Top Estate Planning Attorneys in Tarzana, CA (2026)

Tarzana has about 39,600 residents, a median home value near $1.1 million, and a Hispanic and Latino population share of about 48%, the highest of any city in this part of the Valley. That combination means two things at once: real equity built up in homes that need protecting, and a real need for estate planning conversations and documents that work in more than one language.

Tarzana is also built around the Ventura Boulevard professional corridor, a dense strip of medical and dental offices, and a lot of local wealth is tied up in professional practices, not just real estate. A solo practitioner’s practice does not automatically transfer to anyone when they die or become incapacitated. Without a written succession plan, a buy-sell agreement, or at minimum instructions for an emergency practice administrator, decades of goodwill and patient relationships can evaporate in weeks.

Below are estate planning attorneys who actually serve Tarzana, with verifiable credentials. This is not a ranking. It is a starting point for doing your own homework.

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How to vet an estate planning attorney

The California State Bar certifies attorneys as Legal Specialists in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law. Fewer than 1% of California attorneys hold this credential. It requires passing a written exam, demonstrating substantial experience, and submitting to peer review. You can verify any attorney’s specialist status at calbar.ca.gov.

A certified specialist is not automatically the right fit. But the designation tells you the attorney has submitted to outside scrutiny in this specific area of law, which is more than most marketing claims can say.

Beyond certification, look for:

• A practice focused on estate planning, not a general practice that also “does” trusts.
• Direct access to the attorney, not a paralegal-driven mill that hands you a binder.
• Flat, disclosed fees. If an attorney won’t tell you the cost before you sign, that tells you something.
• Familiarity with Los Angeles County probate procedures. Probate for Tarzana, like the rest of LA County, is centralized downtown at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 N. Hill Street, not at any Valley courthouse.

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Estate planning attorneys serving Tarzana

Ridley Law

Eric D. Ridley has practiced estate planning in Ventura County since 2010, working with families across Tarzana, the greater San Fernando Valley, and the surrounding area. The firm handles living trusts, wills, powers of attorney, advance healthcare directives, trust administration, and probate. Flat-fee pricing, disclosed before engagement. Free 30-minute initial consultation by phone or video.

567 W. Channel Islands Boulevard, Suite 210, Port Hueneme, CA 93041. (805) 244-5291.

Goldfarb & Luu, PC

Rebecca Goldfarb (Bar #240529) has practiced since approximately 2005, with a practice combining estate planning and elder abuse litigation, meaning the firm handles not just document drafting but the fallout when an elder’s finances or care have already been mishandled by someone else. The San Fernando Valley Business Journal recognized her as a “Trusted Advisor” in 2013.

18757 Burbank Boulevard, Suite 201, Tarzana, CA 91356. (818) 514-6019.

Law Offices of Alice A. Salvo

Alice Salvo (State Bar #103796) was admitted to the California Bar in 1982 and is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law. Her practice is limited to estate planning, trust administration, probate, and elder law. The San Fernando Valley Business Journal named her to its “Top 25 Lawyers of SFV” list.

20350 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 110, Woodland Hills, CA 91364. (818) 676-9572.

Law Offices of Gerald L. Kane

Gerald Kane (Bar #170557) is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law with a practice limited to estate planning, trust administration, probate, elder law, and VA benefits planning.

16255 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 510, Encino, CA 91436. (818) 905-6088.

Law Offices of Yacoba Ann Feldman

Yacoba Ann Feldman (Bar #100817) has practiced since approximately 1981 with a practice limited to estate planning and probate. She is active in the State Bar’s Trust and Estates section and the San Fernando Valley Bar Association’s probate section.

5850 Canoga Avenue, Suite 400, Woodland Hills, CA 91367. (818) 905-2424.

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What Tarzana families actually deal with

Ventura Boulevard practice succession

Tarzana’s stretch of Ventura Boulevard carries an unusually high concentration of solo and small-group medical and dental practices. A professional practice is often the single largest asset a physician or dentist owns, larger than the house, and it is also the asset most likely to lose most of its value the moment its owner dies or becomes incapacitated without a plan. A trust alone does not solve this. What’s needed alongside it is a buy-sell agreement if there are partners, disability and death provisions in the practice’s governing documents if it’s incorporated, and, at minimum, written instructions naming someone authorized to keep the practice running, pay staff, and notify patients in an emergency. Estate planning for a practice owner in Tarzana is a different conversation than estate planning for a salaried employee, and it should be treated that way.

Bilingual estate planning is not optional here

At roughly 48% of the population, Tarzana’s Hispanic and Latino community is the largest in this part of the Valley, and for many families, the working language at home is Spanish even when documents and legal conversations default to English. A trust a client doesn’t fully understand is a trust that doesn’t get funded correctly, doesn’t get updated when it should, and creates confusion at exactly the moment the family can least afford it. If English is not the primary language spoken at home, ask directly whether the attorney and staff can walk through the documents in the language the family is actually going to use to make decisions.

Prop 19 and Tarzana’s housing stock

Tarzana was largely built out from the 1950s through the 1970s, and homes bought during that window carry property-tax assessments far below today’s values. A home purchased decades ago for roughly $170,000, taxed at a bit over 1% plus local assessments, runs about $1,870 a year in property tax. The same home today, at Tarzana’s median value near $1.1 million, would be taxed at roughly $12,100 a year if fully reassessed.

Before Proposition 19 took effect in February 2021, a child who inherited a parent’s home also inherited the parent’s low tax basis, with no cap. That is no longer automatic. Under Prop 19, a child who inherits a parent’s primary residence and moves in within one year gets a partial exclusion: the first $1,044,586 of reassessed value above the prior taxable value is excluded (this figure adjusts every two years; the current amount covers transfers through February 15, 2027). A child who does not move in within a year gets no exclusion at all.

The probate math on a Tarzana home

California probate fees are set by statute (Probate Code §§ 10810 and 10800) and calculated on the gross value of the estate, not net equity. On a Tarzana home worth $1.1 million with a mortgage still owed, the fee is calculated on the full $1.1 million.

The statutory fee on a $1.1 million estate: $24,000 for the attorney and $24,000 for the executor. That is $48,000 in statutory fees alone, before court costs, filing fees, appraisals, or a petition for extraordinary compensation, and before adding a professional practice interest to the probate estate, which typically requires a separate business valuation.

A funded living trust avoids probate entirely. You pay for the trust once, while you’re alive and can make decisions. Your family pays for probate after you’re gone, with no say in what it costs.

Where Tarzana probate is heard

If an estate does go through probate, it is not filed at a Valley courthouse. Los Angeles County consolidates all probate matters at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 N. Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, downtown. Your attorney should know this without being told.

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Credentials listed are drawn from the firms’ own public information, the State Bar of California, and public court records. This page is not a ranking and is not an endorsement. Ridley Law is listed first because we publish this page, not because of any ranking; we are included because we serve Tarzana. We wrote this page, and we think you should know that. Verify any attorney’s license status and specialist certification at calbar.ca.gov.