Kelly is a shareholder in the Firm’s Trusts and Estates group and focuses her practice on helping people solve problems after someone passes away.
Kelly also works with families and other loved ones to protect seniors when they become incapacitated. Kelly combines her litigation experience with a thorough knowledge of probate law to help her clients resolve a wide range of trust and probate disputes, including elder financial abuse claims, contested conservatorships, will and trust contests, contested accountings, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and other contested and uncontested matters involving the administration of trusts and estates. With Kelly’s extensive experience in helping families resolve disputes, she knows that a successful result often involves keeping the family relationships intact, and she helps her clients work through their disputes at very emotionally difficult times.
Kelly also represents beneficiaries as well corporate and individual trustees, executors, and other fiduciaries in a wide range of uncontested matters, including interpretation of complex estate planning documents, accountings, petitions for instructions, petitions for construction of trust instruments, and other probate and trust administration issues.
Kelly regularly speaks on trust and estates litigation and elder financial abuse issues and has been a panelist for continuing legal education programs for CEB, NBI, Legal Services of Northern California, and the Placer County Bar Association. Kelly has also authored several articles about elder financial abuse litigation, including “Contractual Arbitration: Is It Binding on the Victims of Elder Abuse?”
State Bar of California, Litigation and Trusts and Estates Section
Sacramento County Bar Association, Probate and Estate Planning Section
Chair, 2008
Sacramento Estate Planning Council
Board Member
Sacramento County Financial Abuse Specialist Team (SacFAST)
Member
Placer County Bar Association
Member
Meritas, Sacramento
Member
American Cancer Society’s Hope Gala
Board of Ambassadors
Awards
The Best Lawyers in America ®, 2018-2023, Sacramento, Litigation – Trusts and Estates
Sacramento Magazine’s Top Lawyers List, 2015, 2018-2022 –Estate Planning and Probate
Northern California Super Lawyers, Rising Star, 2009
Northern California Super Lawyers, 2012-2022
Sacramento Business Journal’s Best of the Bar, 2018
J.D., University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, 1995
B.A., California State University, Sacramento, 1991
Weintraub attorneys Carlena Tapella and Kelly Dankbar will be speaking on the topic of “Recovery of Attorneys’ Fees” at the 2019 Probate Litigation Boot Camp sponsored by the Sacramento County Bar Association. Event: 2019 Probate Litigation Boot CampWhen: Tuesday, September 17, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PMWhere: Sacramento County Bar Association,…
Summary of Program As a fiduciary, you may think that all of your communications with your attorney are confidential. While communications between an attorney and his or her client are generally protected by the attorney-client privilege, in the trustee context, it is the office of the trustee, not the individual…
A Seminar for Fiduciaries Summary of ProgramJoin the attorneys from Weintraub Tobin’s Trusts and Estates Group as they discuss the important legal and practical implications for trustees arising from the recent California Supreme Court decision in the Estate of Giraldin. Program Highlights You thought you knew to whom your fiduciary…
Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that 19 of its attorneys have been recognized in the 29th edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Additionally, six of our attorneys have been named to the third edition of the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America, and one attorney, Kay Brooks, was named the…
Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that 28 of its attorneys have been selected for inclusion in the Top Lawyers 2022 list from Sacramento Magazine. Ten of the listed Weintraub attorneys are recognized in multiple practice areas. The Top Lawyers list, featured each year by Sacramento Magazine, recognizes prominent attorneys in the…
Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that 37 of its attorneys have been recognized on the 2022 Northern California Super Lawyers® and Rising Star lists. Several Weintraub attorneys also received special recognition on Super Lawyers “Top” lists, including six attorneys named to the Sacramento Top 25 Super Lawyers (Gary L.…
Sacramento, CA (August 19, 2021) – Weintraub Tobin, a leading California full-service law firm, is pleased to announce that 16 attorneys have been included in the 2022 edition of Best Lawyers in America and 6 Weintraub attorneys have been included in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch. Weintraub Tobin’s recognized Best Lawyers…
Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that 26 of its attorneys have been recognized as 2021 Top Lawyers by Sacramento Magazine, including 8 attorneys recognized in multiple practices. Voting for Top Lawyers was managed by Professional Research Services and was open to all licensed attorneys in Sacramento. Voters were asked…
Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that 38 of its attorneys have been included on the 2021 Super Lawyers and Rising Star lists for outstanding attorneys in Northern California. In addition, 4 Weintraub Tobin attorneys received special recognition on Northern California and Sacramento “Top” lists. Weintraub attorneys represent 16 percent…
Sacramento, CA (August 20, 2020) – Weintraub Tobin, a leading California full-service law firm, is pleased to announce that 17 attorneys were recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© 2021. This year Best Lawyers launched “Ones to Watch,” a recognition for attorneys earlier in their careers, and 4 Weintraub attorneys…
Sacramento, CA – Weintraub is pleased to announce that 21 Firm attorneys have been recognized as 2020 Top Lawyers by Sacramento Magazine. The full list of 2020 Top Lawyers will be featured in the August, 2020 issue of Sacramento Magazine. Weintraub attorneys honored as 2020 Top Lawyers are: Brendan Begley…
Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that 33 Weintraub Tobin attorneys have been included on the 2020 Super Lawyers and Rising Star lists for outstanding attorneys in Northern California. In addition, 5 Weintraub Tobin attorneys received special recognition on Northern California and Sacramento “Top” lists. Weintraub attorneys represent 20 percent of…
SACRAMENTO, CA (August 15, 2019) – Weintraub Tobin, a leading California full-service law firm, is pleased to announce that 19 of our attorneys have been recognized on the 2020 The Best Lawyers in America list. In addition, Weintraub Tobin attorney Christopher Chediak was named the Best Lawyers® 2020 “Lawyer of…
Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that more than 30 Weintraub Tobin attorneys have been included on the 2019 Super Lawyers and Rising Star lists for outstanding attorneys Northern California. In addition, 6 Weintraub Tobin attorneys received special recognition on Northern California and Sacramento “Top” lists. Attorneys selected to the…
Weintraub is pleased to announce that 24 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized as 2019 Top Lawyers by Sacramento Magazine. The full list of 2019 Top Lawyers will be featured in the August, 2019 issue of Sacramento Magazine. Weintraub Tobin attorneys honored as 2019 Top Lawyers are: David Adams |…
SACRAMENTO, California – August 24, 2018 – Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin Law Corporation congratulates its seventeen attorneys who have been included in Sacramento Business Journal’s Best of the Bar 2018. Brendan J. BegleyGary L. BradusKay U. BrooksDale C. CampbellChristopher ChediakJanet Z. ChediakJim ClarkeEdward J. Corey, Jr.Kelly E. DankbarMark E.…
California Trusts and Estates QuarterlyVolume 13, Issue 3Fall, 2007I. INTRODUCTION These days, it is virtually impossible to open a bank or brokerage account, or even be admitted to a nursing home, without unwittingly agreeing to resolve any future disputes with the company through binding arbitration. Arbitration clauses are standard in…
