Nicole Ramos Takemoto

Nicole Ramos Takemoto leads the estate planning and trust administration group at Candelaria LLP. Her experience includes preparing all types of estate planning documents for a diverse range of clients, as well as handling complex trust administration and probate matters. Nicole has a particular interest in counseling clients regarding separate property and community property issues, business succession planning, and California real property taxes.

Nicole obtained her J.D. from Golden Gate University, School of Law, where she was a merit scholarship recipient. She also obtained an LL.M. in Taxation with honors from Golden Gate University, School of Law. This advanced degree allows Nicole to design and implement sophisticated estate planning techniques, and to effectively identify and minimize gift, estate, and property tax issues.

Nicole is an adjunct faculty member at San Francisco State University, College of Extended Learning where she teaches Wills, Trusts, and Estate Planning in the Paralegal Studies program.

ADMISSIONS AND COURTS

• State Bar of California (258770)

• United States Tax Court

• United States District Court, Northern District of California

MEMBERSHIPS

• California Bar Association

• Alameda County Bar Association

  • Lawyers Referral Service, Governing Committee Member

• Contra Costa County Bar Association

• East Bay Trusts and Estates Lawyers

  • Elder Law, Conservatorships & Guardianships Committee Vice Chair

• Filipino Bar Association of Northern California

  • Women’s Section Co-Chair

PUBLICATIONS

• “Estate Planning Considerations for Unmarried Couples: From Domestic Partnership to Tax Planning,” Wealth Counsel Quarterly, Volume 17, Number 3 (WealthCounsel), 2023

• “Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples,” Estate Planning Strategies: Second Edition (WealthCounsel), 2022

• “Estate Planning Before a Second Marriage,” co-author with Alice Cheng, Contra Costa Lawyer, September 2021

• “California’s New Decanting Statute,” Trusts & Estates Magazine, July 2019

• “What’s Yours is Mine? Transmutation in Estate Planning,” The Recorder (ALM), April 19, 2019

• Contributing Editor, California Wills & Trusts Forms Vol. 1-3, John A. Hartog and Albert Handelman; Matthew Bender

• Contributing Editor, California Wills & Trusts; Chapter 114, Irrevocable Inter Vivos Trusts, Section 114.11- Uniform Trust Decanting Act. John A. Hartog and Albert Handelman; Matthew Bender

PRESENTATIONS

• “Probate Boot Camp: IAEA Authority, Notice of Proposed Action, Selling Assets”

  East Bay Trusts and Estate Lawyers, September 2024

• “Portability of Estate Tax Applicable Exclusion Amount”

  Continuing Education of the Bar, Estate Planning Institute, April 2024

  “Estate Planning: Know Your Rights”

  Filipino Bar Association of Northern California, March 2024

  “Trust Administration”

  Alameda County Bar Association, September 2023

  “Transmutation in Estate Planning”

  Continuing Education of the Bar, April 2023

• “Everything You Need to Know About the Britney (Spears) Conservatorship”
  Wake Up Call: The Podcast, August 2021

• “Estate Planning Essentials”
  Filipino Bar Association of Northern California, April 2021

• “The New California Decanting Statute”

  Hartog, Baer & Hand, APC, March 2019

• “The Revised Rules of Professional Conduct: What You Need to Know”

  Ninth Annual Luncheon

  East Bay Trusts and Estates Lawyers, November 2018

• “Post-Mortem Planning” - Guest Lecturer

  Estate Planning, Extension Program in Certified Financial Planning, University of California, Berkeley, Fall 2018

• “Property Tax Basics: Avoiding Pitfalls”

  Silicon Valley Bar Association, March 2018

• “Drafting Tips for Estate Planning Documents”

  Silicon Valley Bar Association, October 2017

EDUCATION

• Golden Gate University School of Law; LLM Taxation, With honors (2010)

• Golden Gate University School of Law; JD, Honors Merit Scholarship Recipient (2008)

• University of California, Santa Cruz, BA Legal Studies (2003)