Carmen Alberio, Esq.

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Probate, Estates & Trusts Specialist

Carmen Alberio, Esq. is a recognized expert in the field of Probate, Estates and Trusts law, with 36 years of experience as a Probate Attorney for the Los Angeles Superior Court. During her tenure at the Court, Ms. Alberio gained extensive experience handling complex contested matters in the areas of wills, trusts, estate administration, conservatorships, guardianships, elder abuse claims, and special needs trusts.

As a Probate Attorney for the Court, Ms. Alberio worked closely with over 55 judges presiding over probate matters, providing instrumental assistance with the preparation and review of matters coming up for hearing. She extensively reviewed and analyzed thousands of probate cases dealing with real property disputes, interpretations of wills and trusts, breaches of fiduciary duties by executors, trustees and conservators, heirship petitions, and many other probate-related matters. Among the many judges that Ms. Alberio had the pleasure of working with at the Court is Hon. Craig D. Karlan (Ret.), and she is thrilled to be teaming up with him again at ADR Services, Inc. to co-mediate probate, estates and trusts matters.

Ms. Alberio is highly respected in the legal community for her knowledge, skill, and professionalism. She is regularly requested as a frequent panelist and speaker on a variety of probate topics for local bar associations in Los Angeles County. She also served as Education Chair for the California Lawyers Association’s Trusts and Estates Section Executive Committee and planned educational programs for its Annual Meeting.

Ms. Alberio is the recipient of numerous awards in recognition of her contributions to the legal profession, including the 2022 Timothy A. Whitehouse Award from the Beverly Hills Bar Association. This award honors an individual who has improved judicial services to the public-at-large and has furthered the goals of fair and efficient administration of justice within the Probate Court. Ms. Alberio was also awarded the 2003 Timothy A. Whitehouse Award, making her the first two-time winner of this prestigious award.

In 2021, Ms. Alberio received the coveted Arthur K. Marshall Award from the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Trusts and Estates Section. This award was established to honor a leader of the Los Angeles probate bar who has made an outstanding contribution to the legal profession in the field of probate and trust law, either through education of the probate and trust bar, advancement of knowledge through publication of significant writings, or in public service to the bar and the community. This award is an excellent testament to Ms. Alberio’s distinguished career and contributions to probate law.

Representative Cases

Testimonials

“Carmen certainly knew the law. Do not mistake her familiar tone and her level of compassion with any kind of unfamiliarity with the law and procedure. She brings both those to the table. She can understand clients on a personal level and listens to their nonlegal arguments and takes them for what they’re worth. But she is the most familiar neutral with probate procedure and the law in that area I’ve ever known.”

“Carmen stayed late after the mediation with the parties to get an agreement signed before everybody left. That’s something some mediators won’t do. And I think we all left that mediation feeling like we’d done something good for my client and something good for the family in resolving the dispute.”

“Based on Carmen’s level of experience with the court system and probate, trust and estates – I think she’s incredibly knowledgeable. I highly recommend her. There was one point where my client started speaking Spanish, and right away Carmen responded in Spanish. I also speak Spanish, so there was no translation that was needed. And I thought it was fantastic. She did not miss a beat.”

“Carmen and Judge Karlan demonstrated a particularly effective “bedside manner” with some difficult personalities. You have to see through what everybody is claiming and see what really is fueling people’s anger or need to litigate. Some people may be running on emotion, but their claims may not be that viable. To be a good mediator, you really have to cut through that stuff and see what’s at the bottom of everybody’s reasons for litigating and know how to deal with counsel. So, it’s a lot of finessing personalities, and I just thought they did a really good job with that.”

“We recently used Carmen to settle an emotional trust and estate dispute, and she was terrific with the parties. She definitely handled my client well – listened to her feelings, spoke in a familiar tone. She was probably the most effective mediator I’ve had over Zoom because she was very engaged.

“I really enjoyed working with Carmen and will recommend her to my friends who ask me for help on a probate question that I can’t answer.  Keep up the good work.”

“I received exceptional service and professional advice from Carmen. She was terrific at guiding me through the probate notes efficiently and successfully. On top of the service and advice, was the profound pleasure of being able to work with Carmen. She is a great asset to your team! Five Stars all around.”