68/100LFR Score
Ranked #1 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.9★ from 127 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Estate Planning And Probate Lawyers in Walnut Creek, CA: 2026 rankings
286 estate planning and probate lawyers ranked by LFR ScoreUpdated 0 paid placements in this rankingHow we rank →
The short answer
- 1
Highest LFR Score in Walnut Creek: Michael Rinne, LL.M., LFR Score 68/100; 4.9★ from 127 Google reviews; open Saturdays until 6 PM.
- 6
Open 24 hours (per Google): DiAna Law Group, posts 24/7 hours; ranked #6 of 286.
- 7
Most-reviewed: Summerall Law, P.C., 189 Google reviews at 4.9★, the most of 286 ranked; ranked #7.
Rankings can't be bought. Lawyers can't pay to change their rank or score. How we rank
286 Walnut Creek estate planning and probate lawyers are ranked here by LFR Score, from nine published factors. 14 are open 24/7, 29 open Saturdays and 19 open Sundays, based on posted hours. The median Google rating is 4.8★ across 286 rated law firms.
Top 10 estate planning and probate lawyers in Walnut Creek at a glance
Ranked by our published LFR Score from public data, not by payment; a rank is not an endorsement or a prediction of results.
| Rank | Business | LFR Score | Google rating | Based in | Hours | Notable for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Rinne, LL.M. | 68 | 4.9★ (127) | Pleasant Hill, 4 mi away | Sat · Evenings | Top score |
| 2 | Law Office of Jeffrey Hall, Inc | 68 | 4.9★ (140) | Pleasant Hill, 4 mi away | Sat | — |
| 3 | Law Offices of Michael J. Young, Inc. | 67 | 4.9★ (141) | Walnut Creek | — | — |
| 4 | The Law Offices of Stefanie West | 67 | 5.0★ (119) | Walnut Creek | — | — |
| 5 | Oath - Walnut Creek Estate Planning & Investment Attorneys | 66 | 5.0★ (72) | Walnut Creek | — | — |
| 6 | DiAna Law Group | 66 | 4.5★ (8) | Walnut Creek | Open 24 hrs (Google) | Open 24 hours |
| 7 | Summerall Law, P.C. | 66 | 4.9★ (189) | Oakland, 12 mi away | Evenings | Most reviews |
| 8 | Johnson Law Firm | 65 | 5.0★ (96) | Danville, 7 mi away | — | — |
| 9 | California Trust and Legacy | 65 | 5.0★ (40) | Walnut Creek | — | — |
| 10 | Law Office of Cynthia C. Sayegh | 64 | 4.9★ (41) | Walnut Creek | — | — |
All 286 estate planning and probate lawyers in Walnut Creek, in rank order
Ordered by LFR Score, a 0–100 score from nine published factors. Paid placement never changes the order.
Ranked by our published LFR Score from public data, not by payment; a rank is not an endorsement or a prediction of results.
Scores below: based on 7 of 9 factors; bar status and recency not yet collected. Hatched segments mark factors we don't have yet.
Based in Pleasant Hill, 4 mi away
68/100LFR ScoreRanked #2 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.9★ from 140 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Walnut Creek
67/100LFR ScoreRanked #3 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.9★ from 141 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Walnut Creek
67/100LFR ScoreRanked #4 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 5.0★ from 119 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Walnut Creek
66/100LFR ScoreRanked #5 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 5.0★ from 72 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Walnut Creek
66/100LFR ScoreRanked #6 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.5★ from 8 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Oakland, 12 mi away
66/100LFR ScoreRanked #7 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.9★ from 189 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Danville, 7 mi away
65/100LFR ScoreRanked #8 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 5.0★ from 96 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Walnut Creek
65/100LFR ScoreRanked #9 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 5.0★ from 40 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Walnut Creek
64/100LFR ScoreRanked #10 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.9★ from 41 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
#11 Qualls Law Firm
Based in Pleasanton, 17 mi away
64/100LFR ScoreRanked #11 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 5.0★ from 93 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Walnut Creek
64/100LFR ScoreRanked #12 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.8★ from 38 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Pleasant Hill, 2 mi away
64/100LFR ScoreRanked #13 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 5.0★ from 39 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Walnut Creek
64/100LFR ScoreRanked #14 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.6★ from 45 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Walnut Creek
64/100LFR ScoreRanked #15 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.9★ from 32 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Elder law attorney”.
Based in Oakland, 12 mi away
64/100LFR ScoreRanked #16 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.3★ from 17 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate litigation attorney”.
Based in Dublin, 15 mi away
64/100LFR ScoreRanked #17 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 5.0★ from 138 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Probate attorney”.
Based in Pleasant Hill, 2 mi away
64/100LFR ScoreRanked #18 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 5.0★ from 38 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Walnut Creek
64/100LFR ScoreRanked #19 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.8★ from 33 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Oakland, 13 mi away
63/100LFR ScoreRanked #20 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 5.0★ from 10 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Elder law attorney”.
Based in Orinda, 7 mi away
63/100LFR ScoreRanked #21 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.9★ from 51 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Elder law attorney”.
Based in Walnut Creek
63/100LFR ScoreRanked #22 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 5.0★ from 22 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Lafayette, 3 mi away
63/100LFR ScoreRanked #23 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.4★ from 21 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Walnut Creek
63/100LFR ScoreRanked #24 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.8★ from 24 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Based in Oakland, 14 mi away
63/100LFR ScoreRanked #25 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.9★ from 86 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Estate planning attorney”.
Estate planning and probate lawyers ranked #26 to #50
#1 to #25 are shown in full above. Here are #26 to #50, in LFR Score order; each links to its profile. We publish the top 50 of 286 ranked estate planning and probate lawyers here; the rest are on their profiles.
| Rank | Business | LFR Score | Google rating | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Law Offices of David B. Pastor | 63 | 4.7★ (24) | In Walnut Creek |
| 27 | Summerall Law, P.C. | 62 | 5.0★ (74) | 17 mi |
| 28 | Advance Planning, A Law Corporation | 62 | 4.9★ (61) | 12 mi |
| 29 | Blacksburg Law | 62 | 5.0★ (142) | 22 mi |
| 30 | Law Offices of Daniela Lungu | 62 | 5.0★ (79) | 17 mi |
| 31 | East Bay Probate & Trust Administration | 62 | 5.0★ (12) | 13 mi |
| 32 | Button Law Inc. | 62 | 5.0★ (22) | 21 mi |
| 33 | Law Office of Ravi Patel | 62 | 5.0★ (48) | 13 mi |
| 34 | Demiris Law Firm | 62 | 4.3★ (18) | In Walnut Creek |
| 35 | Mullin Law Firm | 62 | 4.8★ (23) | 5 mi |
| 36 | Summerall Law, P.C. | 61 | 5.0★ (78) | 22 mi |
| 37 | LifePlan Lawyer, PC | 61 | 4.9★ (86) | 19 mi |
| 38 | Davidson Estate Law | 61 | 4.8★ (47) | 13 mi |
| 39 | Horizon Elder Law & Estate Planning, Inc | 61 | 4.9★ (32) | 10 mi |
| 40 | Law Offices of Lauren Smykowski | 61 | 4.6★ (14) | In Walnut Creek |
| 41 | Greene Law Firm, P.C. (CA) | 61 | 4.8★ (33) | 20 mi |
| 42 | Insight Legal, P.C. | 61 | 4.8★ (165) | 25 mi |
| 43 | Law Offices of Daniel L. DuRee | 61 | 4.6★ (10) | In Walnut Creek |
| 44 | Advance Planning, A Law Corporation | 61 | 5.0★ (45) | 16 mi |
| 45 | Burrey Law Group, Inc. | 61 | 4.8★ (21) | 7 mi |
| 46 | Law Offices of Lee L. Kaster, P.C. | 61 | 5.0★ (8) | In Walnut Creek |
| 47 | Summerall Law, P.C. | 61 | 5.0★ (6) | In Walnut Creek |
| 48 | Celaya Law | 61 | 5.0★ (32) | 13 mi |
| 49 | De Fonte Law PC | 61 | 5.0★ (90) | 23 mi |
| 50 | Law Offices Of Gary R. Kershner | 61 | 5.0★ (10) | 10 mi |
Also serving Walnut Creek
20 more estate planning and probate lawyers within 25 mi that we can't rank yet: too few reviews, or a practice area we couldn't confirm. Listed A to Z.
How we ranked Walnut Creek estate planning and probate lawyers
We scored 286 Walnut Creek estate planning and probate lawyers on nine factors, weighted as shown. A law firm is ranked when its practice area is confirmed and it has 3 or more Google reviews or a claimed profile. A law firm with no Google reviews scores zero on rating, review volume and recency. Other unknown factors are left out, not counted as zero. Scores last refreshed November 9, 2026.
Paid placement never changes a rank or score. Attorney advertising businesses are paid, labelled, limited to 3 and shown above the ranking, outside it.
| Factor | Weight | Computed from | In Walnut Creek data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reputation | 25% | Google star rating, adjusted for how many reviews back it | Measured |
| Bar status | 10% | An active bar or law society record matched to a lawyer at the firm (not measured until a record source is loaded) | Not yet collected |
| Review volume | 10% | Number of Google reviews, compared with the most-reviewed firm on the list | Measured |
| Recency | 10% | Share of reviews from the last 12 months | Not yet collected |
| Availability | 5% | Weekly office hours, Saturday, Sunday, and phones answered 24/7 | Measured |
| Practice focus | 15% | How clearly the firm practises this area (its Google category and name) | Measured |
| Proximity | 5% | An office in the city scores highest, less the farther away it is | Measured |
| Claimed profile | 10% | The firm has claimed its Law Firms Ranked profile (free and paid earn the same) | Measured |
| Law Firms Ranked reviews | 10% | Verified client reviews collected by Law Firms Ranked: their rating and how many there are | Measured |
How to choose an estate planning lawyer
- Check the lawyer’s status and any public discipline in the state bar or law society directory.
- Ask how many estate planning and probate matters the lawyer handles each year, and who at the firm will do the work.
- Get the fee arrangement in writing: hourly, flat or contingency, and which costs are charged on top.
- Ask how and how often the firm will update you, and how fast it answers calls and emails.
- Read recent reviews for how the firm communicated and billed, not only for outcomes.
- Ask what the flat fee includes: funding a trust, updates after life changes, and signing with witnesses.
- Meet more than one firm; many offer a short first consultation, sometimes free.
Questions to ask an estate planning lawyer
- How would you approach a matter like mine, and what are the realistic options?
- How do you charge, and what will the total likely cost?
- Who will be my main contact, and how quickly do you reply?
- Do I need a trust, or is a will enough for me?
- What does probate usually cost here, and how long does it take?
- Is there any conflict of interest that would stop you representing me?
Terms explained
- Contingency fee
- A fee that is a share of the money recovered, paid only if there is a recovery. Common in injury cases; not allowed for criminal defense or for securing a divorce.
- Retainer
- Money paid up front and held in a trust account, which the lawyer draws on as fees are earned.
- Flat fee
- One set price for a defined piece of work, such as a will or an uncontested matter.
- Limited-scope representation
- Paying a lawyer for part of a matter only, such as reviewing documents or coaching for one hearing (also called unbundled services).
- Statute of limitations
- The deadline to file a lawsuit or charge. It differs by state or province and by type of claim.
- Good standing
- A lawyer’s status as active and eligible to practise with a state bar or law society.
- Law society
- The body that licenses and disciplines lawyers in a Canadian province or territory.
- Board certification
- Recognition in a field of law by a state program or an organisation accredited for that purpose. Lawyers may only claim it when they hold it, naming the certifying body.
- Attorney–client privilege
- The rule that keeps confidential communications between a client and lawyer, made for legal advice, out of court.
- Conflict check
- The search a firm runs before taking a matter to make sure it does not represent someone on the other side.
- Pro bono
- Legal work done for free, usually for people who cannot afford a lawyer.
- Legal aid
- Publicly funded legal help for people with low incomes, through legal aid offices, public defenders or provincial legal aid plans.
Estate planning and probate lawyers in Walnut Creek: frequently asked questions
Which estate planning lawyer has the highest LFR Score in Walnut Creek?
By LFR Score, the highest-ranked estate planning lawyer in Walnut Creek, CA is Michael Rinne, LL.M. with an LFR Score of 68/100. It has 4.9★ from 127 Google reviews. It is open Saturdays until 6 PM. Law Office of Jeffrey Hall, Inc (#2) and Law Offices of Michael J. Young, Inc. (#3) follow. We ranked 286 estate planning and probate lawyers on nine factors, last updated November 9, 2026.
How many estate planning and probate lawyers are there in Walnut Creek?
LawFirmsRanked ranks 286 estate planning and probate lawyers serving Walnut Creek, CA. 18 of them are based in Walnut Creek; the rest serve it from nearby towns. Another 20 within 25 mi are listed but not ranked yet. Counts are as of November 2026.
Which estate planning and probate lawyers in Walnut Creek are open 24/7?
14 ranked estate planning and probate lawyers in Walnut Creek post 24/7 hours. The highest-ranked are DiAna Law Group (#6), Law Offices of Daniel Leahy (#16) and Lanzone Morgan, LLP | Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys (#20). Hours come from each law firm's Google listing as of November 2026, so call to confirm.
Which estate planning and probate lawyers in Walnut Creek work on weekends?
29 of 286 ranked estate planning and probate lawyers post Saturday hours and 19 post Sunday hours. The highest-ranked open Saturdays are Michael Rinne, LL.M. (#1), Law Office of Jeffrey Hall, Inc (#2) and DiAna Law Group (#6). Posted hours are office hours; many firms meet clients by appointment outside them.
What Google rating do Walnut Creek estate planning and probate lawyers have?
The median Google rating among 286 rated estate planning and probate lawyers in Walnut Creek is 4.8★, with a median of 10 reviews. Summerall Law, P.C. has the most, 189 reviews, and ranks #7. We adjust ratings for review count, so a few five-star reviews cannot top the list.
How does LawFirmsRanked rank estate planning and probate lawyers?
Each estate planning lawyer gets a 0–100 LFR Score from nine published factors, led by reputation (25%), practice focus (15%), review volume (10%) and recency (10%). A law firm with no Google reviews scores zero on rating, review volume and recency; other factors we cannot measure are left out. Only law firms with a confirmed practice area and 3 or more reviews, or a claimed profile, are ranked.
Do estate planning and probate lawyers outside Walnut Creek count in this ranking?
Yes, if they are within 25 mi of the Walnut Creek city center, our service radius for estate planning and probate lawyers. Each listing shows where the law firm is based and how far away it is. Proximity is 5% of the LFR Score, so a nearby law firm gets a small edge.
Can estate planning and probate lawyers pay to rank higher on LawFirmsRanked?
No. The LFR Score never reads payment status, and this ranking has 0 paid placements. Up to 3 Featured law firms may appear above the list, labelled Attorney advertising and showing their honest rank.
How do estate planning and probate lawyers in Walnut Creek, CA charge?
Many estate planning lawyers charge a flat fee for wills, trusts and powers of attorney. Probate is billed hourly or, in some states, by a fee set by statute (California Probate Code §10810, for example). Lawyers using Clio billed an average of $391 an hour in this area (Clio Legal Trends data, October 2026; all areas $362). Ask for the fee arrangement in writing before you agree.
What happens if someone dies without a will?
State law decides who inherits (intestate succession), usually the spouse and children in set shares, and a court appoints someone to manage the estate. A will or trust lets you decide instead. This is general information, not legal advice.
How is this list of estate planning and probate lawyers in Walnut Creek, CA ranked?
By LFR Score only, from public data on reviews, practice focus, office location and hours. Firms labelled “Attorney advertising” paid for that placement; payment never changes a rank, and a rank is not an endorsement.
Does a lawyer need an office in Walnut Creek?
No, but the lawyer must be licensed in your state (or, for federal matters such as immigration, in some state). A local office makes meetings and court appearances easier, so proximity is one of our factors.
Update log for Walnut Creek
- November 2026: LFR Scores recalculated for 286 estate planning and probate lawyers serving Walnut Creek.
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