Certified by CA State Bar as a legal specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law.
Beti Bergman is an attorney and counselor at law dedicated to serving her clients with judgment, courtesy, and diligence. In 1997, she started her legal career as a business litigator and then joined the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office in 2003 where she was civil litigator handling nuisance abatement matters. When Beti became a mother, the importance of caring for a family and assuring the protection of family values and assets became of utmost importance in her life. Beti started her own private practice in probate, trusts, and estates. She began applying her legal skills to help families preserve their assets and values and make important legal decisions for themselves and those they love.
Her now thriving law practice focuses exclusively on probate, trust and estate administration, conservatorships, estate planning, and litigation, such as, elder abuse, fraud, will and trust contests, and beneficiary rights. Beti is extremely passionate in these areas of law. Estates can go awry due to poor planning or rogue family members or neighbors who take advantage of an elderly loved one, either by influencing them to bequest assets to them or by misappropriating property once they gain control over an estate. Beti has the keen analytical skills to untangle a complicated estate and has the enthusiasm to vigorously pursue correction of these wrongs. Because she administers and litigates trusts and estates, she knows how to devise an estate plan that will avoid common pitfalls and vulnerabilities at the back end. Because she prepares estate plans, Beti understands the direction that an estate plan was supposed to take when families approach her with a misdirected will or trust. And, the most important trait that Beti has in this field is that she knows how to talk to families as real people and not just in “legalese.”
Beti received her Juris Doctorate from UC Davis School of Law, where she was a member of law review. She also earned a Master of Science degree in applied mathematics from Long Beach State with distinction, and a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematics from UCLA.
Throughout her legal career, Beti has been active in the community. She actively serves on the board of the Asian Pacific American Women Lawyers' Alliance and has served on the board of the Multi-Cultural Bar Alliance and the UCLA Asian Pacific Alumni Board of Directors. She is also a past president of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers' Association, where she served on the Board of Governors for eight years and headed up the virtual reality trial skills workshop for four years.
Beti also serves on the Los Angeles Superior Court Probate Volunteer Panel of attorneys and the court’s Guardianship Volunteer Panel. She has also worked as a volunteer mediator in Torrance Court. Her speaking engagements include panels discussing women in the law, mothers balancing career and family, and preparing for advanced age healthcare and financial care.
Practice areas
Litigation can arise in estate matters in a variety of contexts, such as, when trustees fail to fulfill their fiduciary obligations, a conservatorship is contested, or a elder citizen is a victim of financial abuse and undue influence. Beti Bergman has litigated numerous estate matters and represented both trustees and beneficiaries in pursuing their legal rights.
Probate is the legal process used to carry out a person's will after their death; a probate attorney advises you on how to perform the steps in the process. In general, once you have identified and collected the dead person's belongings, including their money, property, and other assets, you pay the person's debts and taxes. Once all debts have been paid, you distribute their money and property according to the language of the will. If there is no will, then intestacy laws apply.
A trust is an arrangement whereby someone owns and manages money or property for another person's benefit. A trustee has decision-making authority over the trust property, but no court is involved in the trustee's action–the person who creates the trust defines the scope of the trustee's power. There are many different trust types, including living trusts, special needs trusts, and inheritance protection trusts.
"Estate" is the legal term used to define your property and money. Beti Bergman advised you about different strategies you can use to transfer your belongings after you die. By planning your estate, you can maximize its value by minimizing taxes and eliminating court costs and interference. Beti Bergman helps you control and protect your estate during your lifetime, by writing documents that allow you to transfer property and money to beneficiaries of your choice.
Beti Bergman has expertise in drafting powers of attorney to make sure the decision-making authority you are giving someone matches what you have in mind. A power of attorney is a document you sign to give someone else the right to make legal decisions for you. You determine the decision makers' authority by the language used in the power of attorney; you can limit it to health matters, financial issues, or any combination of powers that suits your needs.
Languages spoken
Taiwanese
3220 Sepulveda Blvd
Suite 203
Torrance, CA, 90505
State | Status | Acquired | Updated |
---|---|---|---|
CA | Active | 1997 | 06/07/2022 |
Legal answers | 0 |
Legal guides | 0 |
Award name | Grantor | Date Granted |
---|---|---|
Super Lawyer | Super Lawyers | 2019 |
Super Lawyer | Super Lawyers | 2018 |
Advocate Designation | National Institute for Trial Advocacy | 2015 |
Certified Specialist - Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law | State Bar of California | 2014 |
Title | Company name | Duration |
---|---|---|
Founder | Peninsula Law | 2006 - Present |
Deputy City Attorney | Los Angeles City Attorney's Office | 2002 - 2005 |
Association name | Position name | Duration |
---|---|---|
Torrance Memorial Medical Center | Professional Advisory Council | 2017 - Present |
NITA (National Institute of Trial Advocacy) | Faculty Teacher | 2017 - Present |
LA County Bar Trust & Estates Executive Committee | Executive Committee Member | 2017 - Present |
South Bay Bar Association (LA) | Probate Co-Chair | 2016 - Present |
South Bay Inn of Court | Member | 2016 - Present |
Los Angeles County Bar Association | LRS Advisory Committee | 2016 - Present |
Long Beach Bar Association | Member | 2013 - Present |
Los Angeles Superior Court | Probate Court Volunteer Panel (PVP Counsel) | 2008 - Present |
State Bar of California | Trust & Estates Member | 2008 - Present |
Asian Pacific American Women Lawyers Association | Immediate Past-President | 2000 - Present |
Los Angeles County Bar Association, Trusts and Estates Section | Member | 1998 - Present |
Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association | Past President, Officer, & Board of Governors | 2001 - 2008 |
UCLA Asian Pacific Alumni | Board of Directors | 2001 - 2003 |
Publication name | Title | Date |
---|---|---|
Beach Reporter | "Peninsula Law's Beti Bergman: Passionately Protecting Family Values and Assets" | 2014 |
Peninsula People | "Peninsula Law: Trusted Counsel for Life and Legacy" | 2013 |
Peninsula People | "Women in Business" | 2013 |
Peninsula People | "Peninsula Law's Beti Bergman: Starter and Finisher" | 2013 |
Second Act, | "Are You Prepared to Care for Your Aging Parents" | 2011 |
Peninsula People | "Peninsula Law" | 2011 |
Reuters Money | "Will(ing) or not: 3 reasons to revisit your estate planning" | 2011 |
Hitched | "Dying Husband Wants to Give Everything to Children of First Marriage" | 2011 |
Hitched | "Avoid Future Marriage Strain by Having a Plan for Aging Relatives" | 2011 |
he RetailMeNot Insider | "Age-Old Problem" | 2011 |
School name | Degree | Graduated |
---|---|---|
University of California at Davis School of Law | JD - Juris Doctor | 1997 |
California State University, Long Beach | MS - Master of Science | 1993 |
University of California - Los Angeles | BS - Bachelor of Science | 1988 |
Conference name | Title | Date |
---|---|---|
Conservatorship Basics 101” | Webcast about the basics of conservatorships. | 2019 |
Welcome to EPIC and How to Take the Specialization Exam” | How to take the Probate Specialization Exam (seminar). | 2019 |
Building Trial Skills | Trial Skills Workshop | 2019 |
Conservatorships, Probate, and Estate Planning | Seminar for Alzheimer’s support group - how get a conservatorship. | 2018 |
Know Your Limits: PVP Training for the Limited Conservatorship Practitioner | Seminar for PVP Attorneys - Limited Conservatorships | 2018 |
Quarterly Mentoring Circle | Mentoring | 2018 |
Los Angeles Minority/Ethnic Bar Association Meet & Greet Event with Gavin Newsom | Meet & Greet - Gavin Newsom | 2018 |
Protecting Yourself, Your Assets, and Your Relationships | Elder Abuse | 2018 |
Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell Power Lunch Program | Civic Education and Judicial Mentorship | 2018 |
CEB Live Webcast MCLE | Drafting Revocable Trusts: Tricky Clauses | 2017 |
Probate Litigation 101: Nuts and Bolts | Probate Litigation | 2017 |
Estate Planning Intensive Course | Estate and Incapacity Planning II | 2017 |
Probate Litigation 101: Nuts & Bolts | Litigation procedures, deadlines, and discovery | 2017 |
CEB Live Webcast MCLE | Amending Revocable Living Trusts | 2016 |
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September 19, 2018
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February 6, 2017
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January 27, 2017
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August 5, 2016
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July 9, 2016
John Nojima, Probate Attorney on May 7, 2012
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse this lawyer. Beti is an excellent attorney. I have referred clients to her and they have always been happy with her work. I highly recommend Beti.
Yousef Monadjemi, Unknown Attorney on Apr 26, 2012
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse this lawyer.
Jon Pettis, Unknown Attorney on Apr 20, 2012
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse this lawyer.
Kenneth Myers, Estate planning Attorney on Mar 21, 2012
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse this lawyer. I have known Beti for over 15 years and I know her to be bright, honest and reliable. I would not hesitate to go with her for legal advice regarding estate planning and asset protection matters, or probate matters. And, in fact, I have gone to her for advice in those areas.
Frank Chen, Probate Attorney on Oct 14, 2010
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
Beti has an excellent reputation and is highly regarded in the legal community. She is a past president of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association.
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