Hoffman, Sabban & Watenmaker

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HOFFMAN, SABBAN & WATENMAKER
A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION

LAWYERS

Paul's Photo Paul Gordon Hoffman practices tax and estate planning and charitable planning. He has been recognized as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers” in Los Angeles by “Super Lawyers” and is listed in Best Lawyers in America. He is a former Chairperson of the Tax Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and has taught taxation at UCLA School of Law and Gifts, Wills and Trusts at the USC Law Center. Among the many organizations to which Mr. Hoffman has spoken are the American Bar Association Tax Section, AICPA Advanced Estate Planning Conference, USC Tax Institute, UCLA/CEB Estate Planning Institute, USC Probate and Trust Conference, Practicing Law Institute, California Continuing Education of the Bar and the NYU Tax Institute. He can be reached at paul@hswlaw.com.

Mr. Hoffman's Biography

Nina's Photo Nina Madden Sabban devotes her practice to estate planning and trust administration and the taxation of trusts and estates. She has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Probate and Trust Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and served as Chairperson of its Estate Tax Subcommittee, and is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. She has been recognized as a Super Lawyer for Southern California. Ms. Sabban has lectured for many charitable and professional groups, including California Continuing Education of the Bar, UCLA/CEB Estate Planning Institute, USC Probate and Trust Conference and the NYU Tax Institute. She is a member of the Boards of Directors of several national charitable organizations. Ms. Sabban can be reached at nsabban@hswlaw.com.

Ms. Sabban's Biography

Alan's Photo Alan S. Watenmakeris a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law*. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a past member of the Executive Committee of the Probate and Trust Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He has been recognized as a Super Lawyer for Southern California and is listed in Best Lawyers in America. Mr. Watenmaker is a contributing author to Volume III and is the author of the supplements to Volumes I and II of the CEB treatise California Decedent Estate Practice. Mr. Watenmaker has been a speaker for many organizations including the USC Probate and Trust Conference, USC Tax Institute, UCLA/CEB Estate Planning Institute and the California Continuing Education of the Bar. He can be reached at alan@hswlaw.com.

Mr. Watenmaker's Biography

Chang's Photo Chang H. Chae is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law*, and practices estate planning, probate and trust administration. Mr. Chae has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers for Southern California. He has been published in California Trusts and Estates Quarterly and has given lectures to professional and lay audiences on estate planning and charitable giving. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors for a community college foundation, as chairperson of a planned giving committee and as a professional advisor to a community foundation. Mr. Chae remains active in various other civic, charitable and church organizations.
Mr. Chae can be reached at cchae@hswlaw.com.

Mr. Chae's Biography

Geri's Photo Geraldine A. Wyle practices fiduciary litigation, probate law and trust law. Her practice encompasses complex trust, estate, conservatorship and guardianship litigation, and in particular, challenging fiduciary and inter-generational family disputes and their resolution. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. She has been recognized as a Super Lawyer for Southern California and is listed in Southern California’s Best Lawyers. An experienced trial lawyer, her representative matters include trust disputes involving major real estate companies and vineyards, business owners, entertainers and professionals, frequently including several generations of family members and multiple areas of dispute. Ms. Wyle often resolves these matters informally in a tax-sensitive manner. The conservatorship matters in which she is involved include the most sensitive and high-profile matters in the Los Angeles court system, requiring her proven ability to manage the many challenging legal and business components these matters frequently require. Ms. Wyle has extensive appellate experience, including two published successful appeals, and has frequently appeared as a lecturer and panelist regarding appellate and ethical issues, as well as a range of probate matters. She has also served on the Probate and Trust Legislative Committee of the Beverly Hills Bar Association. Ms. Wyle can be reached at gwyle@hswlaw.com .

Ms. Wyle's Biography

Jeryll's Photo Jeryll S. Cohen practices in the fields of fiduciary litigation, and trust and estate planning and administration. Her practice includes sophisticated estate, business succession and tax planning, complex estate tax dispute resolution, as well as probate, trust and conservatorship administration. She has done succession planning for major real estate companies, prominent vineyard owners, businessmen, entertainers and professionals. Her conservatorship experience includes the most sensitive and high-profile matters in the Los Angeles court system. She has been recognized as a Super Lawyer for Southern California and is listed in Southern California’s Best Lawyers. Ms. Cohen can be reached at jcohen@hswlaw.com.

Ms. Cohen's Biography

Erin's Photo Erin L. Prouty is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law*. She concentrates her practice in estate planning, probate and trust administration, and income tax matters. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. She has been recognized as a Super Lawyer for Southern California. She holds a Master of Laws degree in taxation from Boston University. Ms. Prouty has lectured for many charitable and professional groups, including the USC Probate and Trust Conference, UCLA’s Anderson School of Business, Pepperdine University, the Jewish Community Foundation, the National Business Institute and the San Fernando Valley Estate Planning Council. In addition to her law practice, Ms. Prouty plays flute and piccolo in the Beach Cities Symphony and the Brentwood/Westwood Symphony, and is a former professional beach volleyball player. She can be reached at prouty@hswlaw.com.

Ms. Prouty's Biography

Mary's Photo Mary K. Ramsden is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law*. She has been recognized as a Super Lawyer for Southern California. She has lectured for the California Continuing Education of the Bar and other organizations on estate planning and probate topics and has written articles on those topics for the California State Bar and other publications. Ms. Ramsden was previously an officer of the Orange County Bar Association Probate, Estate and Trust Section and served on the Orange County Probate Policy Memorandum Revision Commission. She has also served on the Probate and Trust Legislative Committee of the Beverly Hills Bar Association. Ms. Ramsden can be reached at mkramsden@hswlaw.com.

Ms. Ramsden's Biography

Loretta's Photo Loretta Siciliano concentrates her practice in income tax and related matters, with emphasis on tax controversies and international tax problems. She has extensive experience in establishing nonprofits, applying for and obtaining their federal and California tax exempt status, and advising on legal issues unique to nonprofits. She has created and worked with private foundations, supporting organizations, and public charities on a variety of issues, including unrelated business taxable income and property tax exemptions for nonprofits. She holds a Master of Laws degree in taxation from Golden Gate University. Ms. Siciliano is also a member of the Tax Compliance Procedure and Litigation Subcommittee Task Force of the Tax Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. She can be reached at loretta@hswlaw.com.

Ms. Siciliano's Biography

Danielle E. Miller practices estate planning, probate and trust administration. She is a past member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts & Estates Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, and has lectured on estate planning topics to professional organizations. Ms. Miller can be reached at demiller@hswlaw.com.

Ms. Miller's Biography

Joelle M. Drucker practices estate planning, probate and trust administration. She has been recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer. Ms. Drucker has been actively involved in the Beverly Hills Bar Association as a member of the Board of Governors and as Chair of the Trusts & Estates Section. Ms. Drucker has also been actively involved in the Taxation Section of the State Bar of California as Chair of the Estate & Gift Tax Committee and Editor of its publication TIPS: Tax Information Perspectives. She has taught estate planning at the University of West Los Angeles School of Law. Ms. Drucker can be reached at jdrucker@hswlaw.com.

Ms. Drucker's Biography

Susan's Photo Susan Abraham concentrates her practice on estate planning. Susan has lived in Brazil and is fluent in Portuguese. She has worked as a translator. She can be reached at sabraham@hswlaw.com.

Ms. Abraham's Biography

John's Photo John Wong concentrates his practice on fiduciary litigation, probate law and trust law. He handles both mediations and trials, and counsels clients on post-mortem administration. His previous experience includes advising on wealth management and providing trust administration services at a major financial institution. A lifelong Southern California resident, John was raised in the Pasadena area. He enjoys snowboarding and playing golf. He can be reached at jwong@hswlaw.com.

Mr. Wong's Biography

Kenneth S. Wolf, Of Counsel maintains a practice limited to probate, trusts and estate planning, with special emphasis in litigation and dispute resolution involving estates, wills and trusts. He serves as a mediator on the Los Angeles County Probate Court Mediation Panel and has handled more than 100 mediations of litigated trust and estate matters, with settlements in more than 95% of the matters. Mr. Wolf is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (since 1983) and is a Certified Specialist In Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law* (since 1993). He served on Executive Committee of the Probate and Trust Section of the California State Bar for six years. Mr. Wolf was a founding member of, and since 1993 has chaired, the planning committee of the University of Southern California Probate and Trust Conference, now in its 35^th year. He has been listed for the past ten years in “The Best Lawyers in America”, and recognized as a “Super Lawyer” for Southern California in Estate Planning and Trusts in each year from 2004 to the present. Mr. Wolf can be reached at kwolf@hswlaw.com.

Mr. Wolf's Biography