HSW - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust
- Member of the Firm
Chang H. Chae is a member of the firm, practicing in the areas of estate planning, trust administration and probate, entity formation and tax and charitable planning.
Mr. Chae is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law (certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization) and is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He is a former Co-chair of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association. He has been repeatedly named by Los Angeles Magazine and Law & Politics Magazine as a "Southern California Super Lawyer," recognized as a Best Lawyer® and is rated AV® Preeminent™ by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Chae has served as a member of the board of directors for a community college foundation, as chairperson for a planned giving committee and as a professional advisor to a community foundation. He is a member of the International Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and is on the Steering Committee of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, Professional Advisory Network.
Mr. Chae has lectured to many professional and lay audiences, including the USC Tax Institute, the USC Trust and Estate Conference, the National Business Institute, the Advanced Planning Conference, the ABA Taxation Annual Meeting, and to other professional and charitable groups.
Mr. Chae is the co-author of the following published articles:
"Keeping the ‘Family' in the Family Home: Special Planning Challenges Posed by QPRTs," California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Official Publication of the State Bar of California Trusts and Estates Section
"Power to the People! (An Exploration of the Use of Powers of Appointment in Estate Planning)," Estate Planning, 2008 (30th Annual UCLA-CEB Estate Planning Institute)
"Death and Taxes: No Longer a Certainty. A View of Estate Planning When the Federal Estate Tax Is Not an Issue," 37th Annual USC Trust and Estate Conference, 2011
"Give Me My Money - Now! (Having Second Thoughts on the Wisdom of an Outdated Plan)," 64 Major Tax Planning, 2012
Mr. Chae was admitted to the California Bar in 2000 and the Iowa Bar in 1996. He received a B.A., with honors, from Grinnell College in 1993, and a J.D. degree, with distinction, from the University of Iowa in 1996. Mr. Chae also attended the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Mr. Chae was born in Seoul, South Korea, but raised in Des Moines, Iowa. He also speaks Korean conversationally. He is a former Chair of the Leadership Board for his church, and is an AYSO soccer coach and referee for the teams of his three children.
Eric M. Tokuyama practices in the areas of tax and estate planning, probate and trust administration, and probate and trust litigation. He has more than 20 years of experience and is dedicated to helping high-net-worth individuals achieve their estate planning goals.
Mr. Tokuyama is well-versed in all aspects of probate and trust administration, including the preparation and filing of federal estate tax returns. He also utilizes his tax and estate planning experience to help resolve trust and estate disputes.
Mr. Tokuyama has lectured to many professionals at various events, including The State Bar of California's Annual Meeting, Fall Program and Spring Education Conference, the UCLA/CEB Estate Planning Institute and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Annual Convention.
Job Titles:
- Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust
- Member of the Firm
Erin L. Prouty is a member of the firm, practicing in the areas of estate planning, trust and estate administration, dispute resolution, entity formation, and tax and charitable planning.
Ms. Prouty is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law (certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization), and is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. She is an Adjunct Professor at the USC Gould School of Law, and has been repeatedly listed by Los Angeles Magazine and Law & Politics Magazine as a "Southern California Super Lawyer." Ms. Prouty served on the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the State Bar of California, and is a former Co-Chair of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association. Ms. Prouty has lectured for many charitable and professional groups, including the USC Probate and Trust Conference, the UCLA/CEB Estate Planning Institute, the UCLA Anderson School of Business, Pepperdine University, the Jewish Community Foundation, the National Business Institute and the San Fernando Valley Estate Planning Council.
Ms. Prouty is the author of the following published articles: "Running Away Will Get You Nowhere: New Taxes Imposed on Expatriates," California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Official Publication of the State Bar of California Trusts and Estates Section, and "Withholding Regulations under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980, as Amended," 5 Boston University Journal of Tax Law, 1986.
Ms. Prouty was admitted to the California Bar in 1985. She received a B.A. from the University of Southern California in 1980, a J.D. degree from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1985, and a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) in Taxation from Boston University in 1986.
Ms. Prouty is a native of the South Bay area of Los Angeles, and has competed as a professional beach volleyball player throughout California and other parts of the country, and she was a member of the USC Trojan Women's Volleyball team. She is also a classical flute and piccolo player and has performed regularly with the Brentwood-Westwood Symphony, the Beach Cities Symphony, and the L.A. Lawyers Philharmonic.
Jonathan Dabney is a paralegal practicing in the areas of estate planning and trust administration. He has a Bachelor of Arts Degree and Masters of Science Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Portland State University. He received his Paralegal Certificate with distinction from UCLA and is a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association.
Mary K. Ramsden is senior counsel for the firm, practicing primarily in the areas of trust and estate administration. Since 1994, she has been a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law (certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization). She has been recognized as a "Southern California Super Lawyer" Ms. Ramsden was admitted to the California Bar in 1981. She received a B.A. degree from the University of California at Los Angeles, and a J.D. degree from the Loyola University Los Angeles. Ms. Ramsden has been a speaker for CEB seminars and has written articles for State Bar publications in these areas.
Nina Madden Sabban was a founding member of HSW.
She retired from the practice of law in 2011.
Patricia M. Aguirre is a paralegal, under Business and Professions Code Section 6450(c)(4), who specializes in the areas of probate, post-mortem trust administration and litigation. She has been a probate paralegal for over twenty-two years. Ms. Aguirre is a member of the Los Angeles Paralegal Association and the Beverly Hills Bar Association, Trusts and Estate Section. Ms. Aguirre is also a participating member of the Santa Monica Probate Study Group and is the only paralegal in the group among attorneys.
Job Titles:
- Founding Member of the Firm
Paul Gordon Hoffman is a founding member of the Firm. He practices in the areas of tax, estate planning, trust administration and probate, and charitable planning.
Mr. Hoffman was chosen by Best Lawyers as the 2010 "Top Tax Lawyer" in the metropolitan Los Angeles area. He also has twice been recognized as one of the "Top 100 Lawyers" in Southern California by "Super Lawyers." He is a former Chairperson of the Tax Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and has taught taxation at UCLA School of Law, and taxation and gifts, wills and trusts at the USC Law Center.
Among the many organizations to which Mr. Hoffman has spoken are the American Bar Association Tax Section, AICPA Advanced Estate Planning Conference, USC Tax Institute, UCLA/CEB Estate Planning Institute, USC Probate and Trust Conference, Practicing Law Institute, California Continuing Education of the Bar and the NYU Tax Institute. He is the Co-Chair of the UCLA/CEB Estate Planning Institute. He is a member of the Motion Picture and Television Tax Institute and is on the planning committee of the USC Trust and Estate Conference (formerly known as the USC Probate and Trust Conference).
Mr. Hoffman has published the following articles:
Scott Decker is a paralegal practicing in the areas of estate planning and trust administration. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He received his Paralegal Certificate from UCLA Extension, which is affiliated with UCLA School of Law. He has worked as a paralegal for over 10 years. He is a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association.
Susan Abraham is senior counsel, practicing in the area of estate planning. She began her practice administering probate and trust estates, but has focused on estate planning since 1992.
Ms. Abraham has co-taught estate planning at UCLA Extension and co-authored the article "Transfers to Noncitizen Spouses Significantly Affected by RRA ‘89," Journal of Taxation, May 1990.
Ms. Abraham was admitted to the California Bar in 1986. She received a B.S. degree from Indiana University in 1979 (graduating with Highest Distinction), an M.S. degree in Judicial Administration from the University of Denver in 1980, and a J.D. degree from UCLA in 1986 (graduating Order of the Coif and the recipient of American Jurisprudence Awards in Wills and Trusts and Ethics).
Ms. Abraham grew up on Long Island, New York, and has lived many years in Los Angeles. She speaks Portuguese and has studied abroad in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Terry Knox is a paralegal practicing in the area of Trust and Estate administration, specializing in the preparation of estate tax returns. She has a B.S. degree from the University of California, Davis, Applied Behavioral Sciences, Individual Major. She received her Paralegal Certificate from UCLA Extension, which is affiliated with UCLA School of Law. She has worked as a paralegal for over 15 years.