Gabriel R. Duarte

When advising high net worth individuals and families on the planning and administration of multimillion-dollar trusts and estates, Gabriel R. Duarte provides strategic counsel to preserve clients’ legacies and honor their wishes on transferring wealth to the next generation.

Appreciated as a clear communicator who easily connects across multiple generations, Mr. Duarte is particularly effective with the administration of sophisticated trusts, including those involving family offices and those invested heavily in real estate.

Mr. Duarte’s dual strengths in estate planning and post-death trust administration inform his counsel to trustees, prominent entrepreneurs and families. Additionally, Mr. Duarte represents corporate fiduciaries in administering complex trusts.

Many of Mr. Duarte’s clients have intricate real property assets, ranging from residences and multifamily apartment complexes to shopping centers and office buildings. Mr. Duarte works closely with trustees and professional teams to manage purchases, sales, leasing, loan transactions and related environmental, tax and investment concerns.

Skilled in all estate planning tax-minimization techniques that clients require, Mr. Duarte draws upon firmwide resources in real estate, environmental law, tax, insurance and other areas to address all his clients’ related issues. He prides himself on taking the necessary the time to ensure that his clients truly understand how their trusts operate and the steps involved in a successful trust administration. Should controversies, estate disputes or lawsuits arise, Mr. Duarte is skilled at guiding his clients towards a successful resolution of the conflict, whether through litigation or settlement.

Mr. Duarte has been working in trust and estate law his entire career — he began while still in law school. This formative experience helped him develop a visceral understanding of the psychological and emotional factors that often become intertwined with succession planning and the transfer of wealth. His empathetic manner and close counsel to generations of families have resulted in long-lasting and trusted client relationships. Many of Mr. Duarte’s clients seek his counsel beyond their estate plans for situations when they need insightful, responsive and individualized legal guidance.

For his counsel to many of Southern California’s high net worth families, Mr. Duarte has earned recognition as a trusted advisor, including as attorney of the year, from the San Fernando Valley Business Journal, and he has repeatedly been named a Super Lawyers’ Rising Star. A self-described family man, Mr. Duarte serves on the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Club of Moorpark and Simi Valley.

Community

Board of Directors for the Boys & Girls Club of Moorpark and Simi Valley

Admissions & Associations

State Bar California