Susanna P. Kim

Partner | Los Angeles

Email Susanna
+1 310 228 5750
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Secretary Chris Hough

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+1 310 277 9964

Susanna is a partner in the private client and tax team.

Susanna is an experienced estate planning attorney who advises individuals and families on sophisticated estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning, trust administration, and wealth transfer strategies. She is certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization as a legal specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law. Her practice focuses on developing practical, tax-efficient strategies for preserving and transferring wealth across generations while addressing each family’s particular circumstances and objectives.

Her practice encompasses sophisticated estate and tax planning, including the use of irrevocable trusts and other wealth transfer structures, as well as post-death trust administration and California property tax planning. She regularly advises clients with complex assets and works with clients and their other advisors to integrate these assets into their broader estate plans. Susanna also advises clients with assets and family connections outside of the United States on the legal and tax considerations that arise in multi-jurisdictional planning, with particular experience advising families with connections to both the United States and Korea. She speaks, reads and writes Korean and regularly works with Korean-speaking clients and their advisors on cross-border estate and tax planning matters.

Before focusing her practice on private clients, Susanna practiced as a corporate attorney at a global law firm, advising private equity and real estate investment managers on fund formation and SEC compliance matters. This background gives her a unique perspective on integrating business and personal wealth planning for clients with complex asset structures.

Susanna is a frequent speaker on estate planning and tax matters at national and regional conferences, including programs sponsored by the American Bar Association, USC Trusts and Estate Conference, UCLA/CEB Estate Planning Institute, and California Lawyers Association.  

Susanna is recognized in the 2026 and 2027 editions of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Tax Law and Trusts and Estates. 

Recent recognition

Recognition badge with red text on white background for Best Lawyers Ones to watch 2027 for Susanna Kim
Recognized in Tax Law, Trusts and Estates
2026 Best Lawyers recognition badge for Susanna Kim
State Bar of California certified specialist in estate planning, trust & probate law

Experience

Beneficiaries and heirs Families and family offices High net worth individuals
Private client Tax Trustees, executors and fiduciaries

Talks

  • 'Overview of US Estate, Gift and Inheritance Tax Regime,' Bae, Kim & Lee LLP (Korea) - May 21, 2026, presenter

  • 'Estate Planning for Women,' LA Philharmonic - January 26, 2026, presenter 

  • 'Current Developments in Estate, Gift, GST, and Fiduciary Income Tax,' American Bar Association 2025 Midyear Tax Meeting - February 19, 2025, speaker

  • 'Gift Tax Annual Exclusions, Calculating Gift Tax and Disclaimers,' UCLA Law estate and gift tax course - September 25, 2024, guest lecturer

  • 'Is Your Gift Up for Grabs? Avoiding the Risk of Forfeiture Following the Breslin Case,' Southern California Council of Charitable Gift Planners Western Regional Planned Giving Conference - May 23, 2024, co-presenter

  • ''The Empty Chair' Statute – Expanding Trustee Duties under Probate Code 15800,'  46th Annual UCLA/CEB Estate Planning Institute - April 18, 2024, co-presenter

  • 'Corporate Transparency Act: Pulling Back the Curtain and Shining a Spotlight on Client Assets,' California Lawyers Association Webinar - December 6, 2023, speaker

  • 'Estate planning: what you need to know,' CFA Society of Los Angeles - December 6, 2023, speaker

  • 'Estate Planning for Children,' UCLA School of Law to JD and LLM students in Advanced Estate Planning Lecture - October 18, 2023, guest lecturer

  • 'Corporate Transparency Act,' Los Angeles Estate Counselor's Forum - April 20, 2023, speaker

  • 'Is Your Gift Up for Grabs? Avoiding the Risk of Forfeiture Following the Breslin Case,' Los Angeles Council of Charitable Gift Planners - March 16, 2023, speaker

  • 'Corporate Transparency Act,' STEP San Diego - January 24, 2023, speaker

  • 'Corporate Transparency Act,' Woodland Hills Tax and Estate Planning Council - January 19, 2023, speaker

  • 'Hot Topics: New Things for Seasonal Practitioners!,' USC Trusts and Estates Conference - November 9, 2022, co-presenter

Admissions

  • California, 2012

Education

  • New York University School of Law, J.D.

  • University of California, Berkeley, B.A.

Languages

  • English
  • Korean

Memberships

  • Los Angeles County Bar Association, Trusts and Estates Section, Executive Committee Member 

  • California Board of Legal Specialization Certified Legal Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law (2024-present)

  • Korean American Bar Association

Key dates

  • Year joined: 2021

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