Why I’m Leaving Litigation…

This letter is one that brings about many emotions for me. I want to share a personal experience that has really guided me toward making a big shift in my professional career.

Many of you who know me, know that my parents (pictured) came to the U.S. as immigrants with very few resources. My father had to repeat most of his education to be able to practice as a surgeon and family practice physician in the United States. Both my parents had to learn English. They worked hard to build up their community. My father established his medical practice in the East Oakland community to help those who needed it most. He worked hard to give my siblings and me everything my mother and him didn't have growing up. My father wanted nothing more than to provide for his community in Oakland and to secure my family's future. He died believing he had done those exact things.

Years after my father's death, I was sitting in a large conference room listening to a lecture on estate planning and trust administration when the lecturer put up a slide to discuss a basic form that is filed with one’s taxes upon the death of a spouse. The form is used to protect one’s wealth so it can be passed to one's heirs tax-free. This exemption along with probate avoidance are the two biggest reasons why people want to have their estate planning documents prepared. I tried my best not to panic when the instructor said that we have two years from the time of death of the first spouse to file this form. Two years is a fair amount of time to accomplish this. The problem was - my father had passed six years prior. You can probably imagine what was now burning in my head – what happens if you don’t file this form in time? What happens to that deceased spouses’ part of the estate? What about if they had a will or a living trust? Surely that’s the document that saves the day – right? Wrong. Without thoroughly prepared documents, those papers may not provide adequate protection.

Surely that’s the document that saves the day – right? Wrong.

After that lecture, I called my mother and asked her if she knew anything about what forms were filed after my dad died. She told me that she had no idea. I asked her to please call her CPA and get back to me as soon as possible. The call from my widowed mother came back fairly quickly. “Not required!" she said. "The CPA told me that we didn’t have to file that form, that it was optional." I put on my best performance to not show my mother the absolute anguish I was feeling inside of me. That form may not have been required, but it definitely should have been filed to protect my father’s portion of the estate. I felt exposed from not knowing what other things may have been left undone. For nearly 20 years of practicing law by that time, I spent thousands of hours helping those in my community who have suffered through catastrophic life-changing events. I took great pride in knowing that I went the distance to fight for my clients and obtain great results. Yet, at that moment, I realized that while I was fighting for everyone else, my parents’ lawyer and CPA had failed them. I felt as though I hadn’t done enough to help my parents in understanding how to best protect their assets. Please note that I had nothing to do with my parents' estate plan - it was prepared by another firm 1 year before I became an attorney, but did that matter when things went undone?

The painful reality is that unless you know what’s in your documents and take proper action at the proper time, the documents that people consider the be-all and end-all of estate planning, can be practically worthless. It’s about having a complete system. It is not just about the documents – it's about whether or not those documents include the proper protections for you and your loved ones. I realized then the true importance of this field. Finding passion in the field of estate planning and making the decision to pivot my law practice is one of the most important decisions I am making, and I hope you will join me in support of this journey. I am fueled by wanting to help others avoid the experience my family was faced with due to a lack of being properly informed and supported.

I have not made this decision lightly, but I am devoting myself to the meaningful work of helping my clients protect their lifetime creation of wealth and ensure that their long-term efforts are executed as they wish. I am transitioning my practice exclusively to estate planning and as of February 2021 and will be taking on new clients who need help with their estate planning needs. If you have estate planning needs, feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Anastasios George Konstantin