I have practiced estate planning, probate and trust law in Los Angeles County since 2004. It is the only thing this office does.
I came to it from the other end. My first six years were probate, cleaning up after plans that did not work or were never made, and that is still how I think about drafting: what will this look like to a stranger in eighteen months, when the person who signed it is gone.
Credentials
- Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization
- Admitted to the California Bar, 2004
- Member, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Trusts and Estates Section
- Member, Beverly Hills Bar Association
- Volunteer, monthly legal clinic on advance directives at a Westside senior center
On the specialist certification
California certifies a small number of specialties directly, and this is one of them. It takes an examination, a demonstrated caseload and continuing education. Most attorneys who list estate planning among several practice areas do not hold it. It is the one credential in this field that is not self-awarded.
How I work
I take the consultation myself. Not an intake coordinator, not a paralegal booking you a second meeting with a lawyer.
And I will tell you when you do not need what I sell. That happens often enough that there is a page about it on this site. Renters in their thirties with a retirement account and no property do not need a three thousand dollar trust, and telling them so has sent me more referrals than any advertising ever has.
What I will not do
I do not run seminars at steakhouses. I do not sell annuities, and I do not take referral fees from anyone who does. If a financial product is right for you it should survive a conversation with someone who is not paid on it.
“The thing I did not expect about this job is how much of it is about siblings. The documents are simple. The family is not, and a good plan is mostly a plan for how people will behave under stress.”
Delia Vasquez-HartOutside the office
I grew up in Whittier and never quite left the county. Two grown kids, one very old dog, and a long-running and losing campaign against the gophers in a vegetable bed I refuse to give up on.