CHASTITY A. SCHULTS cschults@youngman.com 925.930.6000 Download vCard

Chastity Schults is a partner with Youngman & Ericsson, LLP and joined the firm in 2004. She has worked in the legal field since 1993. Her areas of practice include probate and trust administration, estate, tax and wealth transfer planning, business formation and tax law.

--Client Satisfaction.  Chastity's loyalty to clients is unwavering and her client's satisfaction is her ultimate goal. She maintains long-standing relationships with her clients.  Chastity's outside professional resources are plentiful and would be available to clients, if necessary. Should special circumstances arise, she will go the extra mile to meet with clients after hours and will travel to meet with clients who are bedridden.

--Estate Planning.  Chastity understands the importance of listening to her clients.  She is extremely service-oriented and will consistently provide a personal touch and client satisfaction, regardless of whether her clients have a very modest estate or multi-million dollar estate. She provides guidance that allows clients to make an informed decision as to what type of estate planning strategy best suits their needs, which may include significant tax planning in order to maximize any potential tax savings.  Based upon the client's particular circumstances, this may include a simple will, domestic partner trust, irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT), generation skipping trust (GST) or other myriad revocable and irrevocable trust options available. 

If a client presently has an estate plan in place, Chastity will thoroughly review the plan to ensure it complies with current case and statutory laws and will advise if any amendments are warranted.  This includes ensuring that her clients have updated powers of attorney for financial and health care purposes.

--Probate and Trust Administration.  Chastity's compassion and attentiveness make her an exceptional attorney in probate and trust administration cases, where she assists clients (typically surviving spouse or family member) with the winding up of one's legal and financial affairs after death. Her compassion, guidance, and thoughtfulness extend not only to clients, but to their family, friends and loved ones they leave behind.

--Tax Law/Tax Compliance/Collection Defense.  Chastity's attention to detail has proven invaluable and has made her proficient in preparing estate tax returns (Form 706) for taxable estates, as well as individual and fiduciary returns.  She is also experienced in preparing and complying with the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), and can assist clients who have unreported foreign accounts, whether they are facing governmental collection efforts or who want to enter into a voluntary compliance agreement with the Internal Revenue Service.  Chastity also assists clients in filing offers in compromise and collection due process (CDP) appeals with the Internal Revenue Service.

--Education and Memberships.  Chastity attended John F. Kennedy University School of Law, while working full time.  She has worked in the legal field for many years and received her Juris Doctor in 2002.  She is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Diablo Valley.  She is also involved in and a member of the following: Trusts & Estates and Taxation Sections of the California State Bar;  Taxation, Conservatorships, Real Estate, and Family Law Sections of the Contra Costa County Bar Association; the American Bar Association; as well as a volunteer attorney for The Law Center.  She is also a member of the internationally-based and prestigious group, Business Networking International (BNI) and serves on the Leadership Committee for the East Bay Chapter.