Who Am I?
By Loren Acuna Emmanuel
The morning air, full of promise – rain drops hiding in the air – this is my favorite time of year. Perhaps because my birthday ends Summer and starts Fall. Perhaps because when I was a kid, I loved the new school year.
I love to learn. It’s part of what keeps me working in my practice. Over the years, I graduated from UC Berkeley with a major in Political Economies of Industrial Societies or as I thought of it, Urban Economics. At the time, city planning seemed like a promising career. Bay Area governments were working to find solutions to a housing crisis – back when a house in Berkely sold for ….. wait for it ….. $125,000 and that seemed extra expensive.
Something drew me towards business and finance. I think it was the complexity of the secondary mortgage market during the days before CMOs were toxic. I do love a good puzzle! Also, my job at Citicorp Investment Bank pushed me towards enjoying networking and seeking a good deal for both my company and my clients.
Then, surprise! A baby arrived in the midst of my career ladder climb. One of the best things to happen to me. At that moment, I only wanted to be a mom. But I knew my mind would need something to keep me sane, so I enrolled in a Masters in Business Administration at USC. Juggling diapers and deadlines, I actually loved both the joy of caring for my daughters and the challenge of learning.
The next phase of my worklife eventually led me to need better worklife balance. So, I took a job offer from a small estate planning firm. Little did I know that it would be some of the most intense work time of my life. I mean, you would think the husband/boss would understand, but while he did, the Mistress of Law does not allow for much grace.
I sometimes describe those ten years working in a Probate, Trust Administration and Conservator legal practice as a paralegal and firm Treasurer, as like “living in sin” and finally deciding to get married. I handled all types of trust cases – from the good, the bad and the ugly of estate litigation to helping a newly widowed wife get her finances organized. I liked the variety of a fiduciary practice so much, I became a card carryng California licensed professional fiduciary, number 534.
These days the complexity of family dynamics have stretched me into a stronger focus on finding creative solutions to sticky estate problems. As the named neutral, my job is to take prudent action rather than give advice. If you ask my kids, they would probably say that resonates with how I learned to parent. Better yet, I get to practice these skills just down the street from my home, after I take my dog Miss Dee Dee for her morning walk in the open space.
And each new case is a new puzzle to solve. To find a way to do this job of “guardian angel” or “midwife into heaven”, with faith that a Higher Power is guiding me to help those who need us.
