Ellen helped us with an estate plan that included providing for our child with special needs. We knew that we needed trusts to provide for and protect our child, but that’s about it. Ellen is extremely knowledgable about estate planning for the care of children with special needs and she took the time to educate and advise us on what we needed and why. As importantly, she thought about how to ensure that both our children would have the help they needed to continue to grow and thrive. This included recommending and introducing us to a professional fiduciary for the special needs trust, allowing our other child to provide support and friendship rather than worry about the daily financial responsibilities of managing the trust. To be honest, this was an emotional process for me and Ellen handled it in a caring, empathetic, and professional manner. I can’t recommend her highly enough!

Putting together a will and trust is a lengthy effort that requires patience, organization...and a lot of gentle nudging and reminders from the attorney. We're so happy we found Ellen for this. It's a complicated process, there are lots of options, and we found that she not only offered the services but also advice on tough decisions we'd need to make along the way. When it comes to matters like this, you want an attorney that radiates friendliness and helpfulness when it comes to planning your family's future. We highly recommend her.

Cookman law was very thorough. Patient and careful explanations of all our questions. I feel that my family will be well- cared-for in the future thanks to their service. Cookman law has given us peace of mind. Great service!

I vetted multiple attorneys before choosing Ellen to prepare our family's plans, specifically due to her knowledge around matters of special needs estate planning. Ellen is well-informed, warm and friendly, and understands special needs topics in detail, spending as much time as our family required to explain thoroughly matters of importance to us. I highly recommend her.

I highly recommend Ellen Cookman. She is responsive, direct, easy to talk to and very knowledgable.

I've worked with Ellen Cookman for over three years. She's professional, responsive, helpful, and easy to work with. I needed an attorney who could offer guidance through the process of setting up a will, a trust for myself, and trusts for my son with special needs. I definitely recommend Ellen.

I put a lot of thought into selecting Cookman Law. Foremost, with so much at stake, I wanted a Certified Specialist, Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law from the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization.
I wanted someone intuitively drawn to detail, a lawyer who listens, explains the pros and cons of our options, offers suggestions, is responsive. A lawyer confident in their skills.

In creating our Family Trust Ellen Cookman proved to have all these qualities---with a bonus. She is one of the nicest people I have ever met.

Ellen is thorough, patient, and a pleasure to work with. I would suggest Cookman Law for any of your estate planning needs.

Very easy to work with. Clearly knowledgeable, explains things clearly, and takes as much time as you need to understand everything. When we were done, we were confident that our documents captured our wishes precisely.