About the Authors
DAVID W. BAER is a partner in the San Francisco/Marin County firm of Hanson, Bridgett, Marcus, Vlahos, Rudy LLP, where he has practiced since 1982. He specializes in trust and probate litigation at both the trial and appellate levels. Mr. Baer received his B.A. in 1978 from Reed College and his J.D. in 1981 from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, where he was a member of the Thurston Society and the Order of the Coif. Mr. Baer has been a speaker on trust and probate litigation issues to diverse audiences, including trust officers, litigators, and estate planning attorneys. He is a member of the Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Probate and Trust Law Sections of the Bar Association of San Francisco and the Estate, Trust, and Probate Law and Mediation sections of the Marin County Bar Association. His reported cases include Sutton v Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transp. Dist. (1998) 68 CA4th 1149 and Lombardo v Huysentruyt (2001) 91 CA4th 656.
JAMES A. BARRINGER is a partner in the San Francisco firm of Barringer & Lawrence, LLP, where he specializes in estate- and trust-related litigation, including appeals, as well as estate planning probate and trust law. He received his B.A. in 1974 from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his J.D. in 1977 from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, where he was managing editor of the Hastings Law Journal. Mr. Barringer is a frequent author and speaker on estate planning, estate- and trust-related litigation, and powers of attorney and financial elder abuse for CEB, the Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law Section of the California State Bar, the Northern Trust Bank Trust Forum, and the University of Southern California Probate and Trust Conference. He is a certified specialist in Estate Planning, Probate, and Trust Law.
KRISTOFER W. BIORN is a shareholder in the Palo Alto firm of Crist, Biorn, Shepherd & Roskoph, where he specializes in litigation related to estates, trusts, fiduciaries, and elder abuse, and also represents parties in real estate, corporate, and partnership litigation. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Duke University in 1987 and his law degree from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, in 1992. He served as an extern law clerk to the Hon. Eugene F. Lynch, judge of the federal district court for Northern California. Mr. Biorn serves on the Executive Committee for the Silicon Valley Bar Association and as the judicial liaison to the Probate Department of the San Mateo County Superior Court. He also serves on Avidbank’s Board of Directors.
RICHARD M. BRYAN is a shareholder and president of the firm of Bryan, Hinshaw & Barnet in San Francisco, specializing in estate and probate litigation, contract and business litigation, construction law, personal injury, and family law. He received his A.B. with honors in 1960 from the University of California, Berkeley, and his LL.B. in 1963 from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. Mr. Bryan has lectured and written extensively for CEB and other organizations on a wide range of litigation topics. He has been appointed judge pro tem and referee by San Francisco Superior Court in discovery matters, construction disputes, and family law matters. Mr. Bryan is also an associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates, the former chair of the Bar Association of San Francisco, and a delegate to the State Bar of California, Conference of Delegates (1972–1982).
CLARK R. BYAM is a partner in the firm of Hahn & Hahn, Pasadena, where he heads the Probate and Trust Department. Mr. Byam received his B.A. in 1966 from Wesleyan University, Connecticut, and his J.D. in 1972 from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. Mr. Byam is a fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and is a current member in the Los Angeles County Bar Association Executive Committee Trusts and Estates Section. Mr. Byam is also a former member and advisor of the State Bar Executive Committee for Sections for Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate.
DOMINIC J. CAMPISI practices primarily in the areas of probate and trust litigation and was a founding partner in Evans, Latham & Campisi. He attended the University of Santa Clara, receiving his B.A. in 1966, and the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, earning a Master’s in Public Affairs in 1968. He received his J.D. in 1974 from Yale Law School, where he was an Associate Chubb Fellow and an editor of the Yale Law Journal, and clerked on the 9th Circuit. He is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He is a frequent lecturer and author for ACTEC, American Bankers Association, the National Conference of Lawyers and Corporate Fiduciaries, the Fiduciary Risk Management Association, and the Real Property Trust and Estate Law Section of the American Bar. He is an author with Evan Winet of The Gap Between Current Law and Scientific Approaches to Decision-Making and Persuasion, ACTEC Law Journal (2018). He served in the US Army in the subbasement of the Pentagon at what is now the Directorate of Military Support. He is the chairman of the Fiduciary Surcharge Subcommittee of the Litigation Committee of ACTEC. A frequent CEB contributor, he was the author of Probate and Trust Litigation (Cal CEB Program Handbook, 1981–1982), and coauthor of Estates and Trust Dispute Resolution and Litigation (Cal CEB Program Handbook, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1996). Other publications include Courts Change Standards, Trusts and Estates (Jan. 1988); Emerging Damage Claims and the Right to Jury Trials in Fiduciary Litigation, 27 Real Property Probate and Trust Journal 541 (1993); Alternatives to Litigation in Trust and Probate Proceedings, 42 The Arbitration Journal 30 (1987).
MICHAEL G. DESMARAIS is a partner in the firm of Temmerman & Desmarais, LLP, Campbell. Mr. Desmarais received his A.B. in Economics in 1970 from the University of California, Davis, and his J.D. in 1973 from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. He also received the Order of the Coif, Thurston Society, Hastings Law Review, American Jurisprudence Estate Planning Award. Admission: 1973, California Supreme Court, U.S. District Court, Northern and Eastern Districts of California, and U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit; 1975, U.S. Claims Court; 1984, U.S. Tax Court. Mr. Desmarais is certified as a specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and chair of the Litigation Subcommittee of the Executive Committee, Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law Section of the State Bar of California. He is also a member of the Executive Committee, Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law Section of the State Bar of California; Executive Committee, Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law Section of the Santa Clara County Bar Association; State Bar of California, Santa Clara County Bar and American Bar Associations; and president of the St. Thomas More Society.
JOHN A. DUNCAN is a sole practitioner in Orange County, specializing in estate and trust litigation. Mr. Duncan received his B.A. from the University of Washington and his J.D. from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. He has been certified as a specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Duncan is a frequent author and lecturer for CEB and other organizations, including the Orange County Bar Association Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law Section, on estate and trust litigation and various estate planning topics. He is a fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and chair of the Orange County Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law Section. He is also a member of the Orange Coast Estate Planning Council and the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association.
CAROLINE K. HINSHAW is a shareholder in the firm of Bryan, Hinshaw & Barnet in San Francisco. Ms. Hinshaw received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and received her J.D. in 1980 from Armstrong College School of Law, where she was the valedictorian. A certified specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law, Ms. Hinshaw has been a speaker and author for CEB, the American Bar Association and the Bar Association of San Francisco.
DAVID G. KNITTER is a partner in the law firm of Knitter & Knitter, LLP in Vacaville. He practices in the area of financial elder abuse, contested conservatorships, and trusts and estates litigation. Mr. Knitter received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin and his law degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the State Bar (TEXCOM) and previously served as president of the Solano County Bar Association.
SHIRLEY L. KOVAR is a shareholder in the San Diego firm of Branton & Wilson, where she practices primarily in the area of trust and probate litigation, including international dispute resolution. She received her B.A. in 1967 from Colorado Woman’s College, her M.A.T. from the University of Kansas in 1969, and her J.D. in 1974 from the University of Kansas Law School, where she was editor-in-chief of the Kansas Law Review, Order of the Coif, and received the Samuel Mellinger award for Leadership, Scholarship and Service, and the award as Outstanding Woman in Academics for all graduate schools at the University of Kansas in 1974. She is a certified specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law by the State Bar of California and a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, where she serves on the Fiduciary Litigation Committee and International Estate Planning Committee. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the State Bar of California, where she is vice-chair of the Litigation Committee. She is a frequent author and lecturer in the areas of trust and probate litigation and dispute resolution. Her reported cases include California First Bank v Townsend (1981) 124 CA3d 922.
JAMES P. LAMPING is a sole practitioner in San Francisco. He is certified as a specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Lamping focuses his practice on estate planning, trust administration, probate, and litigation. He obtained his law degree and LL.M. in taxation from the University of San Diego School of Law. He is a former member and advisor of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the State Bar of California (TEXCOM). Mr. Lamping has written and contributed materials to several chapters in CEB’s California Trust Administration practice guide.
THOMAS W. LATHAM has been in private practice since 1974 and was a founding partner in Evans, Latham & Campisi. He received his B.S. with honors in 1964 from the California Institute of Technology, an M.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1966, and an M.P.A. from Princeton University in 1968. He attended Georgetown University, receiving his J.D. in 1973. Mr. Latham is the coauthor of a number of articles on fiduciary litigation and estate administration. Appointed judge pro tem of San Francisco Superior Court in the Bar Association-sponsored volunteer program, he is a member of the National College of Probate Judges and the American Bar Association Estate and Trust Litigation Committee. He is active in alternate dispute resolution and is a member of the San Francisco Probate Department Pro Bono Mediation Panel and the Bar Association of San Francisco Early Settlement Program. He was also a State Bar of California delegate (State Bar Convention, 1975–1977). He practices primarily in the fields of trust and probate litigation, real estate litigation, and business law and litigation.
MARIA I. LAWLESS practices primarily in the areas of probate and trust litigation. She attended the University of San Francisco, receiving her B.A., cum laude, in 1986. She received her J.D. in 1990 from the University of California, Davis, School of Law, where she was a member of the Trial Practice Honors Board and a Moot Court participant. She was a member of the University of California Davis Law Review. Additionally, she is a member of the San Francisco Probate Department Pro Bono Mediation Panel. Her reported cases include Borelli v Brusseau (1993) 12 CA4th 647.
NOËL M. LAWRENCE is a partner in the San Francisco firm of Barringer & Lawrence, LLP, where she specializes in estate and trust litigation, as well as estate planning probate and trust law. Ms. Lawrence received her A.B. degree, with distinction, from the University of California, Berkeley, and her J.D. degree, cum laude, from the University of San Francisco, where she was president of the McAuliff Honor Society and managing editor of the University of San Francisco Law Review. She is certified as a specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law by the California State Bar Association Board of Legal Specialization. Ms. Lawrence is a frequent author and speaker on estate planning and estate- and trust-related litigation for CEB, the Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law Section of the California State Bar, the Northern Trust Bank Trust Forum, and the University of Southern California Probate and Trust Conference. She founded and chairs the Litigation Subcommittee of the Probate and Trust Law Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco.
NANCY M. LEVIN practices in San Francisco in the areas of probate and trust administration and litigation and real estate law. She received her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1969 and her J.D. in 1973 from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. Before joining Evans, Latham & Campisi in 1989, she worked at Solano County Legal Assistance and was the directing attorney from 1976 until 1981. Ms. Levin has written several articles for the CEB Real Property Law Reporter. Her reported cases include Alliance Mortgage Co. v Rothwell (1995) 10 C4th 1226 and Bonnette v California Health & Welfare Agency (ND Cal 1981) 525 F Supp 128. She became a shareholder of Evans, Latham & Campisi in 1999.
MATTHEW P. MATIASEVICH practices in San Francisco, specializing in trust and estate litigation. He received his B.A. from Stanford University in 1989 and his J.D. from the University of California, Davis, School of Law in 1993. He joined Evans, Latham & Campisi in 1997 and became a shareholder in 2003. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the State Bar (TEXCOM), where he is a co-chair of the Litigation Subcommitee, and he is a past chair of the Litigation, Ethics and Malpractice Group for the Trust and Estate Law section of the American Bar Association. He has coauthored several updates of this book, and his reported cases include Conservatorship of Coombs (1998) 67 CA4th 1395.
MICHAEL B. McNAUGHTON is a partner in the San Francisco law firm of Hanson, Bridgett, Marcus, Vlahos & Rudy LLP. He has a general commercial litigation practice with an emphasis in trust and probate litigation at the trial and appellate level. He also practices in the area of business and real estate litigation. He has tried several will contests and has written on that subject for the California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, a publication of the State Bar of California Trusts and Estates Section. Mr. McNaughton is a 1993 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif. He is on the board of the Lawyers’ Club of San Francisco and a member of the Edward J. McFetridge Chapter of the American Inn of Court.
STELLA PANTAZIS is a senior court staff attorney with the San Francisco Superior Court, Probate Court. She graduated from the University of San Francisco in 1981 with a B.A. degree and received a J.D. degree from the University of San Francisco, Kendrick Hall School of Law, in 1984. Ms. Pantazis is a frequent speaker on legal education topics and has appeared on numerous estate, trust, and elder law programs for CEB, the Bar Association of San Francisco, and other professional groups. She has served as a consultant to the 1996 update of the CEB publication California Elder Law: An Advocate’s Guide, and has authored the “Duties of Guardians” pamphlet that is distributed to newly appointed guardians in the San Francisco Superior Court. She actively participates in the annual revisions of the San Francisco Local Rules for the Probate Court as an editor and drafter of new sections. Ms. Pantazis also serves as a mediator for the Pro Bono Estate and Trust Litigation Mediation Panel for the San Francisco Superior Court.
MARC L. SALLUS, of the firm Weinstock, Manion, Reisman, Shore & Neumann, A Law Corporation, Los Angeles, specializes in probate and trust litigation. Mr. Sallus received a B.A., cum laude, from Claremont Men’s College in 1976, and a J.D. from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, in 1979. Mr. Sallus is an officer of the Probate Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and a member of CEB’s Advisory Probate Subcommittee.
IRENE L. SILVERMAN practiced in Los Angeles, specializing in elder law, health care and elder abuse litigation, probate and trust litigation, trust and probate law, estate planning, and conservatorships and guardianships. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of California, Los Angeles, and her J.D., magna cum laude, in 1970 from the University of San Fernando Valley College of Law. Ms. Silverman was the author of numerous articles relating to legal aspects of health care, probate and conservatorships, dementia, and elder abuse litigation. She was also a frequent speaker for senior health care providers, health care professionals, and legal professionals, including UCLA, USC, Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, Century City Hospital, community mental health organizations, senior care facilities, and Alzheimer’s organizations. Ms. Silverman was the chair of the Trust and Estate Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and is a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association (Probate and Trust Section), the American Bar Association (Probate, Real Property and Trust Sections), and the State Bar of California (Probate and Trust Section). Ms. Silverman has been certified as a specialist in Probate, Estate Planning and Trust Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.
CHARLES P. WOLFF is a 1977 cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, and received a B.A. from Wesleyan University in 1974. He has been a business litigator his entire career and has specialized in probate and trust litigation since coming to Evans, Latham & Campisi in 1985. Currently, he serves as co-chair of the Litigation Subcommittee of the Probate and Trust Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco. He has spoken on topics of interest to estate planners and litigators in the Bay Area and participated in the formation of the Pro Bono Mediation Panel of the San Francisco Probate Department. His reported cases include Alliance Mortgage Co. v Rothwell (1995) 10 C4th 1226, Creighton Univ. v Kleinfeld (ED Cal 1995) 919 F Supp 1421, and Roberts v Elaine Powers Figure Salons, Inc. (9th Cir 1983) 708 F2d 1476.
ANDREW ZABRONSKY practices primarily in the area of trust and estate litigation. He obtained his B.A. from Union College in 1980 and his J.D. from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, in 1984. He joined Evans, Latham & Campisi, in 1994 and became a shareholder in 1998. He is an active participant in the San Francisco Probate Department Pro Bono Mediation Panel. He is the author of Out-of-State Practitioners in Our Midst? The Impact of Birbrower and Estate of Condon, California Trusts and Estates Quarterly (1998). His reported cases include Estate of Condon (1998) 65 CA4th 1138; Conservatorship of Coombs (1998) 67 CA4th 1395; and Andrews v United Airlines (9th Cir 1994) 24 F3d 39.
About the 2023 Update Authors
DOMINIC J. CAMPISI, update coauthor, is Of Counsel with Johnston, Kinney & Zulaica, LLP, San Francisco. See his biography in the About the Authors section of this book.
JAMIE B. HERREN, update coauthor of chapters 2 and 22, is a private wealth services attorney in Holland & Knight’s San Francisco office. She is a litigator, patent attorney, and seasoned trial attorney whose practice focuses on managing complex assets, technology, digital assets and intellectual property (IP), from wealth and tax planning to litigation and licensing. Ms. Herren’s experience includes high-value trust litigation and IP litigation in state and federal courts. Having served as in-house counsel, she values business ideals and advocates for early implementation of dispute avoidance and resolution strategies. She represents individuals and fiduciaries who manage unique assets, including trademarks, rights of publicity, cryptocurrencies, and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
JANET M. LI, update coauthor of chapter 9, devotes her practice to wills and estates and civil litigation at Donahue Fitzgerald LLP. She earned her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and her J.D. from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, where she was awarded Witkin and CALI Excellence Awards in Trial Advocacy. She was a speaker at the East Bay Trusts and Estates Lawyers’ Trust Administration Boot Camp in 2021, where she discussed trust modification and revocation. She is a co-author of Capacity and Undue Influence, Contra Costa Lawyer (2014) and a practitioner contributor to Black’s Law Dictionary (9th Edition). She volunteered at TEXCOM’s Litigation Subcommittee, participated in the revisions of Contra Costa County Superior Court’s Local Rules (Probate), and presented at Contra Costa County Bar Association’s Probate Department Update when she was serving as a Probate Research Attorney at the Superior Court.
CIARÁN O’SULLIVAN, update coauthor of chapter 23, has litigated the entire range of Trusts and Estates disputes since he began his career in 1998 in the Bay Area office of the firm now known as Reed Smith. He has been a sole practitioner since 2010. He is a frequent presenter on topics of interest to Trusts and Estates practitioners, and has published articles on Trusts and Estates litigation and appellate procedure. In 2017 the State Bar Trustees appointed him to serve a six-year term on the executive committee of the Trusts and Estates section (now the California Lawyers Association’s Trusts and Estates section, or TEXCOM). He edited TEXCOM’s New Case Alerts from 2018 to 2021, and has served as the chair of TEXCOM’s Litigation and Incapacity subcommittees. He received his undergraduate degree in Economics from University College Dublin, Ireland, and his law degree from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco.
EVAN DARWIN WINET, update coauthor, practices in San Francisco, in the areas of trust and estate litigation. He received a B.A. from Vassar College in 1993, an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1995, a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2001, and a J.D. from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, in 2012. He joined Evans, Latham & Campisi in 2013 and Johnston, Kinney & Zulaica LLP, San Francisco, in 2017. He is the author of After Beckwith: An Update on the Interference with Inheritance Tort in California, California Trust and Estates Quarterly (2021), and a coauthor of Undue Influence: The Gap Between Current Law and Scientific Approaches to Decision-Making and Persuasion, ACTEC Law Journal (2018).
