How Do You Find a Good Lawyer?

[JewelFreak]

Are there sites that rate them or give anything beyond their specialties?

My sister & brother & I need a real estate lawyer in Colorado. Through 3 rounds of inheritance we ended up with a small plot of land for which we've paid taxes for 20 yrs, hoping it would appreciate. Nah! Looked into selling it & found the title is very screwed up due to incompetent executors of my uncle's will (he bought it originally). Title to this crummy 2.5 acres is now spread around about 6 cousins, whose locations we don't know & whom we have barely ever met. We simply want to get rid of it. Need an attorney to tell us what our options are -- straightening it out or abandoning it or whatever.

My sister in CO will have to handle the lawyer part -- knowing her, she'll go to a friend's neighbor's brother-in-law & believe everything he says. She is a lover & terminally naive. Plus, her 1st grandchild is due in a week & her brain is all mushy with babies.

I'd like to find someone or a few to have her interview, send her in a more reliable direction than I fear she'd find by herself. Anybody have experience with this? Suggestions much appreciated!

--- Laurie

 

[liaerfbv]

Martindale Hubble rates lawyers - AV rated is the best. It's a peer review system and it's generally reliable. You could also look for a board certified attorney (or comparable designation) in your state.

 

[movie zombie]

I'd probably just sign a declaration refusing my share of this old and now extended inheritance leaving it in the hands of those that still want "their share"........ if I had no interest in the proceeds I would have no interest in how my sis handled it.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

I would contact a real estate broker that sells land around the area that your inheritance land lies within. They deal with real-estate attorneys all the time. Perhaps they could even give you some pointers.

I used that Martindale book for trying to find an attorney in New York. It was also an inheritance. When i called several of them, they didn't want the case because it as too small for them. Make a long list. Just because you find some att. doesn't mean you will reach them or they will take the case.

I would ask to speak to a Broker, not a salesperson. Choose a National Franchise if you can.


Annette

 

[JewelFreak]

Good advice, thank you, Annette, MZ, & liaerfbv. I thought about its being too small a case for a lot of them, sigh.

We're willing to give it over to anybody in the erroneous heir list who wants it. Pain to try to find them all, but I suppose it can be done. It would be nice to sell it & at least get back most of the money we've paid in taxes -- wouldn't make a profit at this point, but getting rid of it would be enough reward.

Will use your suggestions & see what comes up. Many thanks for the help!

--- Laurie

 

[Kaleigh]

I would say this. As you know this property is awesome. We want it to stay within the family..

Offer a price and see what happens..

Worth a try right???

 

[movie zombie]

Good advice, thank you, Annette, MZ, & liaerfbv. I thought about its being too small a case for a lot of them, sigh.

We're willing to give it over to anybody in the erroneous heir list who wants it. Pain to try to find them all, but I suppose it can be done. It would be nice to sell it & at least get back most of the money we've paid in taxes -- wouldn't make a profit at this point, but getting rid of it would be enough reward.

Will use your suggestions & see what comes up. Many thanks for the help!

--- Laurie

don't forget attorney fees..........

 

[MollyMalone]

Think I'd first contact the Metropolitan Lawyer Referral Service, a joint project of the local bar associations in Colorado's "Front Range." Their referral assessment-intake counselors will speak with you free of charge (there is even a nationwide toll-free number to call, if you don't want to leave this entirely in your sister's hands) and then -- if the caller does not qualify for free legal services or if it's not a matter that's typically handled on a contingency fee basis -- give you the contact info for an attorney whose practice is in the most appropriate specialty; the flat fee for the initial 1/2 hr consultation is set at $75.

MLRS home page:
http://www.mlrsonline.org/Home/
Click on the About Us, Services, and Looking for a Lawyer tabs near the top of the home page for further info.

Based on what you've said, you might be better off first conferring with an attorney who's savvy in estate administration, before speaking with a real estate attorney (who might not be sufficiently knowledgeable about the tax ramifications of, e.g., gift vs sale). My dad is a trusts & estates lawyer in the Midwest, also teaches an advanced, law school T&E course. I'll call him tomorrow (he's out tonight) to solicit his feedback, any suggestions, e.g., his firm might have recently used the services of a CO firm or solo practitioner.

 

[JewelFreak]

Molly, many thanks! Grateful for any & all advice. I can try the referral service -- I want to do the legwork first, as my sister is more scatterbrained than usual w/the grandbaby coming.

The problem is my aunt's quitclaim to my mother was filed in CO after my uncle died, but before his half-witted executor filed his will & bequest. CO used the dates the will & quitclaim were filed, rather than my uncle's death date & the date of the signing of the quitclaim -- which were reversed from the real order they happened. Then when Mom died, she left it in joint tenancy to the 3 of us, but because my aunt's quitclaim was filed before my uncle's will, they automatically put her on the title too, based on file dates, so her "half," after she died, goes to her heirs. I wonder if that's law, or if it can be changed to the actual order of events. Did I say that clearly?

Yeah, attorney's fees, MZ, urg! Have to do as much as possible myself -- once they get into the mix, things get complicated & drawn out & expensive.

--- Laurie

 

[smitcompton]

Hi Laurie,

If you find one of those cousins you may find all of them. Many people are looking up their family tree and having a good time doing it. Make this an adventure, try to find them.

I have cousins that I have lost touch with. In fact one cousin even avoided talking to me when I was in touch with his brother before he died. My brother is doing the family tree and found this cousin. He also had been working on the family tree and I had information he did not have. I emailed him with said info, without being too friendly, as I just wanted to give him the info.
Well this cousin wrote me such a nice e-mail with his phone number for both his residences. At age 77 I look good to him now.

I haven't phoned back. Its been 50yrs since we last spoke.


Annette

 

[MollyMalone]

Hi, Laurie
Quick question from my dad, who'd like a better handle on the geography in the scenario you've described before he tries to rustle up some suggestions of local counsel: what CO county, or counties, are involved (I'm not sure if the property is in the same county as the county of probate for your aunt and uncle's estates)?

 

[JewelFreak]

MollyM -- many thanks! It's Pueblo County. My uncle's estate was in Nevada, my aunt's in Illinois. Mom's in Colorado. How's that for spread all over? You & your dad are sweethearts!

--- Laurie

 

[MollyMalone]

Here are 4 suggestions from my dad, listed in alphabetical order by last name; I've added their LinkedIn profiles in the hope that would make it easier for you to see if you have some kind of connection to any of them, e.g., alums of same college:
* Connie Eyster
http://www.hbcboulder.com/attorneys.php?action=detail&bioId=24
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/connie-eyster/8/878/425

* Laura Hundley
http://www.hollandhart.com/lshundley/
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/laura-hundley/a/260/22b

* Shelly Merritt
http://boulderestateplanning.net/shelly-d-merritt
http://www.linkedin.com/in/shellydmerritt

* Jane Paddison
http://www.paddisonlaw.com/
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jane-paddison/12/b35/393

fyi: like my dad, all 4 are "fellows" of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), so they are highly regarded in their field of specialization, although my dad is too modest to say that. Which also means, unfortunately, that their usual billing rates are not going to be dirt-cheap (you should ask if any of their fees could be a tax deduction). I myself would contact Connie Eyster & Jane Paddison because
* 10 years ago, Ms. Eyster was instrumental in launching the Boulder County Pro Se Probate Assistance Program (for people representing themselves in probate matters) & served, without pay, as its coordinator for its first 5 years, in addition to her law practice and other community activities. So she's demonstrated a concrete appreciation of the fact that not everyone can or is willing to pay the usual probate attorney fees.

* Ms. Paddison has been, since 2010, a solo practitioner. She is (I think) the most senior of the 4 and has a LLM in Taxation; these are factors which I'd expect would kick up a lawyer's hourly rate. But because she is not in a firm, I'm thinking she has greater flexibility to deviate from her usual billing rate than she might have were she still with a multi-member firm. And she does have a paralegal & a legal assistant who, I'm assuming, can handle whatever might need to be done that (a) doesn't require Ms. Paddison's level of expertise, but (b) might be above the legwork you could do on the matter (don't hesitate to let them know you are willing to do that kind of thing) -- and for less than Ms. Paddison's own billable hour rate.

If even an initial consultation with one or both of them is more than you care to pay, don't hesitate to ask them for recommendations of lawyers who are likely to be less expensive -- before you get a referral from the Metropolitan Lawyers Referral Service. Should the name of the lawyer given you by MLRS end up being one of the lawyers that Ms. Eyster and/or Ms. Paddison suggest, that will give you extra confidence in her/him.

Hope this helps, and that this all proves easier than it may seem to you right now!
P.S. You probably will be asked how you happened to contact them; my dad says you should tell them that a fellow member of ACTEC (pronounced Ack-Tech) in Ohio suggested their name.