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April 2024 by Christianna L.
I was referred to Ivette Santaelle to handle a fairly simple trust from a retired lawyer. I was working with her paralegal when she suddenly left the firm. I never received notification of her departure however after learning so Ivette Santaella was going to charge to familiarize herself about my case because her paralegal left the firm an her cases that she was working on would now be taken over by another employee not familiar with the case. When we spoke she referred to me as the mother than the daughter of the Deceased. I was neither I was the trustee. I then received $127 charge for a 10 minute phone call about her employee leaving and her getting up to speed on the case. I don't feel that I should have to be charged twice because her employee decided to leave the firm and so now I have to pay for somebody else to review the case. I don't mind paying for work in progress but l shouldn't have to pay twice because someone left the firm. When l complained about being charged to bring the new person taking over the case up to speed l received a rude email and phone call telling me she was no longer going to represent me and that it wasn't her fault that her employee left because she felt she wasn't getting paid enough. Rude unprofessional and a total lack of compassion as a trust attorney. I wouldn't recommend thus firm to anyone. Highly unprofessional.
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June 2023 by Renee S.
Santaella Legal Group does not have enough attorneys working at the office to provide full representation for a probate dispute.
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March 2023 by Goldie S.
Ms Santaella rarely returned calls. She wasn't prepared in a hearing against me because she missed in a divorce document that thé guns i had removed from my home for safety, were suppose to be turned into the police. This resulted in a restraining order against me, living in my horse trailer and requiring being on welfare in order to eat. When I tried to talk to her about it she became very agressive and blaming another attorney handling the divorce part. She was not sensitive to my MS and not understanding finances with cognitive struggles, demanding I pay in full and dismissing me as a client. I paid her over a short period of time of a couple of months.
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March 2023 by glenn tong
Working with the Santaella Legal Group was above and beyond my expectations, especially since this was my first time dealing with a very complicated legal matter. Having Ivette Santaella as my attorney was a very pleasant experience. Ivette is a very caring, dedicate and compassionate person who kept me informed every step of the way. Her guidance was invaluable, and she was always approachable. Working with attorneys is not an easy feat (I’ve dealth with 6 with my particular case) and has it’s challenges but I did not find this to be the case with Ivette. Thank you Santaella Legal Group for all your help.
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February 2023 by glenn
Working with the Santaella Legal Group was above and beyond my expectations, especially since this was my first time dealing with a very complicated legal matter. Having Ivette Santaella as my attorney was a very pleasant experience. Ivette is a very caring, dedicate and compassionate person who kept me informed every step of the way. Her guidance was invaluable, and she was always approachable. Working with attorneys is not an easy feat (I’ve dealth with 6 with my particular case) and has it’s challenges but I did not find this to be the case with Ivette. Thank you Santaella Legal Group for all your help.
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February 2023 by Glenn T.
Working with the Santaella Legal Group was above and beyond my expectations, especially since this was my first time dealing with a very complicated legal matter. Having Ivette Santaella as my attorney was a very pleasant experience. Ivette is a very caring, dedicate and compassionate person who kept me informed every step of the way. Her guidance was invaluable, and she was always approachable. Working with attorneys is not an easy feat (I've dealth with 6 with my particular case) and has it's challenges but I did not find this to be the case with Ivette. Thank you Santaella Legal Group for all your help.
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November 2022 by Mitchell Granahan
I have been working with Ivette for a while and they are extremely professional, knowledgeable, and one of the top Estate Planning Law Firms in the Bay. I would highly recommend.
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May 2022 by Dan Beck
Ivette is incredibly responsive and helpful. She got back to me within 20 minutes with a helpful answer to a question about the appropriate costs for a trustee.
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April 2022 by Kasi Nachi
Just called Ivette she was rude, hung up the phone the first time when I asked who I was speaking to. Called back again. She uses a robo call to screen incoming calls. Second time she answered the phone she didn’t tell me her name so I politely asked may I know who I’m speaking to. She was unprofessional and yelled at me “ you called me who the hell are you”? I don’t expect a professional to behave like this, arrogant. Do not use this lawyer.
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April 2022 by Paulina De La Torre
Very good service, fast and responsive. Definitely I will recommend this firm.
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April 2021 by Louise Lee
Ivette is AMAZING and I will never forget the kindness she provided to me and my family at a very difficult time. Ivette helped with my mom's Trust and now that my mom is in a community, Ivette continues to be there for whatever questions I have regarding my mom's estate. Ivette is kind and caring and very knowledgeable. I would recommend Ivette to anyone looking for family or estate planning.
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April 2021 by Vinay Tota
Helped us do our estate planning, highly recommended!
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March 2021 by Victoria A.
I had the opportunity to have a living trust done by Ivette m.Santaella @the Santaella legal group in 2020 with thepandemic going on we got thing done by Zoom & legal aide Assiocate I appreciate for all the hard workThank you Vickie
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February 2021 by Lisa B.
Ms. Santaella is a bright and confident attorney who works along with her equally impressive son, Ethan Choy. Ivette and Ethan worked tirelessly with us to help us prepare new trusts and deeds for our estate. They made the whole process very easy and we now have a new trust that will someday benefit our children. We highly recommend Santaella Legal Group and plan on working with them again In the future.
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September 2020 by John L.
I called this law firm last week because I was trying to gain some knowledge about my personal situation and possibly filing a bankruptcy. I was told by a male attorney named Ethan or Nathan that it would cost $10k to start. I spoke with other attorneys in the area and now know that that is a very unreasonable fee to request. This was told before I even had a chance to explain my situation or even ask for a consult. He ignored me most of the 20 second conversation we had and seemed to be arguing with someone else in the background. This establishment seems pretty unprofessional, and after all that, I was hung up on.
