Why Clients Choose Us

Generally clients come to see us for... Information, planning, or help navigating a crisis.

An Overview of Services
  • Difference Between Living Trusts & Wills

    What's the difference? One little word… Probate! In general, administration of a living trust is less expensive, takes less time, and is more private than probate. Trust administration is much less costly. >> Read More

  • Incapacity & Conservatorship

    A conservator is an agent appointed by the court to oversee your finances or make personal decisions on your behalf. Conservatorship differs from Power of Attorney in that it requires...
    >> Read More

  • Probate vs Trust Administration

    There are key distinctions between a will, which requires a process called probate, and a trust. It is my job to help you determine the optimal solution and a review of some of the basics will help.
    >> Read More

What Clients Have to Say

“There were so many different ways to accomplish my objectives, and Diane was able to translate that into the legal language that would stand up in court.”

– Linda Stabler, Los Gatos

Recent Posts

  • Does my A-B Trust Still Make Sense?

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    Back in April and May, when we began this series, we looked at ways in which old trusts may be akin to a leaky bucket and covered examples of how I can plug the leaks to save a client’s money from draining away. If you missed those posts, they are worth circling back for a […]

  • The Interrobang – The Little Punctuation that Could

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    In last month’s post, I was delighted to find myself in want of an interrobang at the end of a sentence. Do you know what an interrobang is? Well, it got me thinking that you might want to take a bit of a detour into something non-legal for a minute. Although, you will find, this […]

  • Update Your Trust – A Cautionary Tale

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    As you may remember, last month we looked at Mrs. Smith, who came to see me for a very benign reason. Oh, what a difference THAT meeting made! What began as a simple visit became quite rewarding once I showed her that we could modify her trust in a way that would save her children […]

  • Capital Gains – BIG Hole in Your Trust?

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    Let’s begin with a simple Q & A… QUESTION:  How could the terms of my trust increase capital gains tax? ANSWER:  If you have a trust drafted prior to 2012, you may have an old trust that was drafted to minimize estate tax at the expense of increasing capital gains tax.  If you fail to update […]