsBen Futernick is a research attorney in the Civil Division of the Los Angeles Superior Court.  Ben has experience working on both the civil side and probate side, including the assignment of relating cases to one another.  He recently coauthored two MCLE articles for the Daily Journal entitled “Introduction to Powers and Duties of Guardians Ad Litem” and “Minor's Compromises and Possible Changes to Guardian Ad Litem Statutes.”David Gibson is a probate attorney for the Los Angeles Superior Court.  David previously worked as a research attorney in the probate department handling law and motion matters and, in private practice, advised and represented clients in family law proceedings.Erin Norcia is a partner at Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann, LLP.  Erin's practice focuses on trust, probate, and conservatorship litigation.  She is a member of the California Lawyer Association Trusts and Estates Section's Executive Committee.  Erin is also a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and is an Adjunct Professor of the Wills & Trusts Course at Santa Clara University School of Law.About Our HostRyka Farotte is a research attorney at the Los Angeles County Superior Court.  He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the California Lawyer Association's Trusts and Estates Section.Produced byFoley Marra Studios (thefoleymarrastudios.com)Thank you for listening to Trust Me!

Amending revocable trusts is such a common occurrence for estate planners that the procedure for doing so may be given little thought. Most trust instruments include provisions establishing the procedures for amendment, but what if those procedures are not followed? Should the amendment be held invalid?Two appellate court decisions, King v Lynch and Haggerty v. Thornton take up the question. The courts interpret Probate Code Sections 15402 and 15401(a)(2) differently, and as a result reach inconsistent conclusions. At issue is under what circumstances the so called “statutory method” of revocation of 15401(a)(2) may apply to trust amendments.Guest Jennifer Campbell is Senior Counsel, Trusts and Estates at Loeb & Loeb, and has recently authored an article for the Trusts and Estates Quarterly (Volume 28, Issue 2, Spring 2022) entitled “Courts Do Not Agree on the History and Meaning of California Probate Code Section 15402”. For over 30 years, Ms. Campbell has concentrated her practice in the trusts and estates area, focusing on the administration of trusts and estates and estate planning.  Ms. Campbell routinely advises and assists individuals and corporate fiduciaries with a myriad of matters including constructing estate plans, fiduciary legal risk management, trust funding, trust distributions, preparing estate and gift tax returns, and negotiating and drafting settlement agreements.  Guest Howard Kipnis is of Counsel at the firm of Artiano Shinoff  and has over 38 years of experience representing corporate fiduciaries, financial institutions, broker-dealers and brokerage companies, as well as small businesses and individuals, in dispute resolution and litigation arising from banking, brokerage and probate and trust services. For 22 years Mr. Kipnis has received Martindale-Hubbell's highest peer-reviewed rating for professional excellence (“A-V Preeminent”). and professional achievement (“Distinguished”). In the last four years he has also been honored as one of San Diego Magazine's “Top Lawyers” in both Banking and Probate and Trust Litigation, and selected by “San Diego Super Lawyers” in those fields as well. Mr. Kipnis now serves on the Trust and Estates Executive Committee of the California Lawyers Association (TEXCOM), where he currently chairs or vice chairs several of TEXCOM's Subcommittees, including Litigation and Educating Seniors. Jennifer and Howard are presenters on a California Lawyers Association webinar entitled “Will King Still be King After Haggerty: Is the Procedure for Revocation of a Trust Available for Modification?” https://calawyers.org/event/webinar-will-king-still-be-king-after-haggerty-is-the-procedure-for-revocation-of-a-trust-available-for-modification/ Herb Stroh is of Counsel at McCormick Barstow LLP, based in the San Luis Obispo office. Herb is a past Chair of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (TEXCOM), and serves as TEXCOM's representative on the CLA Board.Trust Me is produced by Foley Marra StudiosThank you for listening to Trust Me!

Surveys reveal an equity gap in estate planning.  Although everyone should have an estate plan, Americans in communities of color are less likely to have plans in place.  Without powers of attorney and health care directives, families may find it hard to manage the affairs of their incapacitated elders.  And when elders die without a trust or will, it may be difficult to keep the home and other assets in the family.Verleana Green-Telusca, a lawyer in Oakland, describes how she became an estate planner and the innovative community outreach program that she developed.  In 2014, Verleana founded The Estate and Retirement Planning Specialists, which offers free educational programs regarding estate and retirement planning.  She uses actors to dramatize the importance of estate planning by playing out a family drama.  Drawing on her experience, she shares thoughts on expanding access to estate planning.About Our Guest:Verleana Green-Telusca founded and operates an estate planning law firm.  She received her bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley and her law degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law.  She discovered a passion for estate planning and went on to receive an LLM in Taxation from Golden Gate University Law School.  She has taught Elder Law at USF School of Law.  She recently received a Jefferson Award for her community service.About Our Host:Jeffrey Galvin is a lawyer at Downey Brand LLP based in Sacramento.  He litigates trust and estate disputes around Northern California.  Jeff created and edits the blog Trust on Trial, which covers California trust and estate litigation.  He is a member the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association.Trust Me is produced by Foley Marra Studios.Thank you for listening to Trust Me!

There's a lot of talk about student loan debt and the rising cost of college education.  One tax effective solution for clients who want to help their children or grandchildren with this rising cost is a 529 plan.  In this episode, our guest David Oh will review the basic rules of 529 plans and discuss what clients should consider when setting up such plans. He will also examine the tax and financial differences between 529 plans and other gifting options.  David Oh (Trust Counsel and Managing Director for Fiduciary Trust International of California) is a senior trusts and estates advisor with broad experience in estate planning and trust administration. He advises clients on matters including tax planning, tax compliance, wealth transfer techniques, and charitable strategies. He earned a Master of Laws (LLM) in taxation at Boston University School of Law, Juris Doctor from University of the Pacific, and Bachelor of Arts in legal studies from University of California at Berkeley. He is a Certified Specialist in both Taxation Law as well as in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law by the State Bar of California. David sits on the boards of Continuing Education of the Bar and the Estate and Gift Tax committee of the California Lawyer's Association.  David can be reached at: david.oh@ftci.com David also presented a webinar entitled 529 Plan Basics for Estate Planning, which can be found here: Education – California Lawyers Association (calawyers.org) Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Managing Director for Fiduciary Trust International of California out of the Los Angeles Office. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals.  She is also a TEXCOM member and is involved with the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar Association. Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra Studios.Thank you for listening to Trust Me!

Many elders who need support with their activities of daily living want to remain in their homes as long as possible.  How can caregivers be hired and paid in compliance with the law?  What do California trust and estate lawyers need to know to advise their clients?Our guest Bob King provides an overview of the tricky employment and tax laws that apply to in home caregivers in California.  A caregiver who works a long shift cannot be paid a straight hourly wage “off the books.”  Under the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, even when caregivers meet the definition of “personal attendant,” they are entitled to overtime if they work more than nine hours in a day or 40 hours per week.Bob explains how parenting his daughter led him into this practice area and why caregiving for elders often carries greater potential liability than caregiving for children.  Indeed, elders who directly employ caregivers without following the rules may find themselves facing hefty wage and hour claims as well as federal and state tax liability.  When the elder passes, the lingering liability can complicate the administration of the elder's estate and/or trust. About Our Guest:Attorney Bob King created and operates Legally Nanny®, an employment law firm located in Orange County that represents home care and nanny agencies as well as household employers.    A graduate of University of Chicago Law School, Bob has served on the Boards of Directors of the Home Care Association of America and the International Nanny Association.  He was also the General Counsel for the Association of Premier Nanny Agencies. About Our Host:Jeffrey Galvin is a partner at Downey Brand LLP based in Sacramento.  He litigates trust and estate disputes around Northern California, representing trustees and beneficiaries.  His cases often involve contested administrations of trusts and estates.  Jeff created and edits the blog Trust on Trial, which covers California trust and estate litigation.  He is a member the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association.TRUST ME is produced by Foley Marra Studios.Thank you for listening to Trust Me!

In this episode, our guest Michael DiBernardo will be diving into the exciting world of fiduciary income taxation.  This episode is geared towards practitioners who don't deal with trust income tax rules on a daily basis.  We will discuss a basic and practical overview of fiduciary income tax as it relates to estate planning and trust administration.   About Our Guest:Mike DiBernardo is a Certified Public Accountant specializing in tax and accounting solutions for small businesses. As a Certified Tax Coach, he is highly skilled in tax planning and creates sophisticated strategies to minimize taxes for businesses and their owners.Mike has been practicing as an accountant for almost 10 years. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics and a Minor in Accounting. Prior to founding DiBernardo & Company, P.C., he worked with Fortune 500 and other publicly traded companies on complex domestic and multinational transactions at PricewaterhouseCoopers.  Mike can be reached at: miked@mbamdcpas.com  Mike also published an article that can be found here: https://www.trustestatecpa.com/site_images/California_CPA-March-April_2021-2.pdfAbout Our Host: Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Managing Director for Fiduciary Trust International of California out of the Los Angeles Office. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals.  She is also a TEXCOM member and is involved with the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar Association. Trust Me is produced by Foley Marra StudiosThank you for listening to Trust Me!

This Episode of “Trust Me” is Part 2 of a multi-episode series, which features an interview with Ryan Szczepanik and Ciarán O'Sullivan, the co-authors of the article: “When They Don't Clap for Anti-SLAPP.” The article appeared in the California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Volume 28, Issue 1, published in 2022 by the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (“TEXCOM”). In our first episode with Ryan and Ciarán, we covered the general use of SLAPP lawsuits and anti-SLAPP motions. In this episode, we discuss the application of anti-SLAPP motions in trust and estate disputes, policy considerations and potential legislation concerning anti-SLAPP motions in trust and estate cases, and practical tips for handling anti-SLAPP motions in the probate court. About our Guests:Ryan J. Szczepanik, J.D., is a California Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law. He is a Member of TEXCOM.Ciarán O'Sullivan has litigated the entire range of trust and estate related disputes since 1998. He is a Member of TEXCOM, and is the current chairman of its Litigation sub-committee. He is a frequent writer and presenter on topics of interest to Trusts and Estates litigators, and has published articles in the Trusts and Estates Quarterly, the Daily Journal, and elsewhere on trial and appellate procedure.    About our Host:Kevin Bryce Jackson represents fiduciaries and individuals throughout California in a wide range of trust and estate matters. He is the New Lawyers Section's liaison to TEXCOM.If you have questions, comments, and/or suggestions for future topics, please email Anna Soliman at asoliman@ftci.com Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra Studios www.thefoleymarrastudios.comThank you for listening to Trust Me!

This Episode of “Trust Me” is Part 1 of a multi-episode series, which features an interview with Ryan Szczepanik and Ciarán O'Sullivan, the co-authors of the article: “When They Don't Clap for Anti-SLAPP.” The article appeared in the California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Volume 28, Issue 1, published in 2022 by the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (“TEXCOM”). In our first episode with Ryan and Ciarán, we have a conversation about the general use of SLAPP lawsuits and anti-SLAPP motions. Later in the series, we discuss the application of anti-SLAPP motions in trust and estate disputes, policy considerations and potential legislation concerning anti-SLAPP motions in trust and estate cases, and practical tips for handling anti-SLAPP motions in the probate court.  About our Guests:Ryan J. Szczepanik, J.D., is a California Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law. He is a Member of TEXCOM.Ciarán O'Sullivan has litigated the entire range of trust and estate related disputes since 1998. He is a Member of TEXCOM, and is the current chairman of its Litigation sub-committee. He is a frequent writer and presenter on topics of interest to Trusts and Estates litigators, and has published articles in the Trusts and Estates Quarterly, the Daily Journal, and elsewhere on trial and appellate procedure.   About our Host:Kevin Bryce Jackson represents fiduciaries and individuals throughout California in a wide range of trust and estate matters. He is the New Lawyers Section's liaison to TEXCOM.If you have questions, comments, and/or suggestions for future topics, please email Anna Soliman at asoliman@ftci.com Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra Studios www.thefoleymarrastudios.comThank you for listening to Trust Me!

This Episode of “Trust Me” features an interview with Josh Yager, co-author of the article “How Much is Too Much? Trustee Compensation and an Analysis of California Rules of Court, Rule 7.776.” The article appeared in the California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Volume 27 issue 1, published by TEXCOM in 2021. Our conversation takes us on a deep dive of California Rules of Court Rule 7.776, breaking down each of the eight factors courts are to consider when determining a trustee's fee. We also discuss the importance of establishing a good governance policy at the outset of a trust administration,  and what documentation is crucial in supporting a trustee fee request. About our Guest:Josh Yager is a recognized expert on the management and oversight of trust assets. He lectures and writes extensively on the policies, procedures and practices for the prudent administration of trusts. He has been invited to speak to various Bar associations, CPA chapters, estate planning councils, Professional Fiduciary Association forums and AICPA national events.Josh has testified on the subject of prudent trustee governance practices before the Texas Pension Review Board, the Alaska Retirement Management Board and has provided expert testimony within the California courts.About our Host:Host Herb Stroh is a member of McCormick Barstow LLP, practicing in the San Luis Obispo office. Mr. Stroh is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, past Chair of TEXCOM, and represents the Committee on the CLA Board of Representatives. He has extensive experience in all aspects of trust, probate, conservatorship, and guardianship litigation.  He also advises clients on estate planning, administration of trusts, probate estates, special needs trusts, and conservatorships.If you have questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics please email Herb at herb.stroh@McCormickBarstow.com Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra Studioswww.thefoleymarrastudios.comThank you for listening to Trust Me!

Vulnerable elders too often fall victim to predators who marry them for financial gain.  But how should we balance the fundamental right to marry and enjoy companionship with protecting elders from financial abuse?Our guest Ellen McKissock shares her perspective on predatory marriage, including the case that got her thinking about this subject and her journey towards legislative reform.  Ellen was a lead proponent of California Assembly Bill 328, which Governor Brown signed in 2019.  AB 328 modified the Probate Code to make it more difficult for paid caregivers to take advantage of elders through marriage under suspicious circumstances.Ellen opens the conversation by reflecting on her years of service with TEXCOM, the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association.  She encourages trusts and estates lawyers to apply to serve on TEXCOM.  (Note: Applications are available on the CLA website and due by March 1.) About Our Guest:Ellen McKissock is a shareholder at the law firm of Hopkins & Carley based in San Jose.  Ellen has been a litigator for almost forty years, with the second half of her career focused on trusts and estates litigation.  She is the immediate past chair of TEXCOM and a Fellow of ACTEC, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.  Ellen works on disputes in the areas of financial elder abuse, trust and will contests, complex accountings, and breaches of fiduciary duty.  She is the author of several articles for Trusts and Estates Quarterly, including “Marrying Into Elder Abuse” and “A New Use for Confidential Marriage: Elder Abuse.”About Our Host:Jeffrey Galvin is a partner at Downey Brand LLP based in Sacramento.  He litigates trust and estate disputes around Northern California, representing trustees and beneficiaries.  Many of his cases involve allegations of mental incapacity or undue influence.  Jeff created and edited the blog Trust on Trial, which covers California trust and estate litigation.  Like Ellen, Jeff is a member of TEXCOM. Thank you for listening to Trust Me!

Our guests for this episode are two former IRS Estate and Gift Tax Attorneys, Eva Wolf and Michael Perlmutter. Eva and Michael will discuss the general audit process for Estate and Gift Tax returns. They will also cover common mistakes made based on their extensive experience in auditing hundreds of these returns.About Our Guests:Eva Wolf is currently a Senior Attorney in the Passthroughs & Special Industries division of the IRS Associate Office of Chief Counsel, where she advises IRS examination groups and taxpayers regarding the correct interpretation and application of federal transfer tax laws, in part by writing Treasury Regulations, PLRs, and CCAs. At the beginning of her legal career, she worked in the IRS Estate & Gift Tax division as an estate tax attorney. She then moved to private practice and, until a year and a half ago, she was a partner at Withers Bergman, and prior to that she was a partner at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp – both in their Los Angeles offices. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Loyola Law School, where she teaches Estate & Gift Tax. She can be reached at: (202) 317-3893Michael Perlmutter is a licensed attorney, CPA and Valuation Specialist at Perlmutter Law and Valuation, Inc. Michael is an experienced valuation expert with an extensive 27-year career at the Internal Revenue Service as an Estate Tax Attorney, Revenue Agent and Valuation Specialist. His IRS career provided invaluable exposure to complex valuation issues involving a multitude of different assets. Michael has written IRS valuation related training materials, taught and mentored IRS attorneys, is a frequent presenter at seminars, and is also an instructor at UCLA Extension. He can be reached at: michael@perlmutter-law.comAbout Our Host: Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Managing Director for Fiduciary Trust International of California out of the Los Angeles Office. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals.  She is also a TEXCOM member and is involved with the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar Association.  Thank you for listening to Trust Me!

Our guest for this episode, Terrence M. Franklin, shares an incredible story of a Last Will and Testament from 1846 that played a very important role in his family history. He hopes that telling this story can help bend the arc of history towards justice.  About Our Guest:Terrence M. Franklin is a partner at Los Angeles based firm Sacks Glazier Franklin & Lodise.  He is a seasoned attorney with nearly three decades of experience handling trust and estates and probate litigation, disputes and appeals. Terry is also a member of ACTEC (the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel) and was the immediate past Chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.  He's also served as Chair of the Diversity Committee of the Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section of the American Bar Association.  He can be reached at: tfranklin@trustlitigation.laAbout Our Host: Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Managing Director for Fiduciary Trust International of California out of the Los Angeles Office. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals.  She is also a TEXCOM member and is involved with the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar Association.  Thank you for listening to Trust Me!

In this month's episode of Trust Me! we interview Chelsea Suttmann and Melissa Karlsten, authors of a recent article entitled “Advanced Planning—A Decade in Review: What Have We Learned Over the Last Decade and Where Are we Headed?” The article appeared in Volume 27, Issue 1 of the California Trusts and Estates Quarterly published by the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association.We discuss changes and threatened changes in estate tax law from 2010 forward, from the fiscal cliff “use-it-or-lose-it” estate tax exemption planning to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. We next turn our attention to the estate tax proposals before Congress, particularly the Biden Administration's “Build Back Better” plan. Although the legislation is still very fluid, listeners will get a sense of what might be coming our way in the near future. We also reflect on the lessons learned through the twists and turns of estate tax law in the last decade, and what planners should be thinking about and discussing with their clients as we move into 2022.Thank you for listening to Trust Me!

In writing or performing, it is important to know your audience.  In probate litigation, your audience is often the judicial officer presiding over the case.  In this podcast, we sit down with Judge David J. Cowan to get his view on some key topics in handling contested probate proceedings.First, we explore the subject of pleadings and crafting a petition to tell a story.  We next discuss bench trials and how Judge Cowan approaches them, including how he considers testimony on mental capacity and susceptibility to undue influence.  Lastly, we discuss a bit narrower of a topic, relating civil cases to probate cases, which Judge Cowan currently oversees.This podcast should provide some insight on how a judicial officer may look at your case.About Our GuestJudge David J. Cowan is Supervising Judge of the Civil Division of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.  He previously served as Supervising Judge of the Probate and Mental Health Division of the Superior Court.  Judge Cowan is also a member of the Probate and Mental Health Advisory Committee to the Judicial Council of California as well as former vice-chair of the Probate Law Committee of the California Judges Association.About Our HostRyka Farotte is a research attorney at the Los Angeles County Superior Court.  He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the California Lawyer Association's Trusts and Estates Section.Thank you for listening to Trust Me!

The trustee is in the driver's seat in how a trust is administered, deciding when and how assets will be allocated.  Parents who create trusts to benefit their children often pick one or more of them to serve as trustee.  The beneficiaries become unhappy with what the trustee is doing or failing to do.   A lawyer hired by the beneficiaries may file a petition in the Superior Court asking the judge to remove the trustee.When is enough, enough?  What factors will a California probate judge consider when deciding whether to remove a trustee?  In this episode, we discuss Trolan v. Trolan, a case involving six sibling co-trustees, the Court of Appeal provided guidance to trustees, beneficiaries and their lawyers and explore the subject of trustee removal litigation.  The key statute is California Probate Code section 15642.  We'll also talk about how disputes might be resolved in mediation, which a probate judge can require under Breslin v. Breslin.About Our Guests:Denise E. Chambliss is a shareholder at Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel based in San Jose.  She chairs the firm's Trust and Estate Practice Group and its Trust and Estate Litigation Practice Group.  She litigates trust and estate cases across California and wrote an article on Trolan that appeared in Trusts and Estates Quarterly.  Denise was the lead attorney in a published case of first impression, Wilkin v. Nelson, in which the court granted judicial reformation of a decedent's pour-over will to exclude unintended community property.  As an Alameda County Superior Court judge for over 20 years, Judge Marshall Whitley developed a statewide reputation as an expert in trust and estate cases.  He served as Supervising Judge, Judicial College faculty, Chair of the Probate Section for the Judicial Council's Education & Research Committee, and Chair of the Council's Probate Advisory subcommittees on Trusts and Rules & Forms.  As a law professor, Judge Whitley taught Taxation, Wills & Trusts, Probate Procedure, and Mediating Trust & Estate Disputes.  Currently a mediator – arbitrator - special discovery master, Judge Whitley helps resolve complex disputes involving technical and highly emotional issues.  He is a member of the panel at ADR Services, Inc.  About Our Host:Jeffrey Galvin is a partner at Downey Brand LLP based in Sacramento.  He litigates trust and estate cases around Northern California, representing trustees and beneficiaries.  He created and edited the blog Trust on Trial, which covers on California trust and estate litigation.  He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association. Thank you for listening to Trust Me!

Inheritance forgery can take many forms, including phony estate planning documents that redirect assets to a scammer and fake deeds that spring the family home from the decedent's estate.  Forgery used to be a crime that could result in the death penalty.  But in the mid-twentieth century, concern about forgery waned.  Based in part on the perception that counterfeit estate plans are rare, several states relaxed the formalities traditionally associated with wills in an effort to avoid technical deficiencies that might cause them to fail.   Has the pendulum swung too far?  In California and elsewhere, inheritance forgery may be more common than many folks assume and perhaps we should find new ways to combat it.  Certainly we should keep forgery risks in mind as we consider statutory innovations like electronic wills created on smartphones.   Professor David Horton is our guest for this episode.  The topic of this podcast, his co-authored piece Inheritance Forgery, appeared in the Duke Law Journal and can be downloaded along with his other articles here.   The podcast begins with a tale about high stakes fraud in rural Kansas.  As reported in an appellate opinion, an elderly widower named Earl Field hired Wanda Oborny to be his bookkeeper.  She forged a codicil (i.e., amendment) to his will and nearly ended up with half of his $20 million estate, to the detriment of a local university.  Justice prevailed (after a lengthy trial and appeal) and Oborny eventually pleaded guilty to mail fraud.  Along the way, a murder/suicide took the lives of the two “witnesses” to the codicil.    About Our Guest: David Horton is a Professor of Law at UC Davis. He received his B.A. cum laude from Carleton College in 1997 and his J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 2004. At UCLA, he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as Chief Articles Editor of the UCLA Law Review.  He then practiced at Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco and clerked for the Honorable Ronald M. Whyte of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.Horton teaches and writes in the areas of wills and trusts, arbitration law, and contracts.  His work has won several national awards and appeared in the Yale Law Journal, Stanford Law Review, N.Y.U. Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, California Law Review, among many other journals. About Our Host:Jeffrey Galvin is a partner at Downey Brand LLP based in Sacramento.  He litigates trust and estate cases across Northern California.  He created and edited the blog Trust on Trial.  He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association.  This is his first foray into podcasting. Produced by: Foley Marra Studios

Our returning guests for this episode are Bryan Kirk of Fiduciary Trust International and Daniel Lorenzen of Fox Rothschild, LLP.  We discuss issues that arise when trust companies administer trusts from a drafting attorney's point of view and a trust company's point of view.  This is the second of a two-part series.  In this episode, we review specific distribution provisions and issues that may arise through the lens of a corporate trustee.About Our Guests:Daniel Lorenzen is a partner in the California offices of Fox Rothschild, LLP, and has been practicing in the trusts and estates field for 18 years. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan law school.  He can be reached at: DLorenzen@foxrothschild.com Bryan Kirk is Director of Estate and Financial Planning for Fiduciary Trust International.  He is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trusts and Probate, and a graduate of UC Berkeley School of Law.  He can be reached at: bryan.kirk@ftci.comAbout Our Host: Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Managing Director for Fiduciary Trust International of California out of the Los Angeles Office. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals.  She is also a TEXCOM member and is involved with the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar Association.  

Our guests for this episode are Bryan Kirk of Fiduciary Trust International and Daniel Lorenzen of Fox Rothschild, LLP.  We discuss issues that arise when trust companies administer trusts from a drafting attorney's point of view and a trust company's point of view.  This is a two-part series.  In the first episode, we discuss the need for a corporate trustee, certain discretionary language and how a corporate trustee may feel about holding certain types of assets.  In the second episode, we review specific distribution provisions and issues that may arise through the lens of a corporate trustee.About Our Guests:Daniel Lorenzen is a partner in the California offices of Fox Rothschild, LLP, and has been practicing in the trusts and estates field for 18 years. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan law school.  He can be reached at: DLorenzen@foxrothschild.com Bryan Kirk is Director of Estate and Financial Planning for Fiduciary Trust International.  He is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trusts and Probate, and a graduate of UC Berkeley School of Law.  He can be reached at: bryan.kirk@ftci.comAbout Our Host: Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Managing Director for Fiduciary Trust International of California out of the Los Angeles Office. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals.  She is also a TEXCOM member and is involved with the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar Association.  

Our guests for this episode are Scott Frasier and Matt Owens, authors of an article to be published in the Trusts and Estates Quarterly called “Let's Get Digital! ESI in Trust and Estate Litigation.” We discuss the ethical duties of attorneys in regard to E-discovery, preservation letters to clients and opposing counsel aimed at avoiding spoliation of evidence issues, and common sources of electronically stored information, or (ESI). We learn what “native format” and “meta data” are, and when you might request it. Finally, we talk about how to sift through mountains of ESI to find the relevant information and address privacy concerns.Their article is a must-read for all trust and estate litigators, as well as planners and those who represent trustees. Today's episode will be eye-opening to those who have not dealt extensively with ESI issues.About Our Guests:Scott Fraser is an attorney at Crist Biorn Shepherd Roskoph located in Palo Alto, California.  Scott is a frequent contributor to CEB, having acted as the update author for  chapters in Drafting Revocable Trusts, California Will Drafting, and California Estate Planning, and has been recognized by Super Lawyers in the category of estate planning and administration.  Matt Owners is a partner at Withers in the law firm's San Diego office and handles matters all across California. Matt is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law, is a TEXCOM member, and has been recognized by Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, and Private Client Global Elite in the category of trust and estate litigation. https://www.withersworldwide.com/en-gb/people/matthew-r-owensAbout Our Host:Host Herb Stroh is a partner at McCormick Barstow LLP, and practices out of the San Luis Obispo office. Herb is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He is past chair of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association and represents the Section on the CLA Board of Representatives. He is also Treasurer of CLA for the 2020-2021 year.  Herb has extensive experience in all aspects of trust, probate, conservatorship, and guardianship conflict resolution.  He also has experience in all aspects of estate planning and administration of trusts, probate estates, special needs trusts, and conservatorships. Mr. Stroh has also served as a mediator in a variety of trust and estate disputes both in Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo counties.

Guests for this episode of “Trust Me!” are Tom Shaver and Neil Wertlieb. Tom served as Editor to the Fourth Edition of the Guide to The California Rules of Professional Conduct for Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Counsel. Tom discusses the process of reviewing and updating the fourth edition of the Guide. He also explains the effort to make this edition even more of a practice guide with  expanded sample discussions and new chapters on litigation and technology. For more information about the Guide, including how to purchase your own copy go to:https://calawyers.org/trusts-and-estates/the-trusts-and-estates-ethics-guide-is-here/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=teCo-Chair of the California Lawyers Association's Ethics Committee Neil Wertlieb joins the podcast to tell us about the work of the Ethics Committee as well as ethical issues relevant to trusts and estates attorneys. We talk about conflicts—who is and who isn't a client, conflicts when the fiduciary is also a beneficiary, and current and advance client conflict waivers. Finally, we consider ethical issues relevant during a pandemic.Thomas Shaver was an attorney with Hartog Baer & Hand in Orinda for over seventeen years, with a practice focused on estate planning, post-death administrations, and related estate and gift taxation. He served for six years as a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section.  In his final two years of that term he chaired the Ethics Subcommittee that coordinated the research, updating and revision of the Ethics Guide for trusts and estates practitioners that the Section published at the end of last year.  Neil J. Wertlieb brings more than three decades of experience as a corporate transactional lawyer, including two decades as a partner at Milbank LLP.   Mr. Wertlieb's areas of expertise include: corporate governance and business transactions (including acquisitions, securities offerings and restructurings); and attorney ethics and attorney standard of care.  He served as an ethicist as a Founding Member and Co-Chair of the California Lawyers Association Ethics Committee, a past Chair of  California State Bar's Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct, past Chair of  Los Angeles County Bar Association's Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee and as Special Deputy Trial Counsel for California State Bar's Office of Chief Trial Counsel. For additional information, please visit www.WertliebLaw.com. Host Herb Stroh is a partner at McCormick Barstow LLP, and practices out of the San Luis Obispo office. Herb is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He is past chair of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association and represents the Section on the CLA Board of Representatives. He is also Treasurer of CLA for the 2020-2021 year.  Herb has extensive experience in all aspects of trust, probate, conservatorship, and guardianship conflict resolution.  He also has experience in all aspects of estate planning and administration of trusts, probate estates, special needs trusts, and conservatorships. Mr. Stroh has also served as a mediator in a variety of trust and estate disputes both in Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo counties.