James is a husband of 20+ years and a father to a son who is a newly admitted lawyer. James happens to be an in-demand lecturer on estate, retirement and business protection. James is licensed as an attorney and practices estate planning, asset protection, tax, real estate and corporate transactions. He has completed several M&A transactions in the $2 to $20 million range. He is author of several books including the widely acclaimed financial book, The 3 Secret Pillars of Wealth.
James served honorably in the United States Marine Corps' Force Reconnaissance (akin to Navy SEAL program) where he trained in special operations, hostage negotiations and anti-terrorism. After military service James parlayed his skills into executive protection and worked for the late Doris Duke There he assisted her daughter in establishing one of the first family offices to manage personal wealth and lifestyle assets while also maintaining the security for 5 residences across the U.S. and a private aircraft. He has been quoted and interviewed by numerous media outlets (see samples below).
James focuses on estate planning and asset protection, corporate transactions including contracts drafting and negotiating, franchising and nutraceutical development and real estate transactions and strategy.
James holds two law degrees, (JD) and (LL.M.) Master of Laws in tax and is admitted to practice law by the State Bar of California, U.S. District Court (Central District of California), U.S. Tax Court, and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. He has represented clients before the IRS to their complete satisfaction and adulation. He is also a graduate of the prestigious Elder Law College which trains lawyers on special needs planning and how to assist seniors in qualifying for government benefits. He is a member of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and holds the TEP® rating.
James lives in South Orange County California where he is usually found in the gym or pool when he is not working. He was a triathlete in the 1980s while living in Hawaii and practices various types of martial arts and yoga.
Recent Blog Posts
Reverse Piercing of your Corporate Veil For Creditors in California
Understanding Beneficiary Designations for Your California Estate Plan
Who qualifies for the Employee Retention Tax Credit in 2023?
Trustee Duties and Liabilities in California
Testamentary Capacity as a Requirement of a Valid Trust or Will in Orange County
Recommendations
- Quick, informative, definitely will be a referral.
- Proficient and easy.
- I want to thank you for all you did for me in getting my Trust set up. You made it very easy to understand all the ins and outs, and the process was very pleasant. I am so very grateful to you.
- Mr. Burns has proven to be an excellent attorney. He is extremely experienced in estate planning, corporate law and tax law. He is efficient and hard working. I cannot say enough good things about James. With regard to our estate planning I found him to be thorough and detailed. He explains thing...
- Thanks, James. I truly enjoy the enlightened approach you confer upon the whole investment process and feel wealthier in simply having met you and having been able to reap the benefit of the knowledge you've shared with us…I look forward to working closely with you in building our financial futur...
- Thank you for following up with me. You did an awesome job
- Hi James, yes, I definitely want your assistance. I finally feel that I'm dealing with someone with integrity in this business and I don't want to deal with anyone else!
- When my husband and I realized we needed to take steps to protect our assets we approached our attorney James Burns to answer our questions. James explained all the advantages to having a legal entity own the properties as well as getting extended protection through a corporation. His thorough an...
- When my husband and I realized we needed to take steps to protect our assets, James Burns was highly recommended. James explained all the advantages and disadvantages in using limited liability entities…he has given us peace of mind
- Thank you for the information. I am so very glad it was recommended that I use your services in the preparation of the trust. I feel very comfortable working with you and feel a great deal of trust in you.
- James was a true professional, he treated us well and took care of every detail for our estate
- Terrific – great experience and timely
- You helped educate us prior to going straight to the documents and you were very easy to work with.
- Our service with James was great and the communication easy and he is good with e-mail and responsive. He is good with new inexperienced folks on trust and contracts.
- My experience was very organized and expedited. Each step was detailed and help was provided.
- Everything was explained and can ask questions. Come and you will be satisfied, you can trust that work has been done well and to our satisfaction
- Very informative and you explained everything
- James ensured that all aspects of our trust was covered and answered all of our questions in great detail.
- Our experience with James was great. Every step of the process was explained in detail.
- It was a very pleasant experience. I felt as if everything was handled well. The environment was very comfortable and you made us feel at ease.
- Very educational and you made it very easy.
- Great follow up, very thorough, extremely helpful and was able to answer all of our questions.
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Trupti T., California (September 2016) Recommends James Burns
James was very professional and helped us understand all our documents very well. He was very precise and knowledgeable and helpful with a difficult decisions around our Wills and Trust. -
Anastasia V., California (September 2016) Recommends James Burns
Very detailed information and great patience with all my inquiries. Willingness to provide details and information along with explanations - Very pleasant, very friendly and competent.
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Garrett S., California (October 2016) Recommends James Burns
Well done. Explained all documents needed to give us the peace of mind. Efficient and done in a timely manner. -
Paula & Alan Y., California (November 2016) Recommends James Burns
Through, fast and easy. Professionalism and friendly attitude -
Michelle D., California (November 2016 Recommends James Burns
Very Good and easy to work with. Explained everything very well and in simple terms. - My experience was Through and extremely efficient. I liked the speed and no nonsense approach.
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Maisha C., California (December 2016) Recommends James Burns
The process was very easy and convenient, very professional and very detailed. - Fast, efficient and fun while being professional
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Mayumi S., California (February 2017) Recommends James Burns
The experience was very educational and efficient - The process was painless and through and best part of working with James as his level of knowledge.
- Very efficient and right amount of information with comprehensive knowledge of the trust and ability to answer all questions without wasting time.
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Frank & Jackie K., California (August 2017) Recommends James Burns
Very good, efficient and very knowledgeable. -
Tess & William N. – Aliso Viejo, CA. – 2017 Recommends James Burns
Very good experience. Lots of information, we learned a lot. James is very pleasurable and easy to talk to. - Excellent experience. James presented everything clearly and concisely.
- Posted by Melissa October 12, 2019 We reached out to Mr. Burns to update our will to meet California standards. It was quick and easy with some paperwork before our meeting and then two short office visits to discuss and then sign. Mr. Burns was cordial and has done so many wills that the proce...
- James was straightforward, very knowledgeable and easy to work with. I was also impressed with his staff. We went there for a will and trust and got exactly what we needed at a very reasonable cost. I would highly recommend him.
- My husband and I did our estate planning with James. We went in not knowing anything about it. James made the entire process easy and fast. He is extremely thorough and clear about explaining the entire process. James is amazing. I highly highly recommend him!
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We just had a wonderful experience creating our family trust with James Burns
We just had a wonderful experience creating our family trust with James Burns. My wife and I had put this off thinking the process would be long, arduous and very expensive. Wow were we wrong! In our meeting with James he was fantastic in helping us understand the core 4 documents that will... - We went to James to create our family trust and will. James walked us through the entire process and made sure we were informed on the subject. He made sure we understand creating the trust/will is just the start of the process - the battery and flashlight. He made sure to remind us we had to upd...
- James prepared our family trust. He was very professional and helped us every step of the way. He made sure we understood everything and included all our wishes. I would recommend his services to anyone.
- James Burns did our updated estate plan. He was responsive to emails and professional. He is good with people and enjoyable to work with.
- James - you did a fantastic job putting our concerns on Probate to rest by helping us put the Trust in place. I am relieved that my family is taken care of should anything happen to me. I greatly appreciate you walking me through the end-to-end process.
- We used James' firm for our living trust and it was a really painless experience. The communication and responsiveness throughout the process was great. If we ever need an attorney in the future, James will be our first call.
- Mr Burns handled the entire process professionally and promptly. He was easy to work with and is good at explaining everything step by step.
- James was very helpful throughout our families process of setting up our trust and will documents. He provided the support and guidance needed to give us peace of mind. Definitely would recommend.
- One good thing that came out of Covid19 is we had the pleasure of meeting James Burns. He and the staff were very professional with clear answers to our questions. Completing our living trust was quick and easy. Thank you, M & D
- I got great service by Law office of James Burns. James is a professional estate planning & asset protection attorney.
- I could not provide a more positive review of The Law Office of James Burns! Absolutely outstanding! Extremely organized, efficient, responsive and works to tailor estate planning to your individual situation. One of the best attorneys I've ever worked with!
- We recently moved and needed to update our Trust and Wills to indicate our new address and beneficiary designations. James Burns and his staff took our old documents, updated them and suggested some helpful changes. And they did it quickly and efficiently! Now, we feel confident that our document...
- We had put off updating our family trust for years and we could have chosen a better firm. James is an expert in Family Law and made the process go smoothly and quickly. We feel so much better checking this off our list and cannot recommend James and his staff enough.
- My wife and I are extremely happy with and more than a bit surprised at how easy it can be to craft a trust with the proper council. James was patient, thorough, and very knowledgeable. We won't hesitate to recommend him to our friends and family. Professional services can be tricky to evaluate, ...
- We used James service to complete our estate planning for my husband and I. He was great at explaining the process and was trustworthy and thorough. You made a very complicated process easy and we completed it in 3 weeks. Thank you so much James and Team. I would highly recommend James!!!
- I work with James on my corporate legal needs and recently to plan, prepare and establish my Family Living Trust. James is thorough, knowledgeable and his attention to the important details is highly appreciated. I've worked with many attorneys in my life and career and James is up there with the...
- I worked with Mr. Burns firm updating my Trust. He and his Associates were extremely helpful. They are very professional and knowledgeable about current laws and how they might affect my Trust. I am also pleased that they will continue to support me and my Trustees as long as needed.
- My mom needed to amend her trust. We found Mr. Burns after looking locally for someone with good reviews. We scheduled an initial consolation and met with him to discuss restating the trust. Mr. Burns offers a complete estate planning portfolio including trust, will, POA, AHCD, HIPPA, etc. It was...
- James Burns made the process quick and easy for us when creating a trustm. Answered all questions we had and explained things to us clearly. The turnaround time was also extremely fast. Definitely recommend!
