Sandy Isaac is a Shareholder with Buchalter in the firm's San Diego office with particular experience in estate planning, probate, trust administration and conservatorships. Ms. Isaac is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Only approximately five percent of California's attorneys are certified as specialists by the State Bar.

Ms. Isaac has ample experience in representing professional and nonprofessional fiduciaries, beneficiaries/heirs, and creditors with a variety of matters. When necessary, Ms. Isaac also represents clients in estate, trust and conservatorship litigation.

Ms. Isaac has served our Court as a court appointed counsel and is a thought leader in our community, often speaking at public and privately held seminars on the importance of estate planning as well as other legal topics.

Bar Admissions

• California

Education

• Thomas Jefferson School of Law, J.D.
• University of California, San Diego, B.A., Art History and European History: Russian and Soviet

Trust and Probate Litigation:

• Represented beneficiaries in the successful removal of Trustee and award in breach of fiduciary claims against former trustee
• Successfully defended Trustees in suspension, removal, and surcharge proceedings
• Successfully defended Trustees against claims of breach of fiduciary duty.
• Represented Trustees in the favorable interpretation of Trust documents.
• Represented individual, corporate, and financial institution creditors in successful creditors' claims in estate administrations.
• Represented Personal Representatives in defending claims by creditors against estate assets.
• Represented Trustees in litigation regarding invalidating a Life Insurance beneficiary designations
• Represented creditors in the foreclosure of assets within a decedent's estate proceedings.

Trust Administration:

• Completed over fifty probate code-compliant accountings. Most recently completed a court-approved accounting of a $35 million estate with dozens of rental properties.
• Negotiated and completed the sale of numerous commercial properties, including two 100+ unit commercial properties
• Represented Trustees and beneficiaries in international trust and estate administrations, including clients in Spain, Ireland, and Mexico.
• Represented Trustees and beneficiaries in various trust modification proceedings

Probate Administration:

• Represented hundreds of personal representatives in probate administrations
• Successfully represented personal representative in competing petition for probates
• Represented foreign personal representatives in probate proceedings
• Represented personal representatives in ancillary probates, including foreign jurisdictions

Tax Matters:

• Successfully represented clients against the California Franchise Tax Board in the recovery of overpayments and audits
• Successfully represented restaurant owner client in EDD audit with a significant reduction in assessment.
• Represented beneficiaries in real property tax reassessment matters

• Sandy S. Isaac, Presenter at The National Business Institute
• Sandy S. Isaac, Presenter at the National Business Institute
• Sandy S. Isaac, Featured on LearnFormula
• Sandy S. Isaac, Speaker at the Point Loma Ocean Beach Real Estate Association
• Agustín Ceballos and Sandy Isaac, Speakers at the Colegio de Contadores Públicos de México
• Agustín Ceballos and Sandy Isaac, Presenters at the Colegio de Contadores Públicos de México
• Agustín Ceballos and Sandy Isaac, Speakers at the Colegio de Contadores Públicos de México
• Agustín Ceballos and Sandy Isaac, Speakers at the Colegio de Contadores Públicos de México
• Agustín Ceballos and Sandy Isaac, Speakers at the Colegio de Contadores Públicos de México
• Agustín Ceballos and Sandy Isaac, Speakers at the Colegio de Contadores Públicos de México
• Agustín Ceballos, Daniel C. Silva, and Sandy Isaac, Speakers at Impuestos en Estados Unidos / The U.S. Tax System
• Sandy S. Isaac, Presenter at the National Business Institute
• Agustín Ceballos & Sandy Isaac Presenting at the Binational Accounting & Finance Forum