Areas of Practice

Family law

Fundamental and traumatic changes often create confusion and emotional upheaval for families. To find resolution and help with this unrest, we listen to our clients to discover what is important to them and their family. Then, we educate them about the law and what options are available in their unique circumstances. We work diligently with our clients to find balance and resolution and to assist them in making well-informed decisions.

Our family law practice covers all aspects of family relationships, marital and parenting issues including:

• Divorce
• Pre & Post nuptial agreements
• Domestic partner Relations
• Parentage Actions
• Guardianship
• Modification
• Enforcement

We firmly believe that the least adversarial approach should be employed in coming to a resolution, especially when children are involved. Clients can choose from one of the following dispute resolution methods: Mediation, Collaborative or Traditional Representation.

Our firm located in Santa Rosa, California represents clients in and around Sonoma County. We are always focused on our clients. We take a very personal approach to listening to their needs and only then can we leverage our skills, focus and reputation to reach a resolution which meets their goals.

Please contact us either online or by telephone at (707)523-0480. We will schedule a consultation with you so we can learn more about your goals, concerns and interests and discuss how we can help.

Estate Planning

Estate Planning shouldn't be a
near-death experience.

Estate Planning is the final gift we leave to our families, friends, loved ones, and the world. It's not just about dying. It's more about living and giving: living the way you want for as long as possible, and giving to others, either along the way or at the end.

Estate planning starts with you teaching us about your life, your family, your assets and your values. We work with you on a Life Plan that will ensure your affairs are managed as you direct for your lifetime (regardless of disability or incapacity). We will teach you about various legal options and tools available to make sure your wishes are carried out during your life.

We will also work with you on an Inheritance Plan to ensure that your estate goes to the people or institutions you want it to go to, in the manner, and with the timing you want. For those worried about the care of children or the management of their children's inheritance, we can teach you how to guide your children gently, even after your death, with trusts and other legal instruments.

We use wills, revocable living trusts, irrevocable trusts, durable powers of attorney, and more complex instruments, such as charitable remainder trusts and irrevocable insurance trusts, to carry out your wishes. Our goal is to accomplish your goals in an economical and tax-efficient way.

Once we set up your estate plan, we don't leave you in the lurch. Our office follows up to make sure your living trust is funded and that assets are properly titled. After the initial set-up, we'll contact you at least once a year to let you know of changes in the law that might affect your estate plan, and to ask you about changes in your life that might require revisiting your estate plan. (An example of such changes might be a divorce, remarriage, birth of a child, death of an heir, etc.)

POST-DEATH MATTERS
When a loved one dies, we are faced not only with our grief and loss, but with a bewildering array of duties and responsibilities. For most of us, the first time we are asked to handle the estate of a loved one is a great honor and a tremendous chore. There are so many rules! There are taxes, bills, relatives asking for things.... It can be very stressful.

We can make you comfortable from the beginning as we explain your duties and all the ways there are to fulfill them. We'll make certain that everything is taken care of, as quickly and efficiently as possible.

For further information, please see the following documents:

ABCs of Estate Planning

ABCs of Living Trusts

Your Will, Courtesy of the State of California

Estate Planning Questionnaire, Married (pdf)

Estate Planning Questionnaire, Single (pdf)

Estate Planning Questionnaire, Unmarried Couples (pdf)