Guardians Of The (Trust) Galaxy: Trust Protectors Defined, Explained and Explored

Jenny is a partner in the private client and tax team. Her practice is focused on US and international estate and income tax planning, trusts and estates administration, family and closely-held business planning and charitable planning and exempt organizations.

She advises US individuals who own foreign assets on the manner in which such assets should be structured as well as their US tax compliance obligations. She routinely employs transfer tax mitigation techniques such as intentionally defective grantor trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, and family limited partnerships, among others.

Jenny regularly advises clients with the creation and administration of closelyheld family businesses, from choice of entity issues, to the design and implementation of limited partnerships and limited liability companies, structuring tax-efficient wealth transfers and addressing income tax solutions arising from investments and operating businesses.

She also advises clients in planning and implementing charitable gifts including structuring such gifts through charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts. She can also assist clients with the formation of private foundations and private operating foundations and advise such clients on issues that arise in the administration of such entities.

Matt is a senior associate in the trust and estate litigation team. Matt focuses his practice on trust, estate, and inheritance disputes. He has prosecuted and defended a wide range of matters in probate court, including trust contests, elder abuse actions, accountings, contested conservatorships and claims involving breach of fiduciary duty. His clients include high net worth individuals and families, corporate trustees, and private professional fiduciaries. Matt has successfully handled several trials and arbitrations of trust and estate disputes. He also handles appeals and was one of the attorneys of record in Funsten v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (2016) 2 Cal.App.5th 959. Matt is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. A leader in the legal community, Matt speaks and writes on trust and estate litigation topics and serves on the California Lawyers Association Trusts and Estates Section Subcommittee on Membership, Marketing, and Social Media and as Vice Chair of the San Diego County Bar Association, Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law Section’s Executive Committee. He was ranked on Legal Week’s Private Client “Ones to Watch” list in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star every year since 2013.