Kay Henden

Experience

Ms. Henden worked in the trust, probate and dispute resolution fields for over 40 years prior to retiring from active practice to focus on writing and expert witness work.

In addition to her private legal practice in these areas, she worked as Senior Vice President, Chief Fiduciary Officer, and in-house counsel for three major national banks in the trust and tax divisions.

Ms. Henden has qualified and testified as an expert witness in trust and probate matters in the California Superior Court system.

She has also served as Judge Pro Tem in the Probate Division of the Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County. She has been a member of the mediation panels for the probate and general civil divisions of the Los Angeles , San Francisco , and Marin County Superior Courts, and the United States District Court, Northern District of California.

Advanced Training

Ms. Henden received her initial mediation training at Pepperdine University School of Law, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution in 2000 and took advanced mediation training at that institution in 2006.

She has also received further advanced dispute resolution and mediation training, including an intensive mediation training program conducted by the U.S. District Court and an advanced mediation skills workshop given by the State Bar of California.

Additional Credentials

Kay E. Henden was admitted to the California bar in 1990 and the Arizona bar in 1975, and currently maintains an inactive status in California.

She was a Certified Specialist, Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization prior to her retirement, and has served on the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California State Bar Association.

Ms. Henden has presented and chaired numerous mediation, probate, estate planning, and tax programs sponsored by professional organizations including the California Bar Association, the Marin County Bar Association, the Alameda County Bar Association, the Northern California Planned Giving Council, and the Arizona State Bar Association.

In 2010, she authored the chapter on trust mediation for Trust Litigation, a Lexis Nexis publication. She has written many additional articles and manuals on various dispute resolution, probate, and trust topics, and has served as Adjunct Professor teaching gift and estate taxes in the L.L.M. in Taxation program for Golden Gate University School of Law.

Expert Witness

Ms. Henden limits her practice to expert witness work, including trial testimony.

She is thoroughly conversant with standard practice in the trust, estate planning and probate field, and is an engaging and knowledgeable public speaker.

See Publications and Presentations section of this site for more information.

Complimentary reprints of starred articles and handout materials are available on request.

“Mediation and Enforcing Settlements”, California Trust Litigation , Matthew Bender® Practice Guide, Matthew Bender and Co. Inc., a part of the LexisNexis Group, March 2011

“Nuts and Bolts of Sophisticated Planning – Directed Trusts “, presentation for Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), March 26, 2010

“Practical Problems in Trust Administration”, presentation for Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), January 15, 2010

* “Administrative Landmines: Counseling the (Unwary) Fiduciary”, presentation to the State Bar of California, Section Education Institute, January 19, 2008

* “Avoiding Trust and Estate Litigation”, presentation to the State Bar of California, Section Education Institute, January 19, 2007

“Situs Planning and Transfer Issues”, presentation to the Marin County Estate Planning Council, September 13, 2006*

* “Implications of the Demise of the Death Tax”, presentation to the State Bar of California, Section Education Institute, January 27, 2006

* “Mediation in Contested Trust and Estate Matters”, presentation to the State Bar of California, Trusts and Estates Section Twenty-Ninth Annual Fall Program, September 30, 2005

* “Mediation in Contested Trust and Estate Matters”, presentation to the State Bar of California, September 11, 2005

* “Perils and Pitfalls of Interstate Trust Transfers”, presentation to the State Bar of California, September 10, 2005

* “The Case for Mediation”, California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Vol. 11, Issue 2 (Summer, 2005) Publ. State Bar of California

* “Mediation in Trust and Probate Practice”, California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Vol. 8, Issue 4 (Winter, 2002) Publ. State Bar of California

* “Issues in Interstate Transfer of Trusts and/or Trustees”, California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Vol. 7, Issue 3 (Fall, 2001) Publ. State Bar of California

Additional Publications/Presentations on request

Kay E. Henden

Direct Phone: 818.925.8077

Email:  Kay.Henden@KayHenden.com