I need an attorney with knowledge of California estate law, preferably in the San Francisco area. We're trying to sort out a trust with an uncooperative widow. (I assume she will be uncooperative, she has, shall we say, issues. 3rd wife.)

Any recommendations are welcome.

Thanks!

Perhaps reach out to Aeteocles - he probably knows someone for you to talk to.

You need an attorney who does trusts as well as estates. Not all estate attorneys do trusts.

If no one has a referral, check for an ACTEC attorney in the area.

Thanks, Cheesegrits.

Maybe ask David Truong? He's a California resident and business owner.

Calling Aetocles

Try the SF Bay Area Bar Association they have a specialty list for referrals.

^^^^^
That doesn't mean you will get someone who really knows what they are doing. A referral from a bar member on this forum would be better.

I’ve got the guy for you if the mountains above Santa Cruz are close enough for you. When I get home tomorrow I’ll see if I can get his name and contact info for you.

Not sure what part of the Bay Area you're located in. I'm using an attorney for a Trust and Estate disposition in Napa County. The attorney is based in the Napa area. I'm very happy with his work. If you're interested in his name and number you can contact me.

We have a wealth management division at my SF based financial services company. We have a list of SF estate lawyers we give people when they ask for a referral let me know if interested.

Sorry, took a little longer than I thought to get a reply from my buddy with the name.

Robert E. Temmerman, Jr., partner at Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann, LLP.

https://www.tcklawfirm.com/att...bert-e-temmerman-jr/

Long story, but a friend put together a day with his broker, a fund manager firm (manager of managers), and Bob. The money guys weren't that interesting, but Bob clearly new his stuff. He had a room full of maybe 20 geeks who weren't dummies, but were not estate planning attorneys. He started off with, "This will be interesting. Usually when I give this talk it is to a room full of estate planning attorneys in a convention center somewhere." At the end, he said, "This was way more fun."

What was very impressive about him is that he knew his stuff well enough to explain it clearly to a layman. Very sharp guy!

I'll speak with two of the ones you all recommended and come back if I'm not happy. I checked with my old friends in Pleasanton, the one ZSMicheal recommended has a great reputation. I'm actually in Kentucky, but the estate (and real estate) is in the St John's Wood area of San Francisco. Looks like my wife's SIL, also listed in the trust, is going to be helpful. The widow is, I believe, drug and alcohol dependent, and, well, it's a big ugly mess. The main goal is keeping the greedy, corrupt government of CA from ripping off the estate, like happened with my friend in Fremont.