Practice Areas
Estate Planning
Planning for the future can be one of the most important things a family can do. A properly constructed estate plan can address you and your family’s financial and personal needs. For over 20 years Robert M. Berger has assisted families protect their assets and plan for their twilight years. A proper estate plan will make sure that your assets are divided according to your wishes, and, can avoid having your property be required to go through the probate process.
For most people an estate plan includes a will (or wills if married), a living trust, and durable power(s) of attorney for healthcare and finances. The Law Offices of Robert M. Berger offers packages which include these documents at a reasonable fixed rate.
For those people with more assets additional protection and more sophisticated estate planning may be required, including the use of qualified personal residence trusts, annuity trusts, and irrevocable life insurance trusts.
Special Needs Trusts for the Disabled:
As the parent of a handicapped child, Mr. Berger understands that parents of special needs children have unique concerns. How to take care of a special needs child, whether they are an adult or a minor, after your passing or when you are no longer capable of taking caring for your child is a large concern. The purpose is to provide a means for allowing the trust’s funds to be used for a disabled person which will not interfere with the government benefits that they are receiving. In order to provide for a special needs child, and, to preserve their access to government assistance like medical or social security disability benefits, a special needs trust is required. If you are disabled yourself, or, have a special needs child, please contact Mr. Berger to discuss whether such a trust would benefit you or a loved one.
Probate and Trust Administration
Dealing with the loss of a loved one is a difficult experience. Probate is the legal process by which a person's estate is administered to pay his or her debts and distribute the remaining property to his or her beneficiaries. The Law Offices of Robert M. Berger represents administrators and beneficiaries in Probate matters to bring a quick and fair distribution of an estate.
When loved one's assets are in a Trust, then the successor trustee(s) must administer that Trust according to the Probate Code. Although not nearly as complicated as probate, California statutes do have certain required tasks the successor trustee(s) must accomplish. The Law Offices of Robert M. Berger represent successor trustees in efficiently administering a Trust after the death of your loved ones.
Sometimes issues arise in a probate or during a trust administration which result in the need for litigation in the Probate Court. The most common issues in a probate are will contests where a beneficiary disputes the validity of the a will which has been admitted by the Court for probate, or where an administrator/executor are mishandling the estate property.
In Trust administrations common area of dispute are when a trust beneficiary is disputing how a Trustee has failed to act, has failed to account for the Trust's assets, or, where a beneficiary feels the trustee has committed a wrongful act.
Robert M. Berger has 30 years experience in litigating such disputes. For example, in March 2015 Mr. Berger successfully defended a former trustee against an elder abuse claim made by a sibling. In January 2018 Mr. Berger successfully prosecuted a will contest on behalf of a grandson. More recently, in December 2018 Mr. Berger was brought into a trust dispute ten days before trial and successfully tried the dispute.
Real Estate
Business:
A business lease can be one of the most important negotiations a business can engage. Commercial real estate leases are long term, generally 5-10 years. They payments are often the largest monthly expense a business incurs. Business tenants usually have much more responsibility than residential tenants, including “net” leases in which the business tenant pays not only rent and common area maintenance (CAM) charges, but also pays a combination of expenses like property insurance, property repairs, utilities and property taxes.
Personal:
The purchase of a home is often the most valuable and important asset a person or couple can own. It anchors their future and provides a safe place to raise their children and build a life. When a dispute arises from the purchase or sale of the family home its affects can be devastating. Real estate purchase contracts often contain mediation and binding arbitration provisions in which the parties agree to avoid going to court.
The Law Offices of Robert M. Berger has two decades of experience in avoiding litigation when possible, and vigorously litigating cases when that is in the client’s best interest.
Business Representation
The Law Offices of Robert M. Berger’s business clients with contract concerns include vendors, equipment lessees, business shareholders, third parties, landlords, and business owners conducting business-to-business transactions or confronting contract disputes. Mr. Berger offers comprehensive legal services in creating corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and limited partnerships, contract review, drafting, and negotiation.
Some of the types of contracts include:
- Business operating agreements
- Business Equipment leases
- Partnership agreements
- Commercial property lease agreements
- Asset sales and asset purchases
- Vendor contracts
- Business-to-business contracts
- Real estate purchase and sale agreements
- Employment contracts
Business Formation
If you are a sole proprietor considering the move to a different type of business form like the creation of a corporation, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), or limited partnership you need an attorney who understands the issues you will face and help you accomplish your goals.
If you are considering forming a new business you will need to obtain an employee identification number (EIN), register the new business in California or in another state, and draft by-laws and articles of incorporation. If you are considering forming a new business you are encouraged to contact the Law Offices of Robert M. Berger for a free initial consultation on which type of business would best serve your needs.
The creation of these types of businesses does not have to be expensive. The Law Offices of Robert M. Berger contains these costs by a fixed rate for such services. Please contact us to discuss how one of these business forms can help make your business more successful.
Business Litigation
Business litigation is a complex area of law which includes a variety of contractual and tort claims such as breach of contract, fraud, tortious interference with contract, and breach of fiduciary duty. The Law Offices of Robert M. Berger has litigated numerous commercial disputes involving business, both small and large. Mr. Berger has represented many large local and national corporations, both as plaintiffs and defendants. In the past he has represented such companies as My Traffic Department, Artists Business Management Group, G.E. Commercial Capital, National City Commercial Capital, and, PNC Equipment Finance.
His areas of expertise in business litigation include the following:
- Breach of employee non-disclosure agreements
- Breach of fiduciary duty
- Breach of non-competition or non-solicitation agreements
- Breach of contract
- Fraud
- Insurance litigation
- Intentional interference with contract
- Negligent misrepresentation
- Slander and libel
- Tortious interference (intentional damage of a business relationship)
- Unfair competition
If you or your company is in need of representation in a business litigation matter, please contact Mr. Berger by phone or email.