Senior Trust & Estate Paralegal - Private Client Focus

Withers; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Withers seeks an experienced paralegal to join the Private Client & Tax team in Los Angeles. You will handle complex estate planning, post-death trust, and probate administration for high-net-worth clients, working alongside attorneys and fiduciaries.

You will collaborate across teams on substantial matters, providing ownership of workstreams while ensuring quality, timing, and client service at a high level. Expect cross-border coordination and sophisticated fiduciary work.

Qualifications

• 3–7+ years of experience as an estate and trust paralegal.
• Compliance with California Business and Professions Code.
• 6450 required; Bachelor’s Degree preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of Excel, Word, Outlook; Visio and document management systems (iManage/FileSite preferred); Asana for project management preferred.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple timelines and priorities proactively.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• High attention to detail with sound judgment in escalating issues appropriately.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a team.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced, high-expectation environment.

Responsibilities

• Manage substantial portions of estate and trust administrations in a sophisticated environment with supervision.
• Prepare asset inventories and assist with valuation, retitling, and distribution of assets.
• Draft and coordinate Federal estate and gift tax returns.
• Identify and analyze estate, gift, income, and property tax issues with attorneys.
• Support trust funding and ongoing trust administration.
• Prepare documentation for asset transfers and beneficiary distributions, including deeds, assignments, receipts, and releases.
• Draft probate and court filings.
• Assist in fiduciary accountings preparation and review.
• Review title documents and coordinate with title companies for title insurance.
• Prepare deeds, affidavits, deeds of trust, and related real estate docs.
• Analyze recording requirements across jurisdictions.
• Assist with Proposition 13 reassessment analysis and related filings.
• Interface with County Assessor offices on property tax matters.
• Prepare and file formation documents for corporations, LLCs, and partnerships across jurisdictions.
• Coordinate filings with Secretaries of State and other agencies.
• Assist with entity maintenance, governance, and compliance matters.
• Prepare organizational documents, minutes, and resolutions.
• Maintain corporate records and ownership ledgers.
• Support tax-exempt organization formation and compliance.
• Assist with entity restructuring and dissolution.

Skills

Estate & Trust paralegal

Cal. Business & Professions Code

Excel

Microsoft Word

Outlook

Visio

iManage/FileSite

Asana

Organizational skills

Written & verbal communication

Attention to detail

Independent & collaborative work

Fast-paced environment

Education

Bachelor’s Degree preferred

Tools

Excel

Microsoft Word

Outlook

Visio

iManage/FileSite

Asana

Job description

Withers seeks an experienced paralegal to join the Private Client & Tax team in Los Angeles. You will handle complex estate planning, post-death trust, and probate administration for high-net-worth clients, working alongside attorneys and fiduciaries.

You will collaborate across teams on substantial matters, providing ownership of workstreams while ensuring quality, timing, and client service at a high level. Expect cross-border coordination and sophisticated fiduciary work.