Clients Come First

Ashley L. Thompson

Attorney

Ashley was born in Santa Cruz and grew up in Scotts Valley. Ashley founded Beautiful Life Estate Planning on the belief that the traditional practice of law is often flawed, designed to escalate conflict or be purely transactional.  Ashley has chosen to be different, and has implemented a unique method for serving families by educating and empowering them to make informed decisions that best align with their individual needs, goals, and objectives.  Her mission is to help clients pass on more than just their money and she encourages others to think of estate planning as the best way to live a full and meaningful life.

Before founding Beautiful Life Estate Planning, Ashley spent seven years practicing as a litigator.  Disillusioned with the law, Ashley took a leave of absence from her legal career to walk dogs and bake at a local bakery.  After two years away, Ashley returned to the law to serve clients in a more humane way that keeps families out of court and out of conflict.  A proud aunt, Ashley understands the importance of estate planning from both the perspective of a loving family member and an experienced trial attorney.  When not dedicating time to her estate planning clients, Ashley enjoys playing with her nephew, running in Henry Cowell, and baking cookies.

Ashley graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude with college honors from UCLA in 2009.  Ashley received her Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law in 2012.

Check out Ashley being interviewed by the local newspaper here! Click the logo below.

Deja Herbert

Paralegal and social media manager

Deja works virtually for Beautiful Life Estate Planning and loves being a part of the team! Her focus as a Paralegal and Marketing Director is to enhance the interactive experience between clients and the law firm across our social media platforms and various channels, and ultimately, to help ensure that the entire experience is organized from start to finish.

Deja has a strong background in Customer Service and Success, having a wide range of experience in management/supervisory roles, account management, and most recently, process improvement and management. She wishes to help others achieve a sense of independence, and she strives to teach and lead, rather than direct people to get them to their goals. These morals directly correlate to Beautiful Life Estate Planning’s mission to educate the community about estate planning and to provide them with the knowledge to make important decisions in their lives. Having lost her father in late 2020, and not having anything in place for him prior to his passing (not even a will), Deja personally knows the unfortunate after-effects of not doing estate planning as well as the mess it can leave behind.

In her free time, Deja enjoys reading, spending quality time with her boyfriend, and teaching herself new skills. She also loves listening to music, and is privy to a wide range of genres, from R&B to smooth jazz to metal.

Deja graduated from Salisbury University with a BA in Psychology with a counseling track. She has also been HIPAA certified through Johns Hopkins Hospital and practices patient/client confidentiality.

Samantha Wenger

Legal and Marketing intern

Samantha was born and raised in Santa Cruz, California. She is currently attending Santa Clara University to obtain her undergraduate degree in Marketing and a minor in Real Estate Studies. She has a strong background in Customer Service and Media Relations which has translated into her communication and organizational skills.

Samantha is interested in pursuing a career in the field of law and is gaining valuable and interactive experience at Beautiful Life Estate Planning. This interest is sparked by her wish to help others and her motivation to do so! Her confident personality, attention to detail, and people-pleaser core has given her the desire to embark on this journey.

Samantha can relate to helping others with their estate planning needs having lost her grandmother. Her grandmother did not have an organized plan when she passed which caused family tensions. After this first-hand experience, Samantha is motivated to ensure that our clients avoid this situation, and to help our clients prevent future family drama.

In her free time, Samantha enjoys being active, playing pickleball, volleyball, wakesurfing, snowboarding, and riding dirtbikes! She loves spending time at the beach with her friends and family, and always loves a good movie night!