Law Offices of Susan B Geffen

Before we called Susan, everything was CHAOS. I knew there were some ways to protect my parents assets while getting them the help that they would eventually need, but it was impossible to navigate on my own and I didn't feel Legal Zoom was the best option,

My father saw Susans ads in the paper and we attended one of her seminars and walked away with much more direction...Then finally decided to call Susan, hoping she could help us. I felt we needed a lawyer we would trust, who specializes in what we need and Susan seemd to be completely on top of her game. I got a good vibe from her and felt she was genuinely compassionate about elder care and knew what we needed.

I also felt like Susan had a very ethical way of figuring our needs out. She read us correctly and gave us the peace of mind we were desperately needing, and we did it at the correct time.

She put together a trust for my parents and asset protection for all of us. She worked quickly and we are now protected and I will be able to care for both of my parents if need be without any of the complications I saw coming had we not called a lawyer.

Susan was perfect and we are exteremly pleased with the outcome.

I would highly recommend Susan to any Gen X-er from The South Bay who cares about their aging parents and protectiing the assets they have worked so hard to have. Trust me, you are better off in the end...And Susan is the lawyer for you!

Susan handled our irrevocable trust in 2017 and throughout the process, we learned of errors/omissions in her work product. For example, we later found out that property titles that should have been transferred to the new trust were not. Another example is that the schedule of property had missing information and she simply told us to just add it ourselves. While technically correct, it was just sloppy work.

When I reached out to her when our parents passed away for a little advice on her previous work product, she wanted and additional $600 per hour, minimum of 5 hours to just help fix what she didn't do right the first time.

I don't think she is a bad person or shady, but she is really sloppy and doesn't have good communication to her clients after her work is done.

Susan Geffen was a referral from another attorney to represent us in a Trust matter in Orange County California. She oversaw the case with a great deal of professionalism, compassion, and dedication. It was a difficult case for me personally and it was important to understand where I stood in the process and the communication from Susan and her team was impressive. I would highly recommend her to all.

As friendly as a rusty tack, and as useful as a flat tire.

I am envious of those that gave Ms Geffen a good review, but I am not able to do the same.

I reached out to Ms Geffen to work on a number of trust related issues, but her curt emails and lack of empathy suggest that she was not able or willing to help me.
She seemed, in fact, aggressively disinterested in working with me.

Perhaps the next book she writes can be on 'bedside manner' for lawyers. The research might prove beneficial.

Went to see her for a one on one consultation years ago. She answered my questions in a straightforward manner. Years later attended one of her free educational 2 hr seminars. Post pandemic I don't know if she still holds these. If so updating for pandemic related geriatric legal issues would be helpful. Anyway she demonstrated a broad knowledge of the various areas and issues that can arise w/r/t the law in CA. I also can't recall if she had a fiduciary speaker but if not that would be helpful.

Susan gave me the best service possible, I am forever grateful for her knowledge and understanding of the court system and legal terms. I initially phoned her office and also emailed her, within minutes I was given an appointment. I had phoned nine other lawyers before her and she not only returned my call promptly, she listened intently to my situation and was so compassionate. I am planning to hire her and will continue to lean on her for her brilliance. Her knowledge of elder care abuse and the court system you can tell is her "wheel house" you will not be disappointed in her expertise, if you need someone that's passionate, kind and smart when it comes to your family member, CALL SUSAN! thank you from the bottom of my heart I know I will win my case!

Just after our mom died, Ms. Geffen abruptly QUIT as our family Trustee. Not only did she leave incomplete and confusing Trust paperwork - she was belligerent and uncooperative when our replacement attorney tried to make sense of what she had done. Our family, already in a vulnerable position, now was left with her mess. She broke her promise to our mom to manage the Trust to avoid sibling conflict.

Susan Geffen earns two stars because she was personally very kind to our mom and mom adored her. For that we are grateful to her.

Professionally, she is a different story. Although Ms. Geffen's resignation ultimately worked out in our favor because we retained a significantly more competent attorney, (and I can't imagine the poor result we'd have with her) - it was a chaotic and disappointing experience.

Susan was phenomenal in assisting me with matters pertaining to my role as an agent for an incapacitated family member. She was actually referred to me by our trust lawyer. When an issue arose with a family member, Susan immediately jumped in and went to work for us, quickly addressing and resolving the matter. I will definitely be returning to Susan again in the future to represent us for any other matters pertaining to elder law, trust and probate law, conservatorships, and/or litigation. I highly recommend Susan to anyone who is in need of a good lawyer, who is seasoned and highly effective. Susan was such a huge relief to us and truly made our life easy. She is highly reliable, responsive, extremely knowledgeable, well-versed, professional, and very courteous.

I paid Susan Geffen $5,000 to create trusts/last wills for my husband and myself. After witnessing needless delays, carelessness and neglect I fired her and requested a refund. The Geffen, however, can't stomach the thought of relinquishing money. Instead, she kept the money and sent me incomplete documents riddled with errors that cannot possibly be used.

We first met on December 29, 2017. She asked for very general information, stating she preferred to gather the details as meetings progressed. She wanted the whole fee of $5,000 paid up front. We'd meet again around January 20th, she said.

The week of January 20th passed with no word from Susan, so I called her within the first week of February. She glossed over her previously promised call, but said the documents would be ready for review in a week.

February passed, and again no word from Susan. In early March I received a call from a paralegal who asked the same questions I had already answered last December. I wondered why a paralegal I did not know or approve of was suddenly tasked with my project.

The rest of March passed, again with no word from Susan. By April 2nd I'd had enough. I called The Geffen and we argued. I complained about the delays, the empty promises of completed drafts and relegating my project to a paralegal. True to her modus operandi thus far, she said the trusts were almost complete--I'd have them within days. And anyway, it was my fault her paralegal couldn't finish. I had not given him vital information he needed. For example, I had not given him the list of charities I wanted to support through the California Community Foundation (CCF). (Founded in 1915, the CCF is a venerable nonprofit whose sole purpose is to distribute monies to charities from donors, living and deceased.) CCF's in-house lawyer, William Strickland, had instructed me to give the list to him, NOT name individual charities in the trust. This is because a donor's charitable preferences change, and adjustments made more easily via CCF. "Wrong," insists She-Who-Is-Always-Right.

I told Susan I did not want to work with her any longer and asked for a refund. She hung up on me. And why not? She already had the money. However there remained one sticky legal dilemma--the client still had no trusts. I can only imagine the in-office frenzy that day as she, her paralegal and her office staff quickly patched together what little content they had, packaged it into trust documents and shipped it UPS. Finally! I actually got documents from The Geffen within a week!

As might be imagined they are a mess--missing important details and directives, and loaded with errors, as I knew they would be.

Final Thoughts: Squeezed within the obtuse, long-winded legalese of any trust document is the story of your life. It's a reflection of what you've created, believed in, loved and honored. It's a last chance to do something great, to pass your legacy on. My hope is that you find a lawyer with integrity, one who will not squander so important and personal a mission as mine did.

My family had an emergency with my mom which caused us to seek advice and finally a conservatorship for her. I can't thank Susan enough for advice, guidance, referrals and legal expertise. We now have mom in a safe place and legal issues behind us. Thank you Susan for digging in and helping me deal with all the complicated issues.