Dr. Kent L. Kristof
Partner
Dr. Kent L. Kristof has, for nearly 20 years, practiced exclusively on Probate Court matters, primarily focusing on litigated cases. As an active member of the Court Appointed Counsel Panel, he has also been repeatedly named a Rising Star or a Super Lawyer by SuperLawyers magazine. Dr. Kristof specializes in high value trust and probate litigation, as well as financial elder abuse cases. Dr. Kristof has MA with an emphasis in legal history and an LL.M. in Estate Planning and Elder Law. He recently earned his Doctorate in Juridical Science (J.S.D.), and his doctoral dissertation quantified the economic impact of probate administration on Los Angeles County. Dr. Kristof has served as a legal malpractice expert regarding litigated matters, as an arbitrator hearing disputes between other attorneys and their clients, and a mediator for probate disputes. He was also a liaison to the American Bar Association's "Commission On Law And Aging." Dr. Kristof has conducted training sessions for other lawyers on trusts and estates topics, including for CEB, South Bay Bar Association, and others. He has published several scholarly articles and has several more pending publication. Recently, Dr. Kristof successfully represented children, protecting their inheritance in litigation with claims reaching $9 million (Diaz cases), and secured another woman's inheritance against aggressive claims lobbied by one of the largest firms in the world (Bice).
