Meet Lisa

Services

Our firm believes in personalized service for each and every client. Our approach is educational and proactive—we first determine each client's individual needs, desires, and values, and then tailor their plan to best fulfill their dreams.

Estate Planning

We offer a variety of planning services, from simple wills to sophisticated estate plans. We believe that each estate plan should accurately reflect each client's wealth transfer goals and address those dispositions in a tax-advantageous manner. To accomplish this objective, we work extensively with our clients to best understand their needs.

An overview of services in this area includes:

Wills
Powers of Attorney
Living Wills/Health Care Directives
Revocable/non-revocable Trusts
Life Insurance Trusts
Minor Trusts
Business Succession Planning

“My practice focuses on Estate planning, Estate Administration, and Business Law. My experience and expertise have prepared me to help both individuals and families secure their futures for health and prosperity.”

Probate, Trust and Estate Administration

My office will assist you with the administration of your estate after death. Although many assets pass automatically to named beneficiaries, there are usually some assets held in the name of the decedent alone that require the administration to transfer to the beneficiary(ies).

If the assets are not held in the name of a Trust, and the total value of such assets exceeds $184,500, probate is generally required in order to transfer the title. Probate is the Court-supervised process of transferring assets from the name of a deceased individual to his or her heirs. Although the laws in California allow Attorneys to charge a percentage of the gross value of the assets for probate services, our practice is to charge based on the time spent in assisting you with the process and the complexity of the matter. This fee is generally less than what is permitted under the statutory compensation provisions.

If the decedent had a Living Trust, some type of administration is still necessary. Although many individuals believe that having a Living Trust means you do not need an attorney to assist with the distribution of assets after death, this is generally not the case. The State of California imposes certain affirmative duties on a Trustee after a death. Generally, an experienced attorney is needed to guide the Trustee in the fulfillment of such duties. As with many things, having someone experienced in the process to advise the Trustee at the outset minimizes issues later on. Our office has extensive experience in guiding Trustees through the administration tasks.

Business Law

We offer expertise in a broad range of business matters. Our clientele ranges from start-up entrepreneurs to small and midsize businesses. We handle contracts and transactions, including: