Our goal is to educate and empower you to understand your legal situation so you can effectively plan to avoid conflict, and where conflict exists successfully resolve it with ease and integrity.  

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we are dedicated to helping families protect their loved ones and achieve their estate planning goals. From wills and living trusts to navigating probate and special needs trusts, we offer comprehensive guidance and compassionate support. with over 25 years of legal experience, including 10 years of civil and family law litigation and 10 years providing estate planning information in non-profit settings, our vast experience and heartfelt care will ensure your legacy is passed on smoothly and securely.

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In some circumstances, we may provide "limited-scope representation" where our attorneys appear at certain important hearings for you.  Limited Scope representation is also called "unbundling" and may involve our professional legal document preparation for self (or "in pro per") representation.  This may involve legal coaching, ghost writing and legal research.  All at reasonable fees designed to get you successfully where you need to be to resolve your legal conflict with ease and less stress.  For those who feel full scope representation is their best option, we will always consider providing this important service at standard sliding-scale attorney rates.

Tanya Ridino, JD, is the Founder and Principal of Harmony Estate Planning and Mediation Services. Ms. Ridino is a Spanish-speaking Estate Planning Attorney with 25 years of diverse legal experience and deep community ties, having been raised in Watsonville. Her career in law is driven by both expertise and compassion, shaped by her personal experience navigating the complexities of her own parents' difficult divorce as a child. This journey inspired her commitment to empowering clients with knowledge and confidence in their legal decisions.
 
Over her career, Ms. Ridino has cultivated extensive knowledge across multiple legal domains.  After graduating from UCLA School of Law, she began with five years in prestigious multi-national law firms, followed by establishing a family law private practice. She then dedicated 15 years to providing pro bono legal aid through nonprofit organizations, including my tenure as Executive Director at Senior Legal Services. These experiences have instilled in her a community-orientated, service-first mindset, which is now the cornestone the Estate Planning practice at Harmony Law.
 
At Harmony Law, Ms. Ridino specializes in helping individuals and families prevent the emotional and financial toll of probate court through comprehensive estate planning. Should the need arise, she also represents clients in probate, conservatorship, and guardianship matters, providing trusted legal guidance and advocacy. She is passionate about delivering accessible and empathetic legal services to our community.
 

She previously served the non-profit community as Staff Attorney, Conservator Attorney and Executive Director of Senior Legal Services and as Independent General Counsel for the non-profit organization Monarch Services.  Ms. Ridino also has years of experience with juvenile dependency, adoptions, restraining orders and guardianships.  She is a community leader in Juvenile and Family legal and policy needs.  Dedicated to improving access to justice by providing information and education of the legal system and facilitating communication regarding disputes. 

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Ms. Ridino began her legal career with an internship litigating with the US Department of Justice in the Employment Rights Division.  She went on to practice civil litigation for 5 years in two large multi-national law firms in Washington D.C. and San Francisco.  She took a much needed break from law firm life and lived for nearly two years in Costa Rica. There, she gained Spanish proficiency along with patience and wisdom acquired from working on an organic farm. She returned to law determined to remain in her heart, and dedicated to working with community.  For the next five years, Ms. Ridino worked with the well known non-profit Legal Services of Northern California and opened and operated Mendocino County’s first Self-Help Legal Access Center inside the courthouse.  She also held a 5 year state contract for juvenile dependency representation to often impoverished, uneducated and drug addicted parents in the CPS child and welfare system.  As Independent General Counsel to Monarch Services-Servicios Monarcha (March 2015-2019) (previously known as Women's Defense Center-Defensa de la Mujeres) (a non-profit organization combating domestic violence, rape crises and human trafficking), Ms. Ridino had a varied family law, restraining order and victim rights practice.

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Ms. Ridino’s greatest asset might be her tenacious willingness to fight for your legal rights with the strength of true compassion and mindfulness of the overall greater good. 

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Areas of Special Interest:  Revocable Living Trusts, Pre-planning to avoid probate, Special Needs Trusts, Childcare Safety Planning, Peaceful transition from relationship (Divorce or Legal Separation).

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Mediation Training: 2008 Intensive Mediation Skills Training with Gary Friedman of The Center for Mediation in the Law, 32 hours; Mediating Court Mandated General Civil Cases, Mediating Unlawful Detainer, Small Claims and Civil Harassment at court, Sponsored by the Lake/Mendocino Superior Courts’ Civil Mediation Program.

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High resolution rate through use of a facilitative, understanding based, problem solving approach in high conflict business and personal disputes.

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Education: 

Juris Doctor, University of California Los Angeles School of Law (2000);

B.A., Psychology and Political Science, magna cum laude, University of San Diego (1996)