Samantha Farren is the founder and principal attorney of SAMANTHA FARREN LAW, A Professional Corporation, a boutique law firm serving clients throughout California and Washington states. Samantha has worked in the legal field for over nineteen years, with more than fifteen years dedicated to trusts and estates. Her practice is rooted in the belief that clients deserve representation that is compassionate, strategic, transparent, and deeply tailored to the realities of their lives.

Samantha represents individuals, families, fiduciaries, professionals, and organizations in a wide range of civil and transactional matters, including estate planning, trust administration, probate, trusts and estates litigation, conservatorships, guardianships, parentage, surrogacy, assisted reproductive technology law, contracts, and real property matters. She also provides consulting services to government and private sector entities in complex legal matters and conducts legislative review for submission at the state and federal level.

Known for her clarity, intensity, and highly personalized approach, Samantha guides clients through some of the most important and emotionally significant decisions of their lives. Whether helping a family plan for the future, supporting clients through the administration of a loved one’s estate, litigating high-stakes trust and probate disputes, or assisting intended parents on the path to parenthood, Samantha approaches each matter with precision, candor, and care. She believes successful legal representation requires more than technical expertise; it requires understanding what matters most to each client, including family, community, health, legacy, and financial security.

Samantha attended the University of the Pacific, where she completed her undergraduate degree in three years while competing in two sports on a full Division I athletic scholarship. She then attended Monterey College of Law, where she became the youngest graduate in the school’s history since its founding in 1972, as well as one of Santa Cruz County’s youngest attorneys ever admitted to the bar.

After law school, Samantha began her legal career at a boutique trusts and estates firm in downtown Monterey, California. In 2013, she and Joel Busch founded BUSCH | FARREN, LLP, a successful civil transactional law firm in Aptos, California. Following Joel’s retirement in 2021, Samantha founded SAMANTHA FARREN LAW. In 2022, she expanded her practice to include parentage, surrogacy, and assisted reproductive technology law, became licensed to practice law in the State of Washington, and became a DRPA Certified Mediator through the University of California, Davis.

Active Licenses:

• Attorney licensed in the State of California (2012)

• Attorney licensed in the State of Washington (2022)

• Attorney licensed in the United States Tax Court (2014)

• DRPA Certified Mediator - UC Davis (2022)

• Notary Public licensed in the State of California (2012)

Active Memberships:

• California Bar Association

• Washington Bar Association

• American Bar Association

• California Lawyer’s Association

• Trust and Estates Section of the California Bar

• Santa Cruz County, CA Bar Association

• Women Lawyers of Santa Cruz County

Former Commissions:

• Santa Cruz County Women’s Commission – Second District Commissioner (2022-2023)

Samantha is a third-generation Santa Cruz County resident and lives in Capitola with her husband, Robert, and their two children. Family is the center of Samantha’s life and one of the deepest sources of meaning behind her work. Being a mother is her greatest joy and pride, and it is a role that did not come easily. After years of infertility and loss, Samantha and Robert pursued IVF and ultimately found their way to parenthood. That deeply personal experience shaped Samantha’s commitment to helping others legally build and protect their families through parentage, surrogacy, and assisted reproductive technology law.

Samantha and Robert have also walked through profound medical hardship together. Robert’s brain tumor and spinal fluid leaks led to a frightening and exhausting six-year battle, giving their family firsthand understanding of what it means to live through uncertainty, fear, diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and the emotional toll of serious health challenges. That experience deepened Samantha’s empathy for clients navigating illness, grief, incapacity, death, family transitions, and difficult decisions. It also strengthened her belief that excellent legal counsel must be both technically precise and deeply human.

Outside of her practice, Samantha loves traveling the world with her family and finding beauty, history, food, and connection wherever she goes. She is also an avid amateur home chef, interior designer, and devoted plant enthusiast. Samantha and her family enjoy spending time at the beach in Santa Cruz, at their family home in Mount Shasta, throughout the West Puget Sound, and exploring the Pacific Northwest.

Samantha uses she/her/hers pronouns.