Knives Out!
What You Need to Know About Trust
and Estate Disputes 

Attorneys Jeff Galvin and Jake Smith from Downey Brand LLP will lead an interactive program about trust and estate disputes.  You’ve worked with a donor to line up a major planned gift, but is it as secure as you’d like to think?  What risks does your organization face in collecting the gift?  What if you get caught in a “knife fight” with beneficiaries?  What’s a “Breslin Notice” and what do you do if you get one?  Bonus … you get to play with your smartphones!  Jeff and Jake will use Slido to engage the audience in the discussion.

Our Presenters

Jeff Galvin, a partner at Downey Brand LLP, advocates for clients in trust and estate disputes.  He handles cases across Northern California and in Northern Nevada.

Jeff guides trustees, executors and other fiduciaries who are dealing with difficult situations, such as murky trust documents and challenging beneficiaries.  Jeff also represents beneficiaries, including individuals and charities, who seek their rightful shares of trust and probate assets.  Jeff pursues conservatorships in high conflict situations, as when siblings are in conflict over an elderly parent’s care and/or finances.

Over the years, Jeff has prosecuted and defended many will and trust contests, which often arise from a late-in-life estate planning change that favors one person over another.  Mental capacity, undue influence, and financial elder abuse are commonly at issue in such cases.

Jeff created and edits Trust on Trial, a leading blog on California trust and estate litigation.  He serves in a statewide leadership position, and hosts podcasts, as a member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association.  He is also the Treasurer of Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services.

Jake Smith is a trust and estate litigator at Downey Brand LLP, where he represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries.  He also has a substantial background in estate planning and administration.  He is Certified by the State Bar of California as a specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law.  A resident of Placer County, he is the Charitable Giving Committee Chair of the Roseville Rotary Club.

Prior to attending McGeorge School of Law, Jake honed his conflict resolution skills over years of experience gained while deployed across the globe as a United States Army special operations human intelligence collector.  He was awarded two Bronze Star medals for his service in Afghanistan.   

PGFGS Member: $25
Non Member / Guest:  $40

Registration includes lunch.