Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann, LLP

I hired Robert Temmerman as my father's estate attorney and co-trustee's counsel, and my experience left me deeply concerned about how he handled an elderly, mentally vulnerable client.

My father's mental capacity was in question at the time these agreements were signed. Temmerman was aware of this. He told my father's co-trustee that even if it were later found that my father lacked capacity, it "wouldn't be a problem" and he would "work around it." He then picked my father up and brought him to a meeting that had officially been cancelled, and asked him, out of context, in a way clearly meant to get a yes, whether he wanted to make amends with his son. Unsurprisingly, my father said yes, and that answer was used to justify decisions and agreements that I don't believe reflected his actual wishes or state of mind.

I was left with roughly $100,000 in billing I considered unjustifiable. When I refused to pay, interest was allowed to accumulate and was eventually tied to an unmortgaged house, which was then liened.

I believe there was a legitimate malpractice claim here, and I looked into filing one. But my strong impression, after dealing with him, was that he had deep, longstanding ties within the Bay Area legal community, the kind of old boys' network relationships that made it feel like anything brought against him would be an uphill, if not futile, fight. That perception alone was enough to make me walk away from pursuing it further.

If you have an aging parent, or are a fiduciary considering hiring this attorney, I suggest you look further and find someone ethical.

Stay far, far, far away and then go even farther away if possible. Irresponsible, not communicative, take advantage, charge fees like crazy but when it comes to doing actual work or communicating they are extremely negligent.

This was one of the most frustrating and disappointing experiences I've ever had with a law firm. After paying a retainer, the attorney I hired did essentially nothing on my case. For over 40 days, I repeatedly asked for updates and received little to no communication.

There was no transparency about any communication with opposing counsel, despite the time that had passed.

To make matters worse, I was told by the legal assistant, Lianna Martinez, I would only receive a partial refund, even though no meaningful work had been completed. Being charged for a lack of service and zero communication is unacceptable.

This experience showed a complete lack of accountability, organization, and respect for clients. I would strongly caution anyone considering this firm to think twice and look elsewhere.

I can't thank Shani & Alyssa enough. What would have been a very uncomfortable and sensitive experience they navigated with kindness and patience. Thank you for helping us and being so on top of things. Such a great team here! Highly recommend them to anyone who is looking for help with Estate planning. Will definitely be a repeat client!

They do not deserve one star but the system make you at least give one star.
The attorney Robert Temmerman was so negligent that he let the trustee of my father's trust steal over one million dollars from my family. Also Temmerman let the trustee inflate his expenses. Since the trustee was using my father's money to pay Temmerman, the trustee also paid his kids to do work for him which is a conflict of interest. All these crooks care about is money. Stay far away from this so called law office.