An adjunct professor of Wills and Trusts at Southwestern Law School and recently named a top attorney and a Rising Star by Super Lawyers, Vanessa Terzian began her legal career as a Trust Officer for Wells Fargo, N.A. Her experience at Wells Fargo, working closely with clients, portfolio managers, beneficiaries and other attorneys, shed light on how a poor estate plan can ruin a family’s fortune and more importantly, their relationships.
After witnessing firsthand the importance of proper planning, Vanessa has pursued her own practice, helping countless families through her expertise in estate and tax planning, probate and trust administration. What sets Vanessa apart is her understanding of the needs of growing families, her ability to relate to working parents who desire a better life for themselves and their families and her know-how to implement strategic estate planning tools in the most cost efficient and seamless manner.
Vanessa also draws on her real estate and business background in crafting comprehensive plans for her clients. Vanessa is a skilled public speaker, having conducted countless seminars throughout her legal career on various topics of estate planning, special needs planning, advanced tax planning and asset protection for individuals and small businesses. Vanessa is a faculty member at the Institute for Preparing Heirs®. Vanessa is an active member of the La Canada Flintridge community, where she resides with her husband
Edward, and two sons Alec and Jack. She is a board director of the La Canada Education Foundation and participates in a number of charitable based organizations. Vanessa has successfully raised thousands of dollars for a variety of charitable causes through fundraising campaigns which include frequent community-based public speaking events, charitable dinners and personal contributions. She believes that the foundation to a successful family unit is care, love and selflessness and stresses the importance of providing your community with these same tenets that are so essential to your own family’s success.
In January 2020, Vanessa merged her practice with the Pasadena law firms of Lagerlof, Senecal, Gosney & Kruse and Phelps Law Group, now known as Lagerlof, LLP.
As a family woman, Vanessa understands the importance of protecting assets, planning for the future and building your own legacy. She takes pride in providing her clients with the sense of comfort and
security that comes along with having an effective and comprehensive estate plan in place.