Catherine M. Swafford
Partner
Catherine is a partner in the trust, estate and inheritance disputes team.
She practices exclusively in trust, estate, conservatorship, elder abuse and fiduciary litigation. Her practice includes representing clients in will and trust contests, elder abuse actions, breach of fiduciary duty and accounting cases, conservatorships, intestacy and heirship disputes, contract to make a will disputes, creditor claim disputes and related litigation and administration matters brought under the California Probate Code. Catherine has extensive experience litigating cases from the initial stage of filing a petition through discovery, including depositions, and finally through mediations, trial, and post-judgment.
Catherine represents beneficiaries, heirs, fiduciaries, charities, creditors and related clients in Probate and Civil Court. While based in San Diego, Catherine’s practice is state wide throughout California. She has appeared in many Probate and Civil Courts throughout the state. Catherine has also developed special expertise in probate disputes involving issues of foreign law and international beneficiaries. She has experience representing clients in cross-border probate matters involving other jurisdictions such as Mexico, Switzerland, Russia, China, Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands and Hungary. She also regularly advises clients who have beneficial interests in California but reside in foreign jurisdictions.
Catherine is actively involved in the legal community. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Probate Attorneys of San Diego (PASD), where she is the incoming chair of the Education Committee. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Estate Planning Council of San Diego, where she is Secretary. She also serves as court-appointed counsel for the San Diego Probate Court. Catherine is a frequent speaker in the community on a wide range of topics. She also is a contributing author of numerous publications, including CEB Practitioner™ attorney-drafted templates, the Litigation Alert in the California Trusts & Estates Quarterly, the California Decedent Estate Practice Guide, the California Civil Practice – Probate & Trust Proceedings Practice Guide and the California Code of Probate Forms book.
While devoted to her law practice, Catherine is the proud mother of 4 young children. She takes great pride in being able to contribute to the community both as an attorney and as a mother.
Admissions
Publications
Memberships
Talks
State of California, 2005
‘Tom Petty’s Daughters File $5 Million Civil Lawsuit Against His Widow,’ Digital Music News - May 16, 2019, quoted
‘A Brief Overview of the California Uniform Trust Decanting Act,’ The Daily Journal, May 1, 2019, co-author
‘MCLE Article: Wine Not? The New California Trust Decanting Act,’ California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Vol. 25 Issue 1 - 2019, co-author
Estate Planning Council of San Diego, Board of Directors, Secretary
North County Estate Planning Council
San Diego County Bar Association, Trusts & Estates Section
‘Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law: 2020 Year in Review,’ Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Section of the La Jolla Bar Association webinar - March 11, 2021
‘Wine Not? California’s New Decanting Act,’ San Luis Obispo County Bar Association webinar - February 24, 2021, co-presenter
‘Powers of Appointment: Everything You Need to Know From the Planning and Litigation Perspectives,’ Orange County Bar Association, Trusts & Estates Section webinar - August 12, 2020, co-presenter
Me in a minute
My practice enables me to have a significant, direct impact on the lives of my clients
Education
Languages
- English
