Tenina Law

Tenina Law has been serving clients in Sherman Oaks and throughout Los Angeles for years, with a practice that covers tax law, bankruptcy, and estate planning. The firm has a practical focus on helping individuals and business owners resolve difficult financial situations, including property tax disputes that have grown into serious legal problems. When a property assessment issue crosses the line from a routine appeal into something involving significant back taxes, penalties, or IRS entanglements, that's where a firm with Tenina Law's range of practice becomes genuinely valuable. The team is known for direct communication and realistic assessments of what outcomes are achievable. Clients who've dealt with other firms and felt like they were getting optimistic projections often comment on the contrast. Tenina Law has a 4.9 rating because the work gets done and the expectations were set honestly from the start. For property owners facing overlapping tax and financial pressures, that combination of breadth and candor is hard to find.

Tenina Law handles tax law matters at both the state and federal level, including IRS audit representation, tax debt resolution, offer in compromise negotiations, and California Franchise Tax Board disputes. For property owners, this means the firm can address situations where property tax issues are entangled with broader income tax problems, like unpaid back taxes on rental income that compound with an inflated assessment and mounting penalties. On the property tax side specifically, the firm handles assessment appeals, Proposition 13 base year disputes, and reassessment exclusion filings, including the more complex situations involving trusts, LLCs, and family transfers that Proposition 19 complicated significantly. When a reassessment leads to a tax bill the client genuinely can't pay, the firm can also explore installment agreements and other resolution options with the county. The estate planning practice handles wills, trusts, and probate matters that frequently intersect with property tax planning. Structuring property ownership correctly inside a trust or transferring property between generations without triggering an unnecessary reassessment is exactly the kind of work that falls across both the estate and tax practice areas here. For clients with more complex situations, including those involving business property, investment real estate, and overlapping personal financial stress, the bankruptcy practice provides additional options when other resolution paths aren't viable.

Tenina Law starts with a consultation where you lay out your situation and get a frank assessment of what options exist and what they'd actually cost to pursue. There's no sugarcoating; if your appeal has a weak basis or your tax debt situation has limited resolution options, they'll tell you. For property tax appeals, the process follows the standard path: assessed value review, comparable analysis, filing with the Los Angeles County Assessment Appeals Board, informal negotiation with the assessor's office, and formal hearing if needed. For cases that involve both a property tax issue and a broader IRS or FTB matter, the firm develops a coordinated strategy rather than treating them as separate problems. Estate and trust matters related to property tax typically involve reviewing your current structure, identifying reassessment risks, filing any applicable exclusion claims, and recommending restructuring where beneficial. Timelines vary significantly depending on the nature of the matter, and the firm gives realistic estimates rather than best-case projections. Clients are kept informed throughout and can reach the team directly with questions without being routed through a call center.

Tenina Law is based in Sherman Oaks and serves clients throughout Los Angeles County and the San Fernando Valley. The firm regularly handles matters in Van Nuys, Encino, Studio City, Burbank, Glendale, and across the greater LA metro area. Most tax and property matters can be handled remotely when needed, though the Sherman Oaks office is accessible for in-person meetings for clients who prefer that. They also handle California state tax matters statewide.