Hall & Evans has been assisting individuals in all aspects of trusts and estates law, including, designing and implementing their estate plans so that they may efficiently pass their estates, including closely-held business interests, to their family members and other beneficiaries. Joyce Nakamura heads the Trusts and Estates and ERISA practice groups.

I have had the pleasure of working with many of the same clients during my 23-year career at Hall & Evans. My clients and I have matured together and I have updated their estate plans as they have experienced changes in their financial and personal situations along with changes to their estate planning objectives. I have also been privileged to team up with my litigation partners in estate and trust litigation matters, including will contests and elder law fraud cases as well as ERISA litigation matters. Some of my clients have been victims of unscrupulous professional advisors, family members and other third parties. It has been extremely rewarding to successfully recover assets for my clients.

Joyce Nakamura works with individuals in the design of their estate plans incorporating estate tax planning and charitable planning techniques. Joyce works with employers in the selection and implementation of employee benefit plans and represents employers and plan sponsors in litigation involving ERISA plans. Litigation matters include:

Represented the decedent´s children to uphold the decedent´s will in a will contest brought by another child and, in the alternative to set-aside the decedent´s prior will being offered by the other child, which left the decedent´s estate to the other child. The District Court set-aside both wills, which resulted in the probate of the decedent´s 1980 will. The 1980 will provided equally for all of the decedent´s descendants, per capita. The other child appealed the District Court´s findings to the Colorado Court of Appeals and Hall & Evans´ appellate department successfully argued the case on appeal.

Represented an elderly client whose nephew had her transfer her property to him while she was recovering from surgery in the hospital. The nephew predeceased the client and the nephew´s common law spouse was appointed personal representative of the nephew´s estate. We represented the elderly client in a civil action against the common law spouse in her capacity as personal representative of the nephew´s estate to seek the return of the property. The case was settled by the parties prior to the client´s death.

Represented the sponsor and Plan Administrator of an employee pension benefit plan in a matter against the Plan´s third party record-keeper for losses experienced by the Plan´s participants. The losses were due to the third party record-keeper´s delays in depositing and investing the sponsor´s contributions to the Plan.

Joyce received her Masters of Law in Taxation from the University of Denver, Graduate Tax Program and has focused her practice in estate planning, ERISA, charitable planning and taxation.

Memberships

• American Bar Association
• Real Property, Probate and Trusts Section
• Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
• Colorado Bar Association, Trust and Estate Section
• Colorado Planned Giving Roundtable
• Estate Planning Council of Southeast Denver
• Strategic Connections, Inc., Downtown Denver Chapter

Business/Community Involvement

• Planned Giving Ambassador for the LMC Foundation
• Denver Public Library Friends Foundation, Board Member
• American Lung Association, Past President and Board Member
• The Denver Foundation: Expanding Nonprofit Inclusiveness Initiative, Steering Committee Member and Professional Advisors Council, Committee Member
• Dumb Friends League, Volunteer
• Graduate of the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, "50 For Colorado" Program

Education

• University of Denver, Graduate Tax Program, Master of Laws in Taxation
• University of California, Hastings College of the Law, J.D.
• University of Hawaii, B.A. Economics

Admitted to Practice

• Hawaii, 1982
• Colorado, 1984

Outside the Office
When not assisting my clients with their estate planning, probate and ERISA needs, I enjoy backcountry skiing to the 10th Mountain Huts with my law partners, taking cycling trips throughout the world and running.

Please contact Joyce at any time with your questions regarding legal disputes.