Benjamin H. Eagleton, Esq.
Attorney/Shareholder
Ben is a full-service Estate Law practitioner, who concentrates his practice on Estate Planning, Administration, Litigation and Elder Law. Ben's field of practice, in large part, focuses on the legal needs of individuals and their family members when planning for their own estates, and/or those transitioning through the loss or incapacity of a loved one. It is a practice area that he finds both intellectually stimulating and also meaningful to his clients, as he's able to guide them through major life changes and truly tough times.
Ben's legal career began shortly after moving from Pennsylvania to California in 2009. Around that time, Ben acquired a California Paralegal credential which allowed him to work full-time in the fields of Estate Law and Probate Litigation by day, while earning his Juris Doctor from Lincoln Law School of Sacramento by night. Also during law school, Ben began post-graduate Gerontology and Elder Advocacy studies. As well, he was trained as a Long-Term Care Ombudsman inspecting Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly, Board and Care facilities, and Skilled Nursing Facilities.
Ben's Estate Law experience, Ombudsman training, and his background in Gerontology and Elder Advocacy provides clients with valuable and unique insight into all things related to aging in California. Since 2010, Ben has drafted countless Estate Plans and administered and settled hundreds of Estates and Trusts. In 2013 he joined a well-known Law Group in Sacramento. There, with its accomplished team of litigators, Ben’s acumen in Pre-trial litigation, Law in Motion Practice, Business Law, Transactional, and Real Property Law were all developed and over the better part of a decade refined to precision.
Primary Practice Areas Include:
- Wills/Trusts and Estate Planning
- Elder Law
- Conservatorships
- Estate and Trust Administrations
- Probate and Trust Litigation
- Financial Elder Abuse
- Real Estate Disputes
In Court, Ben has been retained as an Expert Witness, and he has represented the interests of Executors, Administrators, Beneficiaries/Heirs, Conservators, Property Owners, and Creditors in various stages of litigation. Some Litigation Examples Include:
- Successfully representing Personal Representatives Petitioning for, and Opposing Removal;
- Litigating for and against Proponents and Opponents in Will Contests, including an International Will Contest;
- Litigating Ownership Interests in complex Partition and Accounting suits over Inherited Real Property;
- Representing Trustees in Heggstad Petitions to Transfer Property, using Probate Code §§ 850 and 17200, et seq.;
- Successfully representing Conservators in Conservatorship Proceedings;
- Obtaining Orders Granting Petitions for Substituted Judgments in Conservatorship proceedings;
- Litigating with Heirs in Petitions to Determine Entitlement to Estate Distributions;
- Successfully Defending and Objecting to Fiduciary Accountings;
- Litigating Petitions to Surcharge Personal Representatives, and Obtaining Surcharge Order;
- Litigating Petitions for Removal and Suspension of Powers;
- Successfully Litigating Inheritance Disputes over Modular Homes Permanently Affixed to Real Property;
- Defending Beneficiaries in Elder Abuse Litigation, and Petitions to Modify Trusts;
- Retained as Expert Witness in Probate Litigation to re Sales of Real Property Subject to Probate (Contra Costa County); and,
- Defending and successfully prosecuting claims of Undue Influence based on Statutory Presumption created by Fam. Code §721.
Elder Advocacy Outside the Office:
Ben advocates for California's aging population by serving on the Placer County Older Adult Advisory Commission where he advises the County Board of Supervisors and the Department of Health and Human Services on matters relating to aging residents of Placer County. As well, he has served on the Agency on Aging, Area IV as an Advisory Council member which is the principal advocate body in our region for our aging population where he sat on the Joint Evaluations Committee, and reviewed large grants for Senior service providers. As a Community Educator, Ben lectures on behalf of the Alzheimer's Association of Northern California and Northern Nevada.
In 2021, Ben began serving as a panel attorney for the Del Oro Caregiver Resource Center, a private non-profit organization with a mission to improve the well-being of family caregivers and to provide support throughout the care giving process. This organization is an invaluable resource for the caregivers of any individual experiencing cognitive change and/or decline. The services provided by Del Oro are designed to enable families to keep their loved ones at home for as long as possible.
Associations/Committees:
- American Bar Association
- California Bar Association, Trusts & Estates Section
- Placer County Bar Association, Estate Planning & Probate Section - Secretary/Vice Chair
- American River College, Legal Assisting Advisory Committee
- Placer County Older Adult Advisory Commission - Commissioner Reporting on Older Adult Housing Issues
Volunteer Work:
- American River College, Gerontology Guest Lecturer
- American River College, Paralegal Studies Guest Lecturer
- MTI College, Legal Studies Guest Lecturer
- The Courte at Citrus Heights, Validation Therapy
- Precinct Judge, Placer County Elections Office
- Alzheimer's Association - Northern California and Northern Nevada, Community Educator
- CLE - Placer County Bar Association: “Til: Death do us Part: Statutory Presumptions of Undue Influence Arising from Interspousal Transactions”
- Legal Services of Northern California - Probono Attorney - CLE - Sacramento County Bar Association: “Til: Death do us Part: Statutory Presumptions of Undue Influence Arising from Interspousal Transactions” - Capital Pro Bono - Probono Attorney
Leisure Time:
Ben enjoys boating, climbing 14,000 ft. summits in the Sierra Nevada (including Mt. Whitney the tallest mountain in the continental United States), scuba diving along California's coastline, traveling, sampling the grape all over the West Coast, and spending time with his wife and son.