Julie King

With 30+ years’ experience, Julie King practices law with the highest standards of ethics and professionalism. She is easy to speak with and talks in plain English (not legalese). Julie handles a wide variety of estate planning and business matters including: (1) ESTATE PLANNING - wills and trusts, health care directives, powers of attorney, special needs trusts, pet trusts, grant deeds and more; and (2) BUSINESS LAW - corporation/LLC/partnership formation, annual meeting minutes, corporate records, contracts, and employee training.

Julie served as in-house counsel to major international corporations, including Toshiba America, where she worked for 15 years and hired lawyers throughout the world. She has been a "client", so she understands clients' needs in a way many lawyers do not. Contact Julie today and see the difference!

Call or email today for a FREE initial consultation! (831) 275-1002 Julie@PierceKingLaw.com

• Form Corporations, LLCs and Partnerships
• Business Transactions & Contracts
• Trusts, Wills, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Directives
• Real Estate Grant Deeds and Related Documentation

• Free Consultation
• Credit Cards Accepted
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  Pierce King, P.C. bills hourly or charges a flat fee, depending on the type of matter.

California

Since 1987

Founding Attorney

Pierce King, P.C., a Professional Law Corporation

2012 - Current

BUSINESS LAW - Negotiating and drafting a variety of complex business contracts, including an international Private Cloud Infrastructure and Management Services Agreement and a Funding Agreement involving the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. - Forming C and S Corporations, LLCs and Partnerships, and drafting documents related thereto, such as Buy-Sell and Operating Agreements, Bylaws, Annual Meeting Minutes and Board Resolutions. ESTATE PLANNING - Drafting a variety of wills and trusts (including Revocable Living Trusts, Special Needs Trusts and Pet Trusts), Health Care Directives and Durable Powers of Attorney, as well as Grant Deeds and other documentation relating to funding trusts. - Counseling clients in Trust Administration matters - Preparing, filing and representing clients in Probate actions

Director, Contracts and Intellectual Property

CTB/McGraw-Hill LLC

2007 - 2012

Assistant General Counsel

Toshiba America

1991 - 2006

Julie was an in-house counsel for Toshiba for 15 years and handled a wide variety of matters for the corporation. She helped the Human Resources Dept. with employment matters and policy drafting, the Sales Dept. with contracts, the Finance Dept. with guaranties, and anyone else in the company who needed assistance in any area of law. She would be honored to do the same for you. Call today!

Univ of California at Los Angeles

Undergraduate Degree

Loyola Law School

Law Degree

BEST LAWYER IN MONTEREY COUNTY!

Monterey Herald Reader's Poll

2025

BEST LAWYER IN MONTEREY COUNTY

Monterey Herald Readers' Poll

2024

BEST LAWYER IN MONTEREY COUNTY

Monterey Herald Readers' Poll

2023

BEST LAW FIRM IN MONTEREY COUNTY

Monterey Herald Readers' Poll

2023

Volunteer of the Year

Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce

2023

IMPOWER (Businesswomen inspiring each other and helping our community)

Vice President of the Board of Directors

2021 - Current

Monterey County Bar Association

Member

2007 - Current

California State Bar  # 132813

Member

1987 - Current

Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce

Ambassador

2014 - 2024

Central Coast Human Resources Association

Member of the Board of Directors

2019 - 2022

License to Practice Law

California Bar Association

Q. Guidance needed for navigating trust distribution, pension continuation, and property issues in California.

June 26, 2025

A: I'm sorry for your situation. I generally tell clients that Trust Administration matters involve 10 steps and step 9 is when the assets are distributed (given) to the beneficiaries (the people named to inherit assets.) To be sure you don't get yourself into legal trouble by taking your inheritance BEFORE all of your loved one's bills and taxes are paid off, and the other steps are followed, you need to get the assistance of an attorney who handles Trust Administrations. If you cannot afford an attorney, check to see if there is a legal aid center in your area. Try asking your local county Bar Association is there are any legal aid or "pro bono" (free) legal centers near you. Best wishes. ... Read More

Q. Can my uncle legally transfer his executor duties and portion to me while my grandmother is still alive?

June 20, 2025

A: Since the assets do not belong to your relative or you, neither of you can say or do anything about the matter. The law says that only the person who owns the assets can make decisions about their own assets and change their own Trust or Will. (There is an exception if the owner has lost their mental capacity, which I will discuss below.) I see this issue a lot. People who are named in a Trust or Will as someone to inherit assets (called a "beneficiary") or those responsible for distributing all of the assets (called an "executor") sometimes think they have powers while the owner of the assets is still alive. That is not accurate. Here's why: the owner of the assets can change their mind and change the Trust or Will as many times as they want before they pass away. The only thing that counts is what the Trust or Will says on the day the owner dies. That is when the power switches from the person who owns the assets to the person named in the Trust or Will as the trustee or executor. [Again, with the exception of a lack of mental capacity.]

Think of it this way. How would you feel if a relative of yours (say, a cousin) had the power to decide who will inherit everything you own and select the person who will see all of your assets and debts, and serve as the executor of your estate -- without giving you any say in those decisions? That makes no sense because YOU own the assets, not your relative. Bottom line, whoever owns the assets gets to decide who will inherit the assets and who will serve as the executor. If one of the beneficiaries does not want the inheritance, they have choices. They can not claim their inheritance ("disclaim" it) and the Trust or Will should say what happens to his share of the estate, or the beneficiary can take the inheritance and give it to whomever he wants. But the beneficiary cannot change the Trust or Will.

All of that having been said, if a physician says a person/asset owner no longer has sufficient mental capacity to understand what she is doing, then another person (either an "Agent" or "Trustee" previously named by the asset owner) would need to step up to the plate and act on behalf of the mentally incapacitated asset owner. The Agent or Trustee cannot decide what THEY want to do with the incapacitated person's assets. Instead, the Agent or Trustee has specific legal duties they must follow, one of which is to act in the best interests of the incapacitated person. ... Read More

Q. Received a letter as beneficiary from Canadian lawyer. How to verify it's genuine?

June 11, 2025

A: ’m already suspicious of the claim because it comes from a relative you don’t know and never heard of, and it is supposedly coming from outside of the United States.

Before I say anything else, everyone should know this: NEVER GIVE ANY OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION TO SOMEONE CONTACTING YOU OUT OF THE BLUE and claiming to be from a law firm, your local electric company, or anywhere else. That means, no bank names, no account numbers, no credit card numbers, no buying gift cards. Nothing. Remember, much of your information is already online, so criminals can get that, say they want you to confirm your address , for example, then ask you for information they don’t have, like your social security information or the hospital in which you were born. Do not give any information to anyone by email or over the phone. (More on this in a second.)

If someone comes to your front door — EVEN IF they are wearing a uniform and have a badge that looks like it is from the local water company — do not let them inside your home. Get the person’s business card, look up the company’s phone number (don’t use the one on the card), call the company and ask: (1) if it is sending employees door-to-door; and (2) if it has an employee with the name of the person standing on your front porch. It is a common scam to get old uniforms from Goodwill or second hand shops, make their own badge using a computer, then say they are from the local water company testing everyone’s water. I’ve read about situations where the criminals push an owner outside then the criminals rob the place and dash over the back fence before the police can get into their police cars to drive over.

It is common for scoundrels to copy information from a law firm’s public website and use that information to scam people by claiming to be a lawyer at that firm. So, just because a law firm with that same name happens to exist does not mean it is a legitimate person with a legitimate offer. The sender could have simply copied the firm’s name and address from the anywhere online.

The first thing I do when I get an email saying an “African prince” or ”a relative you don’t know” left you money is to check the email address the sender is using. Quite frequently, the words after the @ symbol in the sender’s email address do not match the words that the real law firm uses. But, that’s just a start. Internet scammers are often part of massive criminal organizations that have HR Departments, etc. They lease office buildings and, from the outside, look just like any legitimate business. These sophisticated criminals can easily set up a fake law firm’s website etc. That’s why it is important to confirm that the lawyer and law firm are legitimate.

If the “lawyer” is in the United States, go to the website of the state or county Bar Association and see if the person is listed as a lawyer then confirm the contact information on the Bar’s website with the contact information you were given. If you can’t find the lawyer on the Bar Association’s website, it’s very likely a scam.

If the “lawyer” is outside the U.S. — a huge clue that it’s likely a scam — then check that country’s local Bar Association’s lawyer search to verify the same information as noted above. I believe another person who responded to your inquiry gave you the name of the place to go to search for Canadian lawyers. Most countries have public databases of lawyers and licensed professionals.

The final test is to contact the lawyer directly using the contact information from the Bar’s website. I do NOT reply to emails I receive. Instead, I will either call the law firm and ask to speak with the lawyer or send the lawyer an email using the address in the Bar’s website. Better safe than sorry. ... Read More