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Section | Family Law

Family Law and Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Sections Meeting (virtual)

Going It Alone: How to Preserve Separate Property Without a Prenup or Postnup Using Estate Planning

SPEAKERS:
Vanessa Wills | Vance & Wills, P.C.
Jennifer Jaynes | Law Office of Jennifer Jaynes

Please join the MCBA Family Law and Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Sections for this virtual presentation, Going It Alone: How to Preserve Separate Property Without a Prenup or Postnup Using Estate Planning on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 at 12:00 PM via Zoom Webinar.

This presentation will address the scenario that arises when one spouse wishes to protect their separate property assets and income from the other spouse when a premarital agreement or postmarital agreement is not available. Through creative estate planning and mindful financial planning, that spouse is able to insulate their separate property – but only to a point. Join Jennifer and Vanessa as they discuss the scope and limitations of unilateral wealth preservation, to help you better guide your clients facing these concerns.

***For those that are not able to attend but interested in the post-meeting recording, we require that you Register for the Event. Once the presentation has concluded, if the recording is adequate, we will send it to those that were not able to attend. MCBA does not provide CLE for viewing recordings post presentation.***

Chelsea Heaney and Emily Lane
Co-Chairs, MCBA Family Law Section

MCBA IS AN APPROVED PROVIDER AND CERTIFIES THAT THIS ACTIVITY HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR MINIMUM CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT BY THE STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA IN THE AMOUNT OF 1.0 HOUR. ELIGIBLE TOWARDS General/LEGAL SPECIALIZATION (ESTATE PLANNING, TRUST & PROBATE LAW) LSCLE CREDIT.

MCLE Notice: To receive MCLE credit, for in person: you must sign in/out at registration table. If virtual: you must connect by digital device; i.e., tablet or computer. Call in by telephone only will not qualify. This activity is approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of California. MCBA is a certified provider: Provider #411

People with disabilities and/or special requests should contact MCBA regarding reasonable accommodations.

1.0 CLE | General

Contact

Denise Belli | Email

04/21/2026 12:00 PM 04/21/2026 1:00 PM America/Los_Angeles Family Law and Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Sections Meeting (virtual) Going It Alone: How to Preserve Separate Property Without a Prenup or Postnup Using Estate Planning Zoom Webinar, , , CA, Marin County Bar Association info@marinbar.org false MM/DD/YYYY

Registration

Registration for this event has ended

Date and Location

Tuesday | April 21, 2026
12:00-1:00P

Zoom Webinar

Speaker Information

Vanessa Wills

Vance & Wills, P.C.

Vanessa provides individualized, expert, and compassionate legal counsel to clients facing divorce or other family law matters involving complex financial or custody issues. Her clients are high-net-worth individuals, including business owners, executives, professionals, trust beneficiaries, and their spouses. Vanessa is a Certified Family Law Specialist in California, a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), and a Super Lawyer®.

A leader in the family law community, Vanessa presents at family law events, including local bar associations, the Northern California Chapter of the AAML Symposium, and the Southern California Chapter of the AAML Trial Institute. She is the current president of the Napa County Family Law Bar Association and is active in the Northern California Chapter of the AAML, serving as co-chair for the 2025 Symposium and as a Group Leader for the AAML Trial Practicum. As a participant in the Trial Practicum in 2014, she was distinguished as an Honor Advocate. She has completed both the Trial Skills Course and the Advanced Business Valuation program at the National Family Law Trial Institute in Houston.

As a fourth-generation attorney, Vanessa was destined to improve the lives of others through the practice of law. She began her legal career at age sixteen as a file clerk. After receiving her B.A. in Law & Society from the University of California, Santa Barbara, she worked as an intellectual property litigation paralegal at Weil Gotshal & Manges, LLP. She attended the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she participated in several advanced advocacy competitions. She spent three years practicing civil litigation in San Francisco before becoming an associate attorney at Blevans & Blevans, LLP, in 2013, which brought her to the North Bay and to the practice of complex family law. In 2020, she partnered with Emily Vance to form Vance & Wills, P.C. Vanessa is based in the firm’s Napa office.

Website

Jennifer Jaynes

Law Office of Jennifer Jaynes

Jennifer Jaynes believes the estate-planning process is deeply personal, and she works hand in hand with each client to ensure their plan is comprehensive, specific to their needs, and understandable to them and their appointed fiduciaries. She provides individuals with the advice and tools they need to make the best and most informed decisions for themselves and their families.

Upon graduating from Golden Gate University School of Law with a JD and an LLM in taxation, Jaynes practiced in the area of family law with Winter & Ross in San Francisco. She handled high-end financial divorces, including custody, child and spousal support, and property division and distribution.

Growing weary of the belligerence and litigiousness of divorce law, Jaynes decided her desire to help families would be better served in the area of trusts and estates law, where she focuses on preventing conflict. She is also able to use her taxation expertise to help her clients preserve their wealth through the estate-planning process. Jaynes holds a BA in psychology and is admitted to the California Bar.

She formed the Law Office of Jennifer Jaynes in 2010 to provide clients with expert advice and the tools they need to make the best and most informed decisions for themselves and their families.

Website