MAGEE & AD - Key Persons
Eric R. Adler's emphasis involves litigation of complex trust, probate matters, and conservatorships/guardianships. Eric has extensive trial experience in probate court and is often asked to replace litigation counsel once a trial date is set.
Eric further assists with trust administration and the representation of fiduciaries and beneficiaries in uncontested trust matters, especially matters that have the threat of ultimately ending up in litigation.
Eric's past experience with a more broad based practice, which included assisting clients with estate planning and the succession issues with family owned businesses, including acting as lead counsel in the sale of a business for over $100,000,000, assists him in advising parties in regard to the trust and estate issues.
He regularly acts as outside counsel for (in alphabetical order only): City National Bank, N.A., Comerica Trust, Farmers and Merchants Trust Company, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and many licensed private professional fiduciaries.
Eric is currently on the board of directors of The Guidance Center of Long Beach, acting President of the Board, a Nonprofit that focuses on the mental health needs of disadvantaged youth. Eric is also on the Long Beach Police Foundation's Board of Directors.
Eric is the past President of the board of directors of Family Services of Long Beach and a past member of a fundraising advisory board to Miller's Children's Hospital of Long Beach.
Eric received his B.A. Degree in 1994 from Boston University, Cum Laude, and his J. D. Degree in 1997 from Washington University, St. Louis.
Julie's practice focuses on Trust Litigation, with a niche emphasis on inheritance theft, recovering assets for defrauded beneficiaries. In these types of matters, litigation generally arises as a result of some form of financial elder abuse and undue influence.
For example, a trust might be created by two settlors during a second marriage that is intended to provide the settlors' separate children to inherit their separate property, with the community property divided equally among both sets of children. Often, the children of the surviving settlor end up taking assets disproportionately, contrary to the express terms of the trust. This is also common with care givers and with biological siblings-typically, there's usually one bad actor who takes control of and isolates the settlor. Then in the 11th hour, shortly before death and while incapacitated, the bad actor retains an attorney to rewrite the trust, extracting all assets for themselves.
Previously, Julie specialized in representation of Chapter 7 trustees in the investigation and recovery of estate assets, where she assisted and advised trustees in examining the financial condition of debtors and exposing fraudulent activities. Julie's extensive representation of Chapter 7 Trustee's in Adversary Proceedings for preferences, fraudulent transfers, and post-petition transfers resulted in recovery of substantial assets for defrauded creditors. She is an experienced negotiator who frequently prepared, filed and argued motions before bankruptcy judges in all stages of adversary proceedings, including preferences, fraudulent transfers, post-petition transfers and non-dischargeability actions.
Licensed in California and admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Julie is also a California Licensed Real Estate Salesperson.