John Van Atta is an estate planning, probate and trust attorney with the Law Office of Stephen H. Reese in Honolulu, Hawaii.  He has been advising individuals, families, and business owners on estate and business planning for over 14 years.  John brings a depth of experience counseling clients on a range of matters from fundamental estate planning, such implementing wills and living trusts, to more complex estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax strategies.

John enjoys working closely with clients, learning about and understanding their family and financial backgrounds and goals, and helping to guide and educate them on strategies and tools to create a safe and secure plan for the future.  He is at home discussing both fundamental and more advanced topics with clients and takes pride in tailoring his discussion to each individual, listening closely and providing appropriate guidance.

John also has a background in litigation and has represented trust and estate fiduciaries and beneficiaries, as well as business owners, in legal proceedings.  He has appeared in both state and federal courts, as well as complex arbitration.  Now, John uses his litigation background to help understand and prevent disputes for his clients.

John received his law degree from the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.  While at Hastings, John served on the editorial board of the Hastings Constitutional Law Journal and competed for both the Hastings Trial Team and Moot Court Team.  John completed internships with the United States Attorney’s Office and the California Attorney General’s office, as well as a summer working for Justice James C. Nelson of the Montana Supreme Court.

John is a member of the Hawai’i Bar Association, the Montana Bar Association, and the American Bar Association, and the Real Property, Tax, Trust, and Estate Section of the American Bar Association.  John holds inactive licenses in the states of North Dakota and Wyoming.

Outside of work, John enjoys hiking, reading, getting to the beach and spending time with his wife, Sarah, and their cat, Chunk.