Posted on 12/21/2016 6:53:21 PM PST by Vigilanteman
Does anyone know an honest lawyer in the Richmond area? A close friend of mine was left a substantial estate by a uncle who died earlier this summer.
After he passed, but before the will was probated, a care giver cleaned out his bank account. She was given signature rights for his care, not joint ownership.
The will was probated in Israel per the uncle's instructions and deemed proper and legal. My friend would like to engage a lawyer who won't rip him off, but would review the details and the document to explain his options.
Since he is unfamiliar with the U.S. legal system, he has asked for my help in locating an honest lawyer.
“honest lawyer”
That’s your problem, right there..
Any news or commentary or is this just a face book post?
BTTT for later read..... can’t help but curious. Good luck.
Oxymoron
Mark Levin. If you can pull him away from the Cruz campaign.
I don’t know any in Richmond, but I can refer you to a good one in Williamsburg. Send me a FReepmail for info.
Patrick Henry... if you’ve got a shovel, and a few hours to kill.
ML/NJ
Move.
He posted in “General.”
Oxymoron
Sad to say I knew one who OD’ed.
There is a lawyer rating company you should be able to find.
Also, sometime the local Bar Association has ratings.
Finding someone from church or synagogue is also good.
I’ll ask my leprechaun and unicorn friends if the mythical honest lawyer exists.
Finding a good estate attorney and a good accountant can be a nightmare. Some of them will take your money and do nothing for months. Unfortunately I know this from experience.
You can't rely on Internet reviews, good or bad.
One possibility is to call up your own local attorney, or just call the office of an attorney whom you respect, and ask for a referral. Any referral is better than none.
That's probably going to depend pretty much first on the signature card at the bank (if it is a US account), not the will or the wishes of the putative heir. And any need for an ancillary proceeding (or a de novo probate) in the US is going to greatly increase the probate costs.
I don't practice in Virginia, and won't touch a probate matter with a 10 foot pole, so good luck. But someone should probably check and see if the amount that was in the banking count is going to be significantly more than the additional legal fees and costs.
How to find a good lawyer when you have no clue:
1. Determine what kind of lawyer you need: probate, litigation, etc. You may need to speak with a lawyer to figure this out.
2. Call the State’s Bar Association and get three referrals.
3. Call the three referrals. Be sure to let them know who referred you (very important). Immediately discard any that do not return your phone call.
4. Talk to the lawyers and tell them about your matter. If they don’t or can’t help, ask THEM for a referral. There’s no better way to find a good lawyer than to ask other lawyers. When you call any lawyer, I can’t express how important this is, ALWAYS tell them who referred you. Saying that you googled looking for a lawyer is okay, but it’s ALWAYS better to be referred and to let the lawyer know who referred them.
5. Talk to three lawyers. You’ll get a feeling for it after a while.
6. I can’t stress enough, if the lawyer doesn’t answer his phone or is never in or doesn’t return phone calls, walk away immediately. If they’re responsive at first but then become hard to get in contact with, get rid of them. It’s a huge red flag.
Yeah. The term is oxymoron.
Avvo ratings appear to be arbitrary. Martindale is better.
I would be very concerned if my lawyer picked up the phone every time I called or got right back to me. Most good lawyers are busy in court or preparing cases. If they are sitting by the phone waiting for me to call, maybe they are not such good lawyers.
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