Kai H. Wessels San Jose, California
| phone | (408) 268-2580 (877) WESSELS (877-937-7357) |
| fax | (408) 292-7611 |
| Email Me | |
Attorney Overview Information
• Estate planning since 1993
• Probate administration since 1995
• Arbitrator and mediator
• Settlement attorney
• Judge pro-tem
• Private practice since 1986
• Juris Doctorate degree cum laude from SF Golden Gate University School of Law
• Undergraduate degree in History from University of Maine
• Externed for Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas of the California Supreme Court
• Research attorney for the Santa Clara County Superior Court
• Attorney for Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLC
• Provides ex parte review of probate pleadings for Santa Clara County Superior Courts; independently reviews documents in probate cases and makes recommendations for the judges
- Areas of Practice:
- Probate Administration
- Will Contests and Probate Litigation
- Certificates of Independent Review and Related Litigation
- Removal Litigation for Executors and Trustees
- Trust Administration
- Trust Litigation
- Estate Planning
- International Estate Matters
- Financial Elder Abuse Claims
- Real Estate Litigation
- Commercial Litigation
- Education:
- Golden Gate University School of Law, San Francisco, California,
1985
Juris Doctorate
Honors: Cum Laude - University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA,
1979
B.A.
Major: History
- Representative Cases:
- Conservatorship of McDowell, 125 Cal.App.4th 659 (2004)
- Conservatorship of McDowell, 23 Cal.Rptr.3rd 10 (2004)
- Estate of Williams, 66 Cal.Rptr.3d 34 (2007)
- Estate of Williams, 155 Cal.App.4th 197 (2007)
- Classes/Seminars Taught:
- Santa Clara Extension, University of California at Santa Cruz
- Seminar for Estate Planning Attorneys, University of Phoenix
- Seminar in Fundamentals of Estate Planning, University of Phoenix
- Seminars for Business and Financial Associations, Morgan Stanley
- Professional Associations and Memberships:
- Silicon Valley Bar Association
- Exec. Committee of Estate Planning & Probate
- Santa Clara County
- Estate Planning Council
- Santa Clara County Bar Association
- Estate Planning and Probate Division
- Santa Clara County Bar Association
- Estate Planning and Probate Referral Panel
- Santa Clara County Superior Court
- Judge Pro-Tern
- Santa Clara County Bar Association
- Fee Disputes Arbitrator
- Santa Clara County Bar Association
- General Arbitrator
- Santa Clara County Bar Association
- Civil Practice & Fee Arbitration Committees
- Past Employment Positions:
- Chief Justice Malcom Lucas of the California Supreme Court, Externed
- Santa Clara County Superior Court, Research Attorney
- Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLC, Attorney
- Pro Bono Activities:
- Appealed Freedom of Association Issue to the United States Supreme Court
- Special Olympics
- Languages:
- English
- German
