Thanks for making it this far into my blog.
Here's my story ...
From restructuring the past to structuring the future.
After UCLA Undergraduate [English Literature] and UCLA School of Law [Moot Court Honors - 1990], I spent decades helping people survive financial disasters — through personal and business restructuring. That practice evolved into structuring asset protection plans and trusts. Not quite the exotic type you read about in a Grisham novel ... but close.
I've been protecting families and their assets since 1990.
Today, I use the same skills to help families build the right structures so those disasters never happen in the first place. Estate planning. Asset protection. Medi-Cal planning. Special needs trusts.
Same goal. Different tools.
After I got divorced [not all things go according to plan], I ran a successful Airbnb business in Palm Springs [exited with my usual uncanny timing] and retired early [some things do go according to plan].
Surfed. Traveled. Mostly surfed. Lived in Hawaii, Bali, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Vietnam & Sri Lanka [I know ... not your usual surf destination, but weirdly consistent 3-4 foot surf].
Three things happened: 1] my shoulders gave out [turns out you can surf too much]; 2] needed early cataract surgery [turns out hours of tropical sun reflecting off the surf and into your eyes dramatically speeds up ocular degeneration]; and, most importantly, 3] I missed community, friends, my Labradoodle [pictured above] and ... family — turns out the two biggest groups of people I met living overseas [young backpackers living in hostels and disgruntled expats drinking from 12 noon were not my community].
Because family matters.
So I'm doing retirement backwards. I'm back in Los Angeles — two blocks from my old high school — helping families protect what matters most.
No offshore trusts. No Grisham plots. Just straight talk and a few stories about what happens when people don't plan.
My superpower? The ability to condense and translate complex ideas into simple ones.
My regular above average human powers? Fluent in Korean.
Call for a free 15-minute consultation. Let's talk about what matters most ... your family.
Here is the boring bullet-point version of my credentials:
Education
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U.C.L.A. English Literature, Bachelor of Arts [1987]
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U.C.L.A. School of Law, Juris Doctor [1990]
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U.C.L.A. School of Law, Moot Court Honors
Admissions
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California State Supreme Court [1990]
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United States Federal District Court [Central, Southern, Northern, Eastern Districts]
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United States Federal Bankruptcy Court [Central, Southern, Northern, Eastern Districts]
Certifications [Former]
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former Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law [State Bar of California]
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former Certified Specialist in Business Bankruptcy Law [American Board of Certification]
Memberships
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Member, Trust and Estates Section, California Lawyers Association
Human qualities
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Empathy, sharp wit [depending on time of day], and widely-traveled, broad cultural perspective on life.