Case And Statutory Updates In Estate, Trust And Probate Law And California Fiduciary Regulations

Catherine Swafford is a senior associate in the trust, estate and inheritance disputes team at the international law firm, Withers Bergman LLP, in the San Diego office.

She practices exclusively in trust, estate, and fiduciary litigation. Her practice includes representing clients in will and trust contests, elder abuse actions, breach of fiduciary duty cases, conservatorships, and related litigation and administration matters brought under the California Probate Code. Catherine has experience litigating cases from the initial stage of filing a petition, through trial and post-judgment. She holds a B.A. from University of California, Los Angeles and a J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law.

Jeremy devotes his practice to the representation of private clients, fiduciaries, charities, and their related trusts and entities. He has served as the lead attorney on hundreds of contested matters in Probate Court, including trust disputes and contests, administration issues, conservatorships, fiduciary duty compliance, accountings, elder abuse, tax issues, appeals, and attorney malpractice in the trust and estates field. As a result, Jeremy has tried several cases to the Superior Court in California and via private arbitration.

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.