C6 – Fiduciaries’ Duty of Impartiality and Proactive Mandate Under Current Case Law

Mark A. Lester is a managing partner of Lester & Hirschberg, LLP, in Camarillo, California, where his practice focuses on trust, estate, and conservatorship litigation, estate planning, and trust and estate administration. Mr. Lester was trial and appellate counsel in Breslin v. Breslin (2021) 62 Cal.App.5th 801, Christie v. Kimball (2012) 202 Cal.App.4th 1407, and Estate of Odian (2006) 145 Cal.App.4th 152, and co- author of one of the Amicus Briefs relied upon and quoted by the California Supreme Court in reversing the Court of Appeal in Barefoot v. Jennings (2020) 8 Cal.5th 822. He is recognized by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization as a certified specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law for over 20 years and, after a 5-year term on the Estate Planning Law Advisory Commission (including as chair of the commission 2015-2016), served as an appointed member to (and chair of) the California Board of Legal Specialization.

Mr. Lester has been qualified and testified as an expert witness on the standard of care and practice for trustees in maintaining impartiality between competing beneficial interests in the matter entitled In the Marilyn and Robert Carman Family Trust, Santa Barbara Superior Court Case No. 16PR00419 (2021). He has also been deposed as an expert witness (i) on the standard of care and practice for court-appointed attorney in preparation of estate planning documents for a conservatee in the matter entitled Kanner v. Schomer Law Group, APC, et al., Los Angeles County Superior Court Case No. BC683648 (2020) and (ii) on the issues of undue influence, shifting burdens of proof re undue influence, validity and efficacy of an amendment to trust, and application of care custodian statutes to family friend in the matter entitled In the Matter of: Margaret B. Chappell Living Trust dated December 16, 2010, as amended (Aviles v. Swearingen), Ventura County Superior Court Case No. 56-2016-00479394-PR-TR-OXN (2017). Since 2001, Mr. Lester is an AV (Preeminent) ™ peer-review-rated attorney by LexisNexis/Martindale Hubbell. In 2015 through 2025, Mr. Lester has been recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer™ in Estate & Trust Litigation, in 2015 and 2018 in Estate Planning & Probate, in 2018 in Corporate and Business areas of the law, and in 2022 through 2025 as Top 100 Attorneys in Southern California. From time to time since 2017, Mr. Lester serves as a judge pro tem for the Probate Department of the Ventura County Superior Court.

Mr. Lester received his B.A. degree from Stanford University, his J.D. degree from Seattle University School of Law, and his LL.M. degree in taxation from Boston University.

Stefanie Cutler is a partner with Ruttenberg Cutler Broomer, LLP. Ms. Cutler concentrates her practice in on probate, trusts and fiduciary litigation. Ms. Cutler also handles probate and trust administration, power of attorney, conservatorship and guardianship matters. Actively involved in the legal community, Ms. Cutler serves on the Executive Committee for the Trust and Estate Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and is a former Co-Chair of the Trust and Estate Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association. Ms. Cutler has been asked to speak on estate and trust-related issues before bar organizations.

Sarah S. Broomer is an equity partner at Ruttenberg Cutler Broomer, LLP. Ms. Broomer obtained her undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkely, where she received the Arnold S. Nelson Scholarship for academic excellence from 2000-2004. She then attended Southwest Law School, where she received the Southwestern School of Law Scholarship for 2005-2007.

Ms. Broomer’s practice includes all aspects of complex conservatorship, fiduciary, and trust and estate litigation. Ms. Broomer also handles all aspects of estate planning, family succession planning, charitable giving, and insurance trusts. Ms. Broomer has repeatedly been recognized as a “Southern California Rising Star” in the area of Trust and Estates Litigation by Super Lawyers™, as well as one of the “Top Women Attorneys in Southern California” in Los Angeles magazine. Ms. Broomer is an update author for the CEB, including the following guidebooks: Trust Administration, Powers of Attorney, Irrevocable Trusts, Small & Midsize Estates, and Decedent Estate Practice, as well as the CEB manuals on Handling a Probate, and the Probate Workflow Manual.

Ms. Broomer is currently serving as Trustee of the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Ms. Broomer previously served as the Chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Trust & Estates Executive Committee, and as Co-Chair of the Beverly Hills Bar Association Trust & Estates Executive Committee. Ms. Broomer is the Chair of the Lecture Series (formerly known as the LACBA Trust and Estates Lecture Series). Ms. Broomer received her B.A. degree from University of California, Berkeley, and her J.D. degree from Southwestern University School of Law. During law school, she served as Judicial Intern for the Honorable Aviva K. Bobb, the Presiding Judge of the Probate Court.

Judge Lund currently serves as the Presiding Probate Judge handling all probate, trust, conservatorship and guardianship of the person and estate cases in Ventura. He was appointed Superior Court Judge by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in December 2009. Judge Lund was named 2022 Judge of the Year by the Ventura County Trial Lawyers Association. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Lund was in private practice for 13 years, handling wills, trusts, probates, conservatorships and guardianships, and also served as a Probate Referee Assistant to Gregory R. Gose, California Probate Referee, assisting in the valuation of all kinds of probate estate assets.