Best Lawyers Near You in San Diego, California for Trusts and Estates
In his law practice, HFM Partner Bruce O’Brien’s focuses on all aspects of federal and state taxation, with a particular emphasis on tax controversies, partnerships, limited liability companies, and business planning. Mr. O’Brien represents taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service, Franchise Tax Board, and State Board of Equalization. He also represents clients before the United States Tax Court, and he is a certified specialist in Taxation Law. Additionally, Mr. O&rsqu...
Laura Nichols is a Shareholder in Buchalter’s San Diego office, and a member of the Tax, Benefits and Estate Planning practice group. Ms. Nichols is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization and is also certified as an Accredited Estate Planner® by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. Only approximately five percent of California’s attorneys are certified as specialists...
Roland Achtel is a trust and estate attorney with extensive litigation experience. In his practice, Mr. Achtel prioritizes establishing clear expectations with his clients and maintaining close contact with them throughout each case. Though his legal expertise is highly specialized – trust and probate litigation, trust and probate-related elder abuse, probate conservatorships, trust administration, and general probate matters – his cases are highly diverse. His typical clients inc...
HFM Partner Susan Mercure specializes in representing high net worth clients in sophisticated estate planning and estate and trust administration. On the estate planning side, Ms. Mercure utilizes techniques to reduce the size of an estate for estate tax purposes and employs other techniques to accomplish the distribution goals of her clients. She effectively communicates technical concepts and is able to convey complex concepts in a way that is easy to understand. She also assists her client...
HFM Trusts & Estates Partner Brian Tsu is a Fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estate Counsel and California Certified Legal Specialist. Mr. Tsu represents high-net-worth individuals in the areas of domestic and international estate planning, related areas of taxation and closely-held family business planning. He also advises fiduciaries in complex trust and estate administrations, particularly when tax or cross-border issues are present. His work includes: International Estate ...
Phillip Szachowicz is an attorney in the San Diego office of RMO LLP. Phillip represents beneficiaries, trustees, administrators, executors, heirs, creditors, and conservators in contested trust, estate, and probate litigation matters. Phillip brings extensive experience in all phases of litigation, from initial case analysis and strategy through appeal. Phillip grew up in Morton Grove, Illinois, and graduated cum laude from Loyola University Chicago with a B.A. in Philosophy and Minor in Pol...
Stephanie Delaney is an Attorney in RMO’s San Diego office. With a focus on probate and trust administration, Stephanie helps individual and institutional administrators, executors, and trustees fulfill their duties, including asset management, court filings, and determining distributions and inheritance. Stephanie grew up in Austin, Texas, and attended the University of Texas in Austin. She studied law at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, where she served as both the Vic...
Daniel R. Weiner is the Founder and CEO of Weiner Law: Trust, Probate & Litigation Lawyers. He represents individuals and families across California in trust litigation , probate litigation, contested estate matters, and disputes involving trustees, beneficiaries, heirs, and personal representatives. Daniel’s practice is focused on helping clients navigate high-conflict estate disputes with clear strategy, careful analysis, and steady guidance. Whether a case involves breach of fidu...
Carl Jones is a senior litigation attorney in the San Diego office of The Estate Lawyers . His practice focuses on contested trust , estate , and probate litigation matters , representing beneficiaries, trustees, administrators, executors, heirs, creditors, and conservators/guardians. With a decade of experience in trusts and estates, Carl works closely with clients to efficiently obtain advantageous outcomes with empathy while helping to protect the intentions of the decedent. Carl is also a...
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Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.