A Full-Service Estate Planning, Probate Administration
And Trust Litigation Law Firm

Kai H. Wessels

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Location:

San Jose, CA

Phone:

Fax:

408-292-7611

Email:

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Rated By | Super Lawyers | Kai H. Wessels | SuperLawyers.com

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

Bar Admissions

  • California, 1985
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 1985

Education

  • Golden Gate University School of Law, San Francisco, California
    • Juris Doctorate - 1985
    • Honors: cum laude
  • University of Maine, Orono, Maine
    • B.A. - 1979
    • 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

  • 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