The Necessary Evils of Funding a Trust

Kimberly N. Barrot, Managing Partner | Falk, Barrot & Associates, LLP

Kimberly N. Barrot is the Managing Partner of Falk, Barrot & Associates, LLP in San Carlos, California, where her practice centers on estate planning through the establishment of living trusts and wills, trust and probate administration, and tax and special needs planning. She has spent her career at the firm — joining in July 2008 as an estate planning paralegal and becoming partner in July 2021, when the firm was renamed Falk, Barrot & Associates, LLP in recognition of her partnership. Her focus is on providing clients with quality legal services with the comfort of knowing their estate planning goals are met, and their legacy is protected.

• Education & Credentials

Kimberly earned her Bachelor of Science in Applied Sociology, with an emphasis in Business and Human Service, from Santa Clara University, and her Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University School of Law, which she attended as a part-time evening student while working full-time at the firm. She graduated in May 2013 and was admitted to the State Bar of California in December 2013.

• Recognition & Leadership

Kimberly leads Falk, Barrot & Associates, LLP — a women-led estate planning firm serving the San Francisco Peninsula since 1997 — as its Managing Partner, and the firm’s 2021 name change was made in recognition of her partnership. She is the co-author of The Ultimate Caregiver Guide, How to Provide the Best Possible Care for Loved Ones and Yourself in CA.

• Professional Involvement

Kimberly is a member of the San Mateo County Bar Association and the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, of which her firm has been a member since 1997. The firm also holds memberships in the American Bar Association, the State Bar of California, and the Peninsula Estate Planning Council, and regularly presents free educational seminars on wills and living trusts, common estate planning myths, and paying for long-term care.

• Experience

Kimberly is a member of the San Mateo County Bar Association and the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, of which her firm has been a member since 1997. The firm also holds memberships in the American Bar Association, the State Bar of California, and the Peninsula Estate Planning Council, and regularly presents free educational seminars on wills and living trusts, common estate planning myths, and paying for long-term care.

Azita Rahim, Senior Attorney | JKZ LLP

Azita Rahim is a Senior Attorney at JKZ LLP in San Francisco, where she practices trust and probate administration alongside trust and estate litigation. Her work includes trust contests, beneficiary and trustee disputes, trustee removal, breach of fiduciary duty claims, financial elder abuse, fraud, and undue influence claims.

• Education & Credentials

Azita earned her J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law in 2019 and her B.A. from California State University, East Bay. In law school she earned Dean’s List honors, the Witkin Award for Academic Excellence in Legal Ethics in Criminal Law and Appellate Advocacy, CALI Awards in Contracts, Criminal Law, and Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Certificates of Specialization in Public Interest Law and Litigation. She competed on the Moot Court team in the 2018 ABA National Appellate Advocacy competition and placed first with the Mock Trial Advocacy team at the 2018 California Attorneys for Criminal Justice competition. She is admitted to practice in California.

• Recognition & Leadership

Azita has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Northern California Rising Star in 2024 and 2025.

• Professional Involvement

Azita is a member of the State Bar of California, the San Francisco County Bar Association, and the California Lawyers Association, and serves on the Diversity Committee of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. She is the author of “Filing a Creditor’s Claim: Sidestep the Pitfalls of CCP 366.2,” published in The Trial Lawyer (Summer 2023). Her recent presentations include “Understanding the CA Uniform Directed Trust Act” and “Spears v. Spears: New Paths for Trust Creditor’s Claims,” presented to the San Francisco Bar Association.

• Experience

Azita’s practice concentrates on trust and probate administration and trust and estate disputes, including trust contests, trustee removal, and financial elder abuse matters. While attending law school, she worked full-time as a paralegal at an AmLaw 100 firm serving high-net-worth clients. She speaks Farsi and English.

Jessie J. Burgueño, Associate Attorney | Falk, Barrot & Associates, LLP

Jessie J. Burgueño is an Associate Attorney at Falk, Barrot & Associates, LLP in San Carlos, California, where his practice focuses on estate planning and trust administration. He holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Wealth Management from Texas A&M University and has been selected for the Super Lawyers Rising Stars list in Estate Planning & Probate for 2024, 2025, and 2026.

• Education & Credentials

Jessie earned his undergraduate degree in Management, with a concentration in Public Administration, magna cum laude, from Golden Gate University; his Juris Doctorate from Golden Gate University School of Law; and his Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Wealth Management from Texas A&M University. He was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2021.

• Recognition & Leadership

Jessie has been selected to the Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for Estate Planning & Probate three years running — 2024, 2025, and 2026. In law school, he was named Dean’s Honor Roll at Golden Gate University School of Law.

• Professional Involvement

Jessie is listed in the member directory of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, of which his firm has been a member since 1997, and was a member of the Moot Court Team at Golden Gate University School of Law.

• Experience

Jessie’s practice at Falk, Barrot & Associates, LLP concentrates on estate planning and trust administration, and his probate court experience includes representing proposed estate administrators in California probate proceedings. He serves clients across San Carlos, San Mateo, Foster City, Redwood City, Menlo Park, Belmont, and Palo Alto, and practices in English and Spanish.

SESSION 1 – Basics of Funding and Identification of Issues | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

This session covers the basics of funding and identification of issues, including providing clients with detailed funding instructions and reviewing funding instructions with the client as it relates to all assets; funding the property into the trust, including financial accounts, business interests, and real property; auditing trust-held real property to identify the refinance deed-out defect and execute the appropriate corrective instrument; corrective deeds, including how to pull current vesting from county recorders and compare record title against trust documents; and transfer tax issues.

BREAK | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

SESSION 2 – Remedy for Improper Funding of Trust | 1:10pm – 2:10pm

This session addresses remedies for the improper funding of a trust. For financial accounts, the session covers the small estate affidavit. For real property, it covers the Probate Code §850 petition — including examples of when to consider an 850 petition, examples of establishing intent, standing, documents to gather, applicable case law, notice, and after the hearing — as well as the spousal property petition, used where the deed is not held in the decedent’s name, but title is held by both spouses without proper survivorship language.