JKZ LLP

California reach and firm identity

The firm adopted the JKZ LLP name in January 2025. It previously operated as Johnston, Kinney & Zulaica LLP. The shorter name accompanied a period of geographic growth, including the opening of its San Diego office in 2024.

JKZ LLP has offices in San Francisco and San Diego. It also meets clients by appointment in Santa Cruz and Chico. The firm states that it serves the Bay Area, San Diego, and clients across California.

The firm describes itself as majority women-owned, LGBTQ-friendly, and multilingual. Its staff includes attorneys, paralegals, and other team members. These traits may matter to clients who want clear communication about family relationships, inheritance, or personal finances.

Estate planning and administration

JKZ LLP divides its estate work among planning, administration, and disputes. That structure covers several stages in the life of an estate or trust. The firm's stated work includes trust and estate planning, wealth transfer, entity formation, probate, trust administration, and related tax matters.

Planning for property and family needs

Estate planning usually starts with a review of assets, family ties, intended beneficiaries, and the people chosen to carry out a plan. Common documents can include wills, trusts, and instruments that grant authority during incapacity. Entity formation and tax questions may also enter the discussion when a client owns a business or holds assets through legal entities.

The firm's mix of estate planning, tax, and business law gives its attorneys several stated fields to draw upon. In my opinion, that overlap is one of the clearer features of the practice. It is relevant when ownership structure, wealth transfer, and family goals need to be considered in the same matter.

Probate and trust administration

Probate generally involves a court process for appointing a personal representative, gathering estate property, addressing valid claims, and distributing assets under a will or California law. Executors and administrators must follow filing, notice, accounting, and transfer requirements. The pace and level of court involvement depend on the estate and any disputes that arise.

Trust administration follows the governing trust document and California law. A trustee commonly identifies trust property, gives required notices, keeps records, addresses debts and taxes, and makes authorized distributions. JKZ LLP identifies both probate and trust administration as parts of its estate practice.

Contested trusts and estates

John S. Rueppel handles trust and estate litigation in the Bay Area and throughout California. His listed matters include trust contests, removal petitions, contested accountings, will contests, and Probate Code section 850 claims. He has represented trustees, beneficiaries, executors, and administrators.

These cases can involve financial elder abuse, fraud, or undue influence. A trust or will contest may require review of the document, the circumstances of signing, medical records, financial records, and witness testimony. A contested accounting focuses on the fiduciary's records, transactions, distributions, and use of estate or trust property.

Removal petitions ask a court to decide whether a fiduciary should continue in that role. Probate Code section 850 proceedings often concern ownership or transfer of property connected to a trust or estate. Pleadings, document exchange, depositions, settlement talks, and court hearings can all become part of a contested matter.

Family law services and case process

The firm's family law work covers divorce, same-sex divorce, child custody, child support, spousal support, property division, domestic violence, partnership dissolution, and relationship agreements. It also includes the drafting and review of prenuptial agreements. These matters often combine court procedure with decisions about finances, parenting, and future obligations.

Divorce, support, and property

A California divorce may require financial disclosures, identification of separate and community property, and decisions about support. Property division can involve real estate, retirement accounts, business interests, debts, and other assets. Courts may issue temporary orders while the case proceeds.

Child support and spousal support involve different rules and evidence. Child support commonly uses income data, parenting time, and other statutory inputs. Spousal support can require a broader review of the marriage, the parties' finances, and the factors set by California law.

Custody and relationship agreements

Custody cases address legal decision-making and the child's living schedule. Parents may reach an agreement through direct negotiation or mediation, while a judge can decide unresolved issues. Domestic violence allegations may affect available orders and the way a custody matter proceeds.

Prenuptial and other relationship agreements place financial terms in writing. Their preparation commonly calls for asset and debt disclosure, review of proposed terms, and attention to signing requirements. JKZ LLP states that its family law work includes relationship agreements, while Joseph L. Urbanski drafts and reviews prenuptial agreements.

Named attorneys and stated backgrounds

Yulissa Zulaica is the Managing Partner. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004, a law degree from Golden Gate University School of Law in 2010, and a master's degree in taxation there in 2012. She has worked at the firm since 2011, and her listed fields include estate planning, tax, and family law.

The firm's partners are John S. Rueppel, Joseph L. Urbanski, Val Sluetzky, and Vanessa J. Sundin. Their stated practices span estate work, family law, tax, business law, elder law, and litigation. This range corresponds with the firm's four main categories of estate planning, estate administration, estate litigation, and family law.

Estate and litigation backgrounds

Rueppel earned his law degree in 2009 from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, and holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell University. He joined the California bar in 2009. His background includes O'Neil & Rueppel LLP, and the State Bar of California certified him in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law in 2018.

Sluetzky earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a law degree from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. Sluetzky's listed work includes estate planning, tax, business law, family law, and litigation. Sundin earned a bachelor's degree from California State University, Chico, followed by a law degree and an LL.M. from Golden Gate University School of Law.

Sundin practices in California and works in estate planning, trusts and estates, taxation, elder law, family law, and litigation. Urbanski focuses on family law and handles divorce, custody, support, domestic violence, partnership dissolution, property division, and prenuptial agreements. He earned his bachelor's degree from Stanford University.