Kelly E. Dankbar

Shareholder


Sacramento

916.558.6061

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

SCBA Probate & Estate Planning Section Boot Camp

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,…

  • When: Sep 17, 2019

Managing Risk: How To Protect Yourself In A Post-Giraldin World

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…

  • When:

35 Weintraub Attorneys Named to 2021 Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists; Firm Retains Highest Percentage of Sacramento Top 25 List

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…

33 Weintraub Tobin Attorneys Named to 2020 Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists; Retain Highest Percentage of Sacramento Top 25 List

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…