About Us

Managing Attorney

Maria Parker assists her clients plan for their end of life health care wishes and the ultimate distribution of their wealth after death. She personally experienced the importance of planning at the time her father passed away. He had his wishes and instructions in a well prepared estate plan. In doing so, he provided comfort to his surviving spouse and family members because they knew exactly what he wanted. After this experience, Maria became passionate about helping her clients follow this same path and make a difficult time a bit easier on those who are left grieving.

After more than 15 years and hundreds of transactions as a real estate broker, Maria realized how few homeowners hold title to their property in a trust. Without a trust, surviving family members are exposed to a year long Probate process as well as being subject to (avoidable) higher capital gains taxes when they inherit the property. Maria is dedicated to helping her clients have the appropriate documents in place so the family can continue on and receive the legacy they are intended without lengthy court involvement and with the greatest possible tax savings.

Maria achieved her undergraduate degree with honors at Point Loma Nazarene University, and her Juris Doctorate from California Western School of Law in beautiful downtown San Diego, California.

In addition to being a licensed attorney in California, Maria Parker has been a real estate professional since 1992. She went on to become a licensed mortgage broker, founding and running her own real estate brokerage for many years until the 2007 lending crisis happened. Maria began reflecting at this time about what the next chapter in her professional life might be. There needed to be an emphasis on the idea where it would be her role to help people through difficult situations and be a career that built on her 15 years of experience in real estate transactions.

Shortly after this, Maria's father passed in 2008. He had a notebook with everything listed, all of his wishes planned for and in place. When the time came, Maria's mother was able to call a phone number listed in the instructions found within the notebook. She knew exactly what to do because it was all written down. During this difficult time, Maria realized how wise her father had been to prepare his family for his passing so that the process would be as painless as possible. Maria became passionate about how she would be able to help others in this way--by becoming an attorney focused on estate planning. She successfully completed law school, receiving her Juris Doctorate, and became an attorney focused on assisting clients with needs related to estate planning, trusts, and probate.

Today Maria is the founder and senior attorney at Parker Law Offices, serving clients from all walks of life in California. Aside of her legal work, Maria enjoys time with family, friends, and sailing with her husband.

Attorney of Counsel

H. Brooks Travis was the founder and President of the Law Offices of H. Brooks Travis, PC. for over eighteen years before his practice was acquired by Parker Law Offices in April of 2022 .Brooks remains as Attorney of Counsel and his firm functioned much as Parker Law Offices continues to, with a focus on Estate Planning (Wills and Trusts), Charitable Giving, Special Needs Planning, Asset Protection, Probate Law, Trust Administration, and Business Formation.

Brooks received his Juris Doctorate at the Chapman University School of Law in Orange, California in 2004. He completed courses in the areas of Estate Planning, Gift and Estate Taxation and Planning for Non-profit Organizations. Brooks has also undergone extensive training in the area of Retirement Asset Planning specializing in the unique tax and planning requirements for IRAs, 401ks and Government Pension Plans (see www.irahelp.com. 

Prior to establishing his Estate Planning practice and while Brooks was a student at Chapman School of Law,  he served an internship at the South Orange County District Attorney’s Office where he argued for the state in prosecuting criminal defendants. While at Chapman, he also worked with disadvantaged elderly clients by providing legal representation in the areas of Wills and Trusts, Social Security Dispute Resolution and in the Prevention of Elder Abuse. Brooks is also certified as a practitioner in the area of Advocacy and Dispute Resolution. 

In addition to Brooks’ Estate Planning background, Brooks’ education also includes an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. He also received his BBA in Accounting from Baylor University in Waco, Texas . Brooks also has extensive business management experience in the areas of Business Planning, Strategic Planning and Investment Real Estate. 

Brooks and his wife Joan were married in 1989 and lived in the Mission Viejo area for most of that time. After transitioning his firm to Parker Law Offices, Brooks and Joan moved to Maryland so that they would be close to family. They have been blessed with many new friends in the area and enjoy spending their spare time having fun together with their family and following the exploits of their daughter’s career.

General Manager

Born in Pasadena, Phil Parker’s family has a long connection to estate planning law. Phil’s Grandfather, Harvey M. Parker, was the Senior Partner of a law firm in Pasadena which was 140 years old at the time of his passing. Having worked at the firm for all of his adult life, Harvey shared many stories about practicing estate planning law over the years with Phil, who remembered thinking as a young child at the time that his wise, softly spoken grandfather should have been the President of the United States.

A graduate of the University of Southern California, Phil has enjoyed a career which included a variety of positions–such as being an HR Manager, Marketing Manager, and a National Technical Sales Representative. Most recently, Phil was working as a Senior Business Systems Analyst. During his twenty-year long career in this role, Phil developed databases, data management systems for end users and senior management, wrote complex SQL programs as well as both supporting and managing numerous projects and programs focused on large scale system implementations at the enterprise level for large and Fortune 500 companies.

In the beginning after Phil and Maria made the decision to launch Parker Law Offices, Maria practiced law during the weekdays while Phil built out the foundations for the firm’s website during nights and weekends. Additionally, Phil evaluated key systems, data sources and vendor service suppliers, all of which were put in place to support various aspects of Parker Law Offices’ day to day operations. Phil next turned to planning various marketing strategies with the goal of client outreach. Gradually business grew for the firm over time, and in early 2020 Phil transitioned fully into his present role of General Manager for the firm. Today Phil manages the operations and administrative side of day to day operations at Parker Law Offices. These areas include information technology, human resources, website, marketing and others.

Phil and Maria work passionately together as a husband and wife team, offering “The Perfect Client Experience” to those who need help with estate plans, trust administrations, probate matters and other related services. On the weekends they enjoy time with friends and family as well as with their shared and mutually loved pastime of sailing, which originally was how they met. Today, Phil and Maria often spend their spare time enjoying sailing off the coast of Southern California on their Catalina sailboat out of Dana Point Harbor.

Attorney

Nicole M. Manchin, Esq. received her undergraduate education from University of California, Santa Barbara where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, a Minor in Education, and received a Technology Management Certificate. Nicole was a part of the Dean's list throughout her undergraduate career.

Nicole obtained her Juris Doctorate from Western State College of Law. During law school, Nicole received the honor of participating as a Deans’ Circle Member and was the recipient of the IL Summer Honors Fellowship where she obtained an externship at the Orange County Superior Court with the Honorable Kimberly Menninger assisting with criminal matters. Additionally, Nicole served as a Co-President for the Entertainment & Sports Law Association and participated as a member of Law Review.

During and after law school, Nicole was employed at a labor and employment law firm where she assisted attorneys in representing employee’s rights for wrongful termination, overtime pay, class action lawsuits, settlements, and more. Thereafter, Nicole was employed at an estate planning firm specializing in high asset clients. Just prior to joining Parker Law Offices, Nicole was employed at an HOA law firm where she represented multiple homeowner's associations with various issues. These positions have allowed Nicole to gain extensive experience in both business law and real estate law.

Above all else, Nicole realized her love for helping others during difficult times, as well as protecting their assets and creating legacies for generations to come. This was why she decided to continue with her career focus in estate planning law. Nicole looks forward to working with all clients from all walks of life, as well as the generations which follow them.

In her spare time, Nicole enjoys watching sports, going to the beach, and spending time with her husband, family, and friends.

If you have any questions and would like to make an appointment for a consultation, fill out the form and we will get in touch with you shortly.