Nicole Ramos Takemoto leads Candelaria LLP’s estate planning and trust administration group. Her experience includes preparing all types of estate planning documents for a diverse range of clients, as well as handling complex trust administration and probate matters. Nicole has a particular interest in counseling clients regarding separate property and community property issues, business succession planning, and California real property taxes.

Prior to joining the firm, Nicole was an attorney at a prominent trusts and estates law firm in Orinda. There, she assisted high net-worth clients with family wealth preservation, advised married clients with substantial separate property assets, and helped clients meet their charitable giving objectives.

Nicole obtained her J.D. from Golden Gate University, School of Law, where she was a merit scholarship recipient. She also obtained an LL.M. in Taxation with honors from Golden Gate University, School of Law. This advanced degree allows Nicole to design and implement sophisticated estate planning techniques, and to effectively identify and minimize gift, estate, and property tax issues.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

  • San Francisco State University, College of Extended Learning, SF, CA

    Adjunct Faculty, Paralegal Studies

    Wills, Trusts, and Estate Planning: This course covers the role of the paralegal in estate planning practice, emphasizing those aspects most related to paralegal functions. Topics covered include control and disposition of property during life and at death, intestate succession, and federal estate and gift taxes.

  • Hartog, Baer & Hand APC, Orinda, CA

    Senior Associate

    Design, draft, and implement complete estate plans. Counsel clients regarding tax issues (gift, estate, income, property tax) and non-tax issues (separate property, blended families, asset protection, business succession). Assist trustees, executors, and beneficiaries in trust and estate administration.

  • WealthPLAN, San Jose, CA

    Attorney

    Lead estate planning attorney for firm. Supervised junior attorney, paralegal, and legal assistant. Advised ultra high-net-worth clients. Drafted and implemented advanced estate planning techniques such as GRATs, CRTs, QPRTs, ILITs, and sales to irrevocable grantor trusts. Formed, maintained, and dissolved business entities such as corporations, LLCs, and Limited Partnerships. Counseled clients regarding business succession planning. Specialized in California property tax planning and appeals.

  • Law Office of Nicole Ramos Takemoto, Fremont, CA

    Principal Attorney

    Educated and advised clients on estate planning and prepared complete estate plans.

  • Leibovitz Goodwin Law Group, Orinda, CA

    Associate Attorney

    Drafted estate plans for traditional and blended families. Advised clients regarding trust funding, titling of assets, and beneficiary designations for retirement accounts and life insurance policies. Counseled trustees in postmortem trust administrations.

  • Fox Rothschild LLP, San Francisco CA

    Legal Assistant

    Drafted complete estate plans for high-net-worth clients under the supervision of Tax and Estate partner. Managed all aspects of trust administration and probate estate administration. Drafted real property deeds and ancillary transfer documents. Performed legal research and analysis of Federal estate and gift tax law and California law related to trust and probate administration, with special emphasis on international estate planning issues. Calculated estate and gift tax projections.

  • Haas & Najarian LLP, San Francisco CA

    Contract Attorney

    Provided support to one partner and two associates in matters of estate planning, trust administration and probate estate administration. Drafted estate planning documents including wills, living trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, and various nonrevocable trusts. Prepared documents necessary for the formation of legal entities such as limited partnerships, and documents to transfer interests in same, including assignments, purchase and sale agreements, and promissory notes.

ADMISSIONS AND COURTS

  • State Bar of California (258770)

  • United States Tax Court

MEMBERSHIPS

  • California Bar Association, Member

  • Alameda County Bar Association

    • Lawyers Referral Service, Governing Committee Member

  • Contra Costa County Bar Association

  • East Bay Trusts and Estates Lawyers

  • Filipino Bar Association of Northern California

    • Women’s Section Co-Chair

PUBLICATIONS

  • “Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples,” Estate Planning Strategies: Second Edition (WealthCounsel), 2022

  • “Estate Planning Before a Second Marriage,” co-author with Alice Cheng

    Contra Costa Lawyer, September 2021

  • “California’s New Decanting Statute,” Trusts & Estates Magazine, July 2019

  • “What’s Yours is Mine? Transmutation in Estate Planning,”

    The Recorder (ALM), April 19, 2019

  • Contributing Editor, California Wills & Trusts Forms Vol. 1-3, John A. Hartog and Albert Handelman; Matthew Bender

  • Contributing Editor, California Wills & Trusts; Chapter 114, Irrevocable Inter Vivos Trusts, Section 114.11- Uniform Trust Decanting Act. John A. Hartog and Albert Handelman; Matthew Bender

PRESENTATIONS

  • “Everything You Need to Know About the Britney (Spears) Conservatorship”
    Wake Up Call: The Podcast, August 2021

  • “Estate Planning Essentials”
    Filipino Bar Association of Northern California, April 2021

  • “The New California Decanting Statute”

    Hartog, Baer & Hand, APC, March 2019

  • “The Revised Rules of Professional Conduct: What You Need to Know”

    Ninth Annual Luncheon

    East Bay Trusts and Estates Lawyers, November 2018

  • “Post-Mortem Planning” - Guest Lecturer

    Estate Planning, Extension Program in Certified Financial Planning, University of California, Berkeley, Fall 2018

  • “Property Tax Basics: Avoiding Pitfalls”

    Silicon Valley Bar Association, March 2018

  • “Drafting Tips for Estate Planning Documents”

    Silicon Valley Bar Association, October 2017

EDUCATION

  • Golden Gate University School of Law; LLM Taxation,

    With honors (2010)

  • Golden Gate University School of Law; JD,

    Honors Merit Scholarship Recipient (2008)

  • University of California, Santa Cruz, BA Legal Studies (2003)