- - Select a Service - - Divorce & Dissolution Personal Injury & Accidents DUI & Criminal Bankruptcy Probate, Estates and Wills Deeds & Real Estate

   If you and your spouse can agree on all issues, including child custody, support, spousal support, pension division, property division and division of debts, then it is helpful to file a dissolution.  They are considerably cheaper than a contested divorce and are less likely to put children in the middle of parenting disputes or otherwise create bad feelings.

   Sometimes it’s just not possible to reach an agreement with your spouse and you need to take action quickly.  That is when you need to consider filing a divorce and in many instances we can obtain temporary custody, protection orders, and child support orders.  After filing, the Court will require you to attend a parenting education class and there may be attempts to mediate and resolve issues before the final court hearing.

   Legal fees in these cases are very difficult to estimate because there are so many variables.  Beware of lawyers advertising flat fees for divorces or dissolutions.  Does it include the filing fee? Costs of interrogatories and depositions?  Costs of obtaining and registering child support orders? Costs for pension evaluations?  Property appraisals?  Costs of preparing and recording deeds?

   We welcome consultations to answer your questions and charge a minimum of $50-75, depending on the time.  Our customary retainer for a dissolution without children is $750 and with children $1,000.00.   Our customary retainer for divorces with children is $1500.   As with most of our cases, we send out monthly billings and if there is money left after the work is completed you are entitled to a refund of any surplus.  

   Car accidents can be a real pain.   Your car may be damaged, or even inoperable, and the insurance company may give you a hard time replacing the car you need for work, family and other needs.  You may be injured.  Sometime it’s “only” a “soft tissue” injury without broken bones; sometimes there are breaks and more serious damages.  How do you find a doctor? Should you go to a chiropractor?  Should you sign the first settlement paper the insurance company sends you?

   Nine out of ten times, our clients tell us the reason they contact an attorney after a car accident or other type of personal injury is because the insurance company is giving them a hard time about bills.   If you have had an accident, car accident or otherwise, and have questions or have trouble with the insurance company, call us for a free consultation.  We may be able to help you.

Our primary goal in any accident case is to give you time and the resources to heal. Some car injuries don’t fully reveal themselves until weeks have gone by.   For that reason, we don’t rush to make a demand on the insurance company until you have recovered and know the full extent of your injuries, and any limitations.  Generally speaking, and there may be exceptions, you have two years from the date of an accident to file a complaint in court and you only get one bite at the apple.

   If you are injured, please contact and consult with a qualified medical doctor. Orthopedic and D.O.’s are often critical to an early diagnosis and a full recovery.  Follow their directions, which may often include physical therapy, rehabilitation and other exercises.

   Lastly, review your car insurance policy to make sure that you have good uninsured/underinsured coverage.  There are too many instances when the driver causing the accident has no insurance, or insufficient insurance, to provide you with money for your bills.  A word on uninsured/underinsured coverage: a UIM policy covers only those damages in excess of the other drivers coverage up to the limit of your UIM policy.  For example, if you have an UIM policy for $100,000.00 and the other driver has coverage of $50,000.00- your total coverage is only $100,000.00- not $150,000.00.  If you have questions, please consult with your insurance carrier.

   Driving while under the influence of alcohol can create serious legal problems.  On a first offense, there is a minimum of three days in jail or a Driver Intervention Program (DIP), a fine between $350-500.00, loss of driving privileges for six months, a license reinstatement fee now exceeding $400.00 and other sanctions.  In some situations, with a high blood/alcohol level, actual jail time may be imposed.

   If you are charged with a DUI, contact our office to schedule an appointment immediately.  Our office can review the circumstances of your arrest, determine whether state regulations were followed in the administration of the breath test,  and make sure you have all the options to make a good decision.

   Our office also handles a wide variety of other criminal cases, including Domestic Violence, thefts, burglaries, drugs and other felonies. 

   People can discharge their debts by filing either under a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13. Chapter 13 is a reorganization of debt where the debtor reaches agreements with creditors to repay the debt, sometimes over a longer period, sometimes less money.  Chapter 7 is a straight liquidation of debts and the trustee can actually sell some of your assets for the benefit of creditors.    Under a chapter 7, there are exemptions for the equity in your home ($10,000.00 for a married couple) your car ($1,000.00) and most of your household goods and personal property- so in many cases, you can file a Chapter 7 and not lose assets.

   If you are having difficulties with bills and creditors, and it seems impossible to pay it all back, please give our office a call for a free consultation.   Our lawyers will meet with you, review your circumstances and financial condition with you, personally, and provide you the options for you to make an informed decision as to whether or not a bankruptcy will help you.

   Confused about probate and whether you should avoid it?  Think you may need a trust to escape estate taxes and avoid probate?  Not sure whether your real estate is in joint survivorship, or whether you need a will, a living will or power of attorney?

   Probate:  if a loved one has died, we can help you through the legal challenges of paying bill and transferring property, in many cases without paying estate taxes or going through a full probate of the will.  We bill an hourly rate, we provide you with itemized billings monthly and we keep you fully informed at all stages.

   Estate Planning:  we will sit down with you and discuss whether you need to consider a trust for purposes of avoiding probate, avoiding estate taxes or just making sure that the kids will be old enough to handle any money coming to them.  We will check with you to make sure your real estate is in joint survivorship, and we draft reliable wills, living wills and both general and health care power of attorneys.

   We provide full service for quitclaim deeds, warranty deeds, fiduciary deeds and the newly created transfer on death deeds.   We just don’t draft the deed.  We walk deeds through the planning department, when necessary, the auditors office, the engineer’s office and file the deed with the recorder’s office.