John Golden is a California Certified Specialist in Probate, Estate Planning & Trust Law. With more than 35 years of experience in estate planning, John advises wealthy individuals, families and closely held businesses on all aspects of estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning, trust and estate administration, business succession, planned charitable gifts, fiduciary income tax returns, transactional real estate work and trust and estate litigation.

Prior to joining the firm, John was a partner with Basye & Golden in San Mateo.

Areas of Focus

Services

Sectors

Experience

  • Defended client in trust matter brought by his siblings. Achieved successful result in obtaining an award of attorneys’ fees from the primary litigating sibling.
  • Represented incompetent client and victim in an elder abuse claim against a professional using a power of attorney to embezzle funds. Obtained successful result with removal of the professional as executor, recovered the embezzled funds and worked with the licensing authorities to revoke the professional’s license.
  • Served as guardian ad litem for the remainder beneficiaries of a substantial long-term trust and enhanced wards’ interests by millions of dollars, while avoiding family litigation.
  • Advised estate planning client on designing a plan allowing them to provide a substantial additional lifetime income for his former spouse.

Credentials

Education

  • University of California - Hastings (J.D.)
  • University of Southern California - Los Angeles (B.S., Political Science)

Bar Admissions

  • California, 1978

Professional Activities

  • Peninsula Estate Planning Council
  • American Bar Association (Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section, Law Practice Management Sections)
  • State Bar of California (Trust and Estate Section)
  • San Mateo County Bar (Estate Planning & Probate Section)