Attorney Profile

Sondra J. Allphin

Sondra J. Allphin joined Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann, LLP in 2003.  Ms. Allphin's legal practice emphasizes estate planning, incapacity planning, and trust and decedent estate administration. Her estate planning work includes the preparation of living trusts, wills, durable powers of attorney, advance health care directives, charitable trusts, and special needs trusts.  She also prepares prenuptial (premarital) agreements and postnuptial agreements for her estate planning clients who wish to have such agreements.  Her administration practice includes estate and trust administration, conservatorships, tax planning, and estate and gift tax return preparation.  She has extensive experience working with appraisers to obtain the lowest possible legitimate values (including discounted values for fractional interest in assets) for estate tax purposes of a wide range of assets, including interests in closely held businesses, limited partnerships, FLPs, LLCs, corporations, commercial rental properties, residential rental properties, theme parks, restaurants, hotels, fine art, wineries, ranches, and farms.

Ms. Allphin brings to the firm nine years of experience as a senior tax expert, specializing in complex individual income tax planning at a Massachusetts CPA firm.

Professional Organizations/Memberships:

• Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization
• Member, State Bar of California, Trusts and Estates Section
• Member, Silicon Valley Bar Association

Education:

• Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, Santa Clara University, 2003
  • Member, Order of the Coif
  • Recipient of CALI Award and Witkin Award in Estate Planning
  • Recipient of CALI Award in Federal Personal Income Tax
  • Recipient of Fenwick and West Tax Prize
• Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, Salem State College, 1982

Recent Lectures/Presentations

• Speaker, "Avoiding Potholes on the Road of Love," (Property Transfer Obstacles for Married Persons and Registered Domestic Partners), Silicon Valley Bar Association, Santa Clara (2009, 2008)
• Speaker, "Domestic Partners Part I: An Overview," CEB (2005)
• Speaker, "Planning for Unmarried Couples After January 1, 2005," Thirteenth Annual Estate and Gift Tax Conference, Beverly Hills and San Francisco (2005)
• Speaker, "The Nuts & Bolts of AB 205, and Its Impact on Domestic Partners & Estate Planning," Silicon Valley Bar Association, San Jose (2004)
• Speaker, "Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples (Specifically for Registered Domestic Partners)," Annual Meeting of the California Tax Bar, San Jose (2004)

Published Articles/Books:

• Co-author of Chapter 11 of the CEB Attorney Practice Book "California Domestic Partnerships" entitled "Rights on Death and Estate Planning Issues," Continuing Education of the Bar (2010)
• Co-author of Chapter 4 of the CEB Estate Planning Practice Book "California Estate Planning" entitled "Additional Property Transfer Obstacles for Married Persons and Domestic Partners," Continuing Education of the Bar (2009)
• Author of "New Domestic Partnership Legislation and Its Impact on Estate Planning and Administration" published in the California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Vol. 10., No. 1 (Spring 2004)