Experience

Gaw Van Male, LLP

• United States
• Legal Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Senior Partner

  • Jun 1972 - Present

  In 1972, Dave co-founded Gaw Van Male with his friend Nick. Over the next 45 years, the firm grew to become Napa Valley’s premier law firm.Dave is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law, designated by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He is a former member of the Executive Committee for the State Bar of California Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Section. He is also a certified Elder Law Attorney of the National Elder Law Foundation, a member of the prestigious Council of Advanced Practitioners of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and an ACTEC fellow; as well as Vice President of LAWPACT, an International Association of Independent Business Law Firms.Dave is a frequent lecturer for the State Bar of California, the Continuing Education of the Bar, the CalCPA Education Foundation, and various private groups throughout California and the nation. He is the creator of The Gaw System: The Art of High End Estate Planning, and The Gaw System of Trust Administration which are widely used by attorneys and CPAs. He has authored the California Trust Administration (CEB) chapters Administering the Single-Person Trust After Settlor’s Death, and Subtrust Allocation and Funding on the Death of the First Spouse, and co-author of Administering Moderate Married Settlor Trust on the Death of the First Spouse and Further Steps After the Death of the First Spouse. He is also the author of the CEB Action Guides Marital Deduction Subtrust Funding and Administering a Single-Person Trust After Settlor’s Death.A core GVM value is community involvement. Dave has lived this value the entirety of his legal career. Dave is heavily involved in the Napa Valley community. He has seen Napa grow from a small town into the thriving center for wine and business that it is today. Dave is a past Chairman of many Napa Valley organizations including North Bay Bancorp and most recently the Napa Valley Community Foundation.