Law Offices of Stephen E. Penner

Add to Favorites

Attorneys, Accident & Property Damage Attorneys, Adoption Law Attorneys

OPEN NOW

Today: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

47 Years

in Business

Accredited

Business

(805) 965-0085Call Visit WebsiteVisit Website Map & DirectionsDirections1215 De La Vina St Ste KSanta Barbara, CA 93101

Is this your business?

Customize this page.

Claim This Business

Hours

Regular Hours

Mon - Fri:	8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Places Near Santa Barbara with Attorneys

Summerland (10 miles)
Goleta (11 miles)

More Info

Email

BBB Rating

Payment method

amex, check, debit, discover, mastercard, visa

Neighborhoods

Downtown Santa Barbara, West Downtown

AKA

Penner Stephen E

Stephen E Penner Law Offices

Other Links

http://www.attorneypenner.com

https://pennerandpurves.com/contact

Categories

Details

Phone: (805) 965-0085

Address: 1215 De La Vina St Ste K, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Website: http://www.attorneypenner.com

People Also Viewed

View similar Attorneys

Suggest an Edit

Law Offices of Stephen E. Penner

Divorce
Child Support
Both parents have a legal duty to provide financial support for their children. In California, as in most other states, the court may order either parent or both parents to make regular child support payments that cover a child’s living and medical expenses. Child support in California is determined by a set formula based on each parent's income and the amount of time parents spend with the children, as well as other factors. Our law office has four decades of experience in helping one parent seek and receive child support payments from the other parent. We regularly also assist those who want to make changes in existing child support orders. Recognizing that everything changes with time, the law allows child support to be modified when a significant change in circumstances can be shown.
Child Custody and Visitation
Santa Barbara family law attorney Stephen E. Penner and his team have handled thousands of cases and have an in-depth understanding of how the courts approach custody arrangements. We encourage clients to communicate and draft custody agreements that are workable between both parents. A well-drafted agreement should consider the parents' jobs, the ages of the children, and the children's special needs and extracurricular activities. If parties are unable to collaborate on custody issues, the outcome of the case will be decided by a judge — a complete stranger to the children's needs. There are many different variations of child custody that may be negotiated based on a consideration of all the circumstances. A judge could designate different custody options without your control, including...
Adoption
Paternity
Premarital Agreement
Marital Agreements: Once you are married, you and your spouse may enter into a marital agreement ("postnuptial agreement"). Couples can agree to affect their marital rights incident to their marriage, both during their lifetime and even after their death. The big difference between prenuptial agreements and marital agreements concerns the fiduciary or confidential relationship the spouses have to one another, created by the marriage (Family Code §§ 721(b), 1100(c)). Once married, both spouses become a fiduciary to the other. As such, imposed on each spouse is the duty of highest good faith and fair dealing with the other spouse, and neither spouse can take any unfair advantage of the other. Included in this fiduciary relationship is the requirement that both spouses provide the other with full disclosure of any and all information pertaining to issues contained in the agreement.
Guardianship
Spousal Support
A marital settlement agreement, also known as a property settlement agreement, is a written contract dividing your property, spelling out your rights, and settling problems such as alimony and custody. A marital settlement agreement is necessary after you have filed for divorce, even if you and your spouse are still living together.
Legal Separation
Q: While filing summary dissolution forms, what should I write as the date of separation? I have never applied to court for separation. Is the date of separation referring to the date when my spouse and I started living separately? (although we didn't go to court to get a legal separation). Or should I leave the field empty?

Criminal Defense
Shayna was born and raised in Santa Barbara. She left her beautiful hometown to attend San Diego State University, where she initially majored in Child Development, but ended up graduating with a degree in Criminal Justice. As a student at SDSU, Shayna volunteered as an Investigative Intern with the San Diego Public Defender during her last year. Her experience with the public defender’s office confirmed her desire to work in criminal defense in the future. Shayna’s background in child development and family relations also inspired her to seek a career in family law. Upon graduating from SDSU in 2018, Shayna was hired as a legal assistant at a criminal defense firm where she worked until she started law school at California Western School of Law in 2019. While attending Cal Western, Shayna competed in national competitions as a member of the competitive trial team. She also served as Trial Coordinator on the Moot Court Honors Board and Secretary of the Criminal Law Association, and was an active member of the Women’s Law Caucus and X0NR8. As a 3L, Shayna was a clinical extern with the Santa Barbara Public Defender while also working as a Legal Assistant with The Law Offices of Stephen E. Penner, PC, until she graduated law school in April 2022. During her externship, she worked in the post-convictions unit where she assisted in getting a client released from prison after serving 36 years for a crime he did not commit. Shayna passed the July 2022 California Bar Exam and is excited to be back with The Law Offices of Stephen E. Penner, so she can continue giving back to the community that helped raise her. When she’s not working, Shayna is probably reading another true crime book, lifting weights at CrossFit, or giving her dog Ollie all the treats (he’s a very good boy).
Wrongful Death
Theft
Assault
Identity Theft
At The Law Offices of Stephen E. Penner, we have regularly served as advocates for the rights and the protection of the elderly. We are prepared to utilize a range of options and remedies, from filing an Elder Abuse Restraining Order to filing a civil lawsuit for elder abuse causes of action. Another part of this advocacy means keeping up-to-date with recent law. Our office does this by regular legal research and education in multiple areas, including the following: the status of 2016 regulations prohibiting pre-dispute arbitration agreements with nursing homes, recent developments regarding the targeting of elders for identity theft, various kinds of financial fraud by fiduciaries, predatory lending, and telemarketing fraud.
Restraining Order
Litigation involving elder financial abuse can occur under the California Probate Code (involving actions against personal representatives, conservators, inheritance, and trusts) or under civil actions which may include restraining orders and/or civil complaints.
Internet Crimes
The current business environment involves both the traditional and virtual spheres. Nevertheless, the fundamentals of business are still the keys to success. Whether they operate online or in a brick-and-mortar enterprise, business owners of every size require sound legal advice to protect their interests. Our team is well versed in business law with extensive experience in small business start up and development, business association creation, Internet law issues, and e-commerce. We provide clients with efficient, affordable solutions to their business challenges and can advise and protect businesses from start up to wind up, covering a wide range of business law issues such as...

Business and Corporate Law

Business Formation
Business Disputes
Business Transactions
Clients come to us to solve difficult life problems and conflicts, or to make critically important life decisions based upon the persons and relationships that they most value in the world. It is fundamental for legal professionals to understand that, when they assist clients with the law, they are not dealing with mere business transactions, nor with professional abstractions – they are dealing with intimate, large, life-and-death matters in the lives of real embodied persons. Everyone hires a lawyer to solve day-to-day, practical problems that can fundamentally shape and determine one’s family relationships, financial liberty and independence, and the future care and security of one’s self and one’s family and loved ones. There are many conflicts resolved by the legal system that are quite literally a matter of life and death to the individuals and families affected. It is for this reason that Empathy is one of our Core Values.
Limited Liability Companies
Formation of business entities, including partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), corporations, joint ventures, and international business ventures
Intellectual Property

Employment Contract
Knowledge of the fundamentals of business is still the key to success, and business owners of every size need sound legal advice to protect their interests. If you are just starting out, then you will need to decide what kind of legal business entity to create in order to best serve your goals and your business plan. We can help advise you as you make the right choice. We are also experienced in creating the appropriate business formation documents for corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, and sole proprietorships, and we can draft these documents for you and give you guidance as to what needs to be filed where. If you are already in business, we are able to draft re-formation documents, client contracts, employment agreements, employment policies, or other legal documents you need in order to efficiently run and protect your business, avoiding unnecessary problems along the way.

Real Estate Litigation
We live in an age of bureaucratic and technocratic specialization. The problem with specializing in only one area of the law is the struggle to keep the big picture in view. For example, a family law specialist who does not practice in estate planning will often make costly mistakes for a client due to a lack of understanding as to how decisions in a divorce or child custody dispute can affect the client’s family trust and estate plan. An attorney who specializes in only estate planning will often make serious or costly errors due to a lack of detailed knowledge in real estate law. This applies across the board. As general practice attorneys, Stephen E. Penner and J.A.A. Purves are able to apply and tailor their knowledge and experience in multiple areas of law to each individual case in order to obtain the best possible outcome for their clients. Effective and persuasive advocacy involves taking in the big picture, being well-rounded in both philosophy and practice, and exercising both moral imagination and outside-the-box creativity.
Real Estate Transactions
The Law Offices of Stephen E. Penner have decades of experience in assisting clients in resolving various real estate issues. There is a vast body of law that governs real estate transactions in California, and it is important to recognize situations that necessitate the advice and protection of legal counsel. While the Internet can be an important tool for educating oneself about real estate issues, it is important to consult with a practiced and experienced attorney well-versed in the complexities of the California Civil Code as well as California’s various real estate statutes and the regulations of various California administrative agencies.
Easement
Landlord-Tenant Disputes

Personal Injury
From 1977-1980, Stephen built up his practice and expanded his client base by primarily working on Criminal Defense, Family Law, and Personal Injury cases. In 1980 Stephen moved to his current location at 1215 De La Vina Street. Stephen began to expand his practice to include Estate Planning and Trust & Probate Litigation, as well as Civil Litigation, Real Estate, Business, and Product Liability claims.
Auto Accidents

Trusts and Estates

Estate Planning
Don't Forget To Protect Your Furry Family Members: Estate Planning for Your Pets — The Law Offices of Stephen E. Penner
Wills
A last will and testament is the most commonly thought-of document when it comes to an estate plan. But really it is only a very small part of an integrated plan that ensures your family stays out of court and out of conflict if and when something happens to you.
Trusts
In fact, a will is a foundational part of nearly every person’s estate plan. Yet, you may want to combine your will with a living trust to avoid the blind spots inherent in plans that rely solely on a will. As you’ll learn below, the biggest of these blind spots is the fact that if your estate plan only consists of a will, you are guaranteeing your family has to go to court if you become incapacitated or when you die.
Power of Attorney
With a trust, however, you can include provisions that appoint someone of your choosing — not the court’s — to handle your assets if you’re unable to do so. When combined with a well-drafted medical power of attorney and living will in your advance health care directive, a trust can keep your family out of court and out of conflict in the event of your incapacity, while ensuring your wishes regarding your medical treatment and end-of-life care are carried out exactly as you intended.
Probate
Since graduating from law school, I have spent time volunteering for political campaigns, participating in City Council legal research projects, preparing a Constitutional Law college textbook, and working with a grassroots lobby firm in Washington, D.C. After returning from my tour of duty in Iraq, I moved back to California and worked over six years in both criminal and civil practice in Stanislaus County, including assisting at trials and preparing appellate briefs for the California Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court. Since then I have worked for over an additional seven years in Santa Barbara in Estate Planning and Family Law, and I have now chosen to concentrate on Trusts and Estates along with Trust & Family Law dispute resolution. Towards this end, I am also currently working to become a Certified Specialist with the California State Bar in Estate Planning, Trust, & Probate Law.

Bankruptcy
“ Thank you for the wonderful services and expertise rendered in filing my Chapter 7 Bankruptcy petition. Everything went smoothly with no hitches; and I appreciate you working with me regarding the payment of fees.

View All Services

Provided by