Confessions of Succession with Q & A

Raised as a Midwesterner, I graduated with a BA degree from Michigan State University. One semester was spent in Madrid, Spain, in a Spanish language immersive. My Spanish language skills secured a job as the only employee of the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County, where I translated for Spanish speaking clients.  After passing the California State Bar, I practiced civil litigation and estate planning for many years.

Shortly after passing the bar, I was appointed by the State Controller to the Contra Costa County Probate Court as a Probate Referee. This involves appraising assets that were inventoried for probate estates.  I continue to hold this post which involves a re-appointment every 4 years.

In 2004 I was licensed as a real estate broker, learning more of the practical aspects of real estate. While I remain a broker, I have not been active in real estate sales but find this background helpful in appraising properties and selling  my clients’ real estate .

During this time, a few of my Will and Trust clients sought me out to help them when they became incapacitated. This led me to discover and become a part of the Professional Fiduciary Association of California in 2000. I remain an active member of the State Bar and a Probate Referee but have focused my law practice exclusively on fiduciary services, as this career has given me rewards far beyond financial security. Helping people in such a tangible way has satisfied my professional as well as spiritual goals in life. I look forward to beginning the next phase of my life as an activist retiree.

Bonnie Burdett is a California Licensed Professional Fiduciary (# 24) and has been actively providing services as a private professional fiduciary since 2005. She, along with Joyce Anthony, are co-founders of Prime Fiduciary Services, LLC which provides professional fiduciary services, specializing in trust administration, conservatorship of the person and/or estate, probate administration and payee services. They added two partners to the firm in 2020, Sheila Bradford and Charley Tucker, as part of their succession plan. Ms. Burdett is past Co-President of the PFAC Silicon Valley Chapter, and past Vice President of the Northern California Regional PFAC Board. She is a current member of PFAC, the National Guardianship Association and is a non-attorney member of the Silicon Valley Bar Association. Ms. Burdett is an active member of the Los Altos Rotary Club, where she served as President 2019-2020, and a former member on the board of the Los Altos Rotary Endowment Fund, including a term as President. Ms. Burdett has presented at PFAC annual conferences, PFAC chapter meetings and at Silicon Valley Bar Association meetings. Ms. Burdett has a BA in Sociology from UC Santa Barbara and over 25 years of management experience in the pharmaceutical and health care field, including 5 years consulting as a strategy investor relations consultant advising emerging growth companies on investor relations strategy and tactics. Her experience includes managing multi-million dollar financial plans, assessing and analyzing needs, managing multi-level projects and organizing cross-sectional team efforts.