Show Notes:

Licensed Professional Fiduciaries play a key role in the trusts and estates ecosystem in California. In this episode, we discuss the role that professional trustees play in trust administration, and the skills and experience they bring to bear in order to secure the legacies and wishes of the clients they serve.

About Our Guest:

Marguerite Lorenz is a California Licensed Professional Fiduciary and a Master Certified Independent Trustee. Marguerite is a managing partner at Lorenz Private Trustees. Marguerite serves as Vice Chair of the Board of the Independent Trustee Alliance, a national organization for trustees across the country. She speaks and writes frequently, and she authored the books Ethics for Trustees and Ethics for Trustees 2.0.

Look for Marguerite’s new books, “Luck or Control”, and “How to be a Successful Ninety-Year-Old”, scheduled for release in late 2025.

Marguerite can be reached at mlorenz@mytrustee.net or on LinkedIn.

About Our Host:

Matt Owens is a partner in the San Diego (Del Mar) office of Sheppard Mullin. His practice is focused on trust, estate, and inheritance disputes. Matt is a certified 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 (ACTEC), and he is a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (TEXCOM).

Matt can be reached at mowens@sheppardmullin.com or on LinkedIn.

Thank you for listening to Trust Me!

Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra Studios
Edited by Cat Hammons and Todd Gajdusek

New laws were enacted in 2024 that affect California trust and estate practitioners. Join our two speakers, attorneys Jadene M. W. Tamura and Mara M. Mahana, on this episode as they describe the highlights of the new laws and how they affect trusts and estates practice, estate and trust litigation, incapacity proceedings, and more.

About Our Podcast Speakers:

Jadene M. W. Tamura is a Shareholder and Co-Chair of the Trusts & Estates Department at Parker Milliken, practicing in the areas of trust and estate planning, administration, and litigation. Jadene is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (TEXCOM). Jadene may be reached at jtamura@pmcos.com.

Mara M. Mahana is a Senior Wealth Strategist and Executive Director at Wells Fargo Bank. Mara works with high- and ultra-high net worth clients to review, develop, and consult on estate and wealth transfer plans, taking into consideration clients’ unique values, needs and circumstances. Prior to joining Wells Fargo Bank, Mara was a practicing attorney with 20 years of experience in trust and estate law. Mara is a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (TEXCOM).

Thank you for listening to Trust Me!

Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra Studios
Edited by Cat Hammons and Todd Gajdusek

Complicated clients need complicated planning. And as years go by, those complications may have led to the creation of multiple trusts for the next generation. Children and grandchildren who benefit from those multiple trusts often come to their attorneys and ask, “What can we do to simplify?” The top-of-mind answer for many planners is to find a way to combine these trusts. In this episode of Trust Me!, our guests, Andrew Katzenstein and Cary Robbins of Proskauer Los Angeles, discuss what to consider when combining trusts.

About Our Guests:

Andrew Katzenstein is a partner in the Private Client Services Department of Proskauer Los Angeles where he assists high net worth individuals, companies and charitable organizations with all aspects of tax and estate planning. He focuses his practice on tax planning matters, which include estate, gift and generation-skipping tax planning, as well as income tax of trust planning, probate and trust administration matters, resolving disputes between fiduciaries and beneficiaries, and charitable planning. Andrew can be reached at: akatzenstein@proskauer.com

Cary Robbins is a partner in the Private Client Services Department of Proskauer Los Angeles. Cary provides sophisticated estate and tax planning advice to individuals and families, with an emphasis on the multigenerational transfer of wealth. She works with clients from a variety of backgrounds, including real estate investors, entrepreneurs, business owners, private equity principals, and individuals with inherited wealth. She also routinely counsels clients on their charitable giving and assists clients with the formation and administration of private foundations to meet their charitable goals. Cary can be reached at: crobbins@proskauer.com

About Our Host:
Host Anna Soliman is Trust Counsel and Chief Fiduciary Officer of Fiduciary Trust International of California. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust International, Anna was an estate tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service and also worked in private practice, specializing in estate planning and trust administration for ultrahigh net worth individuals. She is also a TEXCOM member and the Vice-Chair of the Fiduciary Income Tax Section of the American Bar Association.

Thank you for listening to Trust Me!

Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra Studios
Edited by Cat Hammons and Todd Gajdusek