Education:
- UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law (Berkeley Law), JD 1999
- University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, M.A. 1996, with distinction
- University of California Santa Barbara, B.A. 1993
Kristina R. Hess
Estate Planning Attorney • Mediator • Legacy Building Coach
Kristina’s passion is to embody an everlasting trust with each of her valuable clients. Her mission is to establish legal and inspirational legacies in order to pass them on to your future generations. Her objective, as your family attorney is to listen, to understand, and to protect you regarding legal, financial, plus business decisions throughout your life with her most compelling goal—to empower your loved ones when you cannot. Her vision is to be your guiding angel and is the bedrock foundation for KR Hess Law.
At her core, she is a strategic, yet creative thinker that comprehends the legal issues facing you as they relate to your individual life situation. Combine that with her analytical skills, and Kristina will efficiently equip you with the legal instruments to protect your hard earned wealth and, were something ever to happen, ensure that all you have earned throughout your life, stays within your family structure.
Prior to establishing her own firm in 2009, Kristina has a proven track record with over 24 years of legal experience, highlighted with San Francisco’s prestigious law firms such as Shearman & Sterling and Pillsbury Winthrop. Her extensive “best practice” experience has been focused in a wide variety of complementary practice areas to include Estate Planning, Living Trusts, Charitable Planning, Litigation, Mediation and Conflict Resolution. Added to this, she is a co-author of Amazon’s best seller book, More Than Money – How to Leave a Lasting Legacy to Your Family.
She is a graduate from Berkeley Law School. Following that, Kristina was trained at Pepperdine’s Straus Institute and at Harvard University in conflict resolution and has worked as a court appointed mediator to resolve litigation, family business, real estate, and trust/estate disputes.
Kristina is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law by The State Bar of California.
Ms. Hess enjoys playing soccer, skiing, playing pickleball, and hiking with her husband and their two pups: Maverick and Charlie.
Kimberly Mike
Client Services • California Notary Public
Kimberly Mike studied Psychology at California State University San Marcos and received her bachelor’s in psychology at National University. Kimberly has been working with us as Client Services and a Notary since 2022. She is driven and organized to always make sure she meets our clients’ needs. On her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and son.
Erin O’Donnell
Client Services Associate • Paralegal
Rachel Lee
Law Clerk
Rachel Lee earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California and is a recent graduate of the University of California, Irvine School of Law (UCI Law). At UCI Law, she served as President of the UCI Tax Law Society and as Associate Editor of the UCI Law Review. At KR Hess Law, Rachel approaches estate planning with compassion and care and is dedicated to providing attentive, client-focused service.
Lee Trahan
Document Production • California Notary Public
Lee Buthod Trahan, originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, studied Criminal Justice at the University of Tulsa and Law at the University of Virginia. She retired from practicing real estate and business litigation law to raise her three boys. She has been working with us as a Notary since 2011, and helps with drafting estate planning documents.
Aaron Haymes
Client Services Associate
Darren Wagoner
Funding Coordinator
Lee Polzin
Web Development and Graphic Design
Lee Polzin has been with KR Hess Law, PC since the very beginning. Lee is a graphic designer, web developer, and owner of Luminary Graphics. Lee maintains our website, creates KR Hess Law’s marketing materials, email newsletters, educational You Tube Videos, and client Trust Charts.