Estate Consulting of Southern Illinois
Estate Consulting of Southern Illinois
The short answer is it helps you later. Have you ever had a client die mid-litigation, then family begins fighting over things? Maybe a surviving spouse is your client but she becomes so ill she cannot serve as plaintiff. Avoid guardianships and lengthy delays; get your client set up for success.
Absolutely! We've done it many times. Granted, it depends on the judge and the county, but in most downstate counties, we've built excellent relationships with judges. Our attorneys are known well and trusted in the local courts, so we get things done a lot faster (and the right way under local rules).
Our founding attorney was a medical malpractice lawyer in Chicago before moving to the metro-east. Over the last 13 years, he has written articles on probate, authored several chapters, including revisions, in the IICLE series, Advising Elderly Clients, and has handled probate cases in 81 counties of Illinois, from Cook to Pope and everywhere in between.
We know that many northern Illinois and Chicagoland firms would prefer to save money by handling probate in hours, but we think that's a mistake when handling probate in southern and central Illinois. The rules can be different, judges can treat Chicago attorneys differently, and if an in-person appearance is ever required, it becomes very costly and inefficient, scrambling to find local counsel or driving 5 hours or more each way.
We operate in the 618 and 217 area codes. Basically, if the decedent's estate needs to be opened anywhere in those two regions, chances are we can help. Currently, we do not handle any probate or estate planning matters for clients north of those regions, as we figure Chicago attorneys can better handle those matters directly. We are here to specifically help northern Illinois attorneys handle probate matters in downstate areas.
Although we certainly know how to handle guardianships when necessary, we choose not to. This is mainly a business decision. If someone wants us to and is willing to pay for it, we might accept guardianships now and then, but we have found that it is better to stick to one thing and do it well. This allows us to standardize our processes and deliver world-class service.
Absolutely. Our founding attorney started a small practice about 6 years ago, which is known as Crossroad Legal, LLC. The firm is registered with the Secretary of State and the Illinois Supreme Court. The firm has multiple assumed names, including Crossroad Legal, My Gun Lawyer, Estate Consultants of Southern Illinois (aka "618 Probate"). Through our various business channels, we handle criminal defense, personal injury, expungements, gun rights, FOID Appeals and Probate.
But regardless of the names we use for marketing our firm, you are ultimately still hiring Crossroad Legal, LLC and it's attorney Jaye R. Lindsay. To learn more about our various practices and cases we handle, visit us at crossroadlegal.com or MyGunLawyer.com
Some injury firms would prefer to have a standard, set cost they can count on, and save money doing it. The Standard Plan is frankly a great value. And you get everything you need. The only real drawback is if the court does not approve our fees as expenses, and you get stuck with the expense. But even then, our fee is a nominal amount when you account for it including all the probate expenses!
For those who prefer to share the risk and maybe pay slightly more later, the contingent options are great. It lets you defer either the entire fee and expense or at least the fee (hybrid option) until the end of the case when you've recovered funds. Likewise, if you lose or have to walk away, you owe us nothing. We get paid a bit more to take that risk with you, but many attorneys like not having to float extra costs. Either way, we think you should decide for yourself.
Yes, in most cases we can. We've found over the past decade that the rules in Cook County do not apply universally in all counties. Because our fees do not just include attorney time but rather also include private investigators, filing fees, publication costs, certified copies, and non-attorney consultants, we find that most judges agree that our services deserve to be paid by the client and not the injury attorney. This is even more so the case when using lower-priced plans like the standard plan.
But if you choose a contingent (higher cost) plan and we can't get the court's approval for some reason, we slash our fees in HALF! That further protects you from having to shell out a large sum at settlement.
Hell yes, we do! In fact, we've been referring nursing home and medical malpractice cases to Chicago attorneys for over a decade! We advertise handling personal injury and nursing home abuse cases, because for years we did take those. But in recent years, we've begun referring about 85% of all large injury cases we receive. If you become a regular referring firm, you can bet we will probably send you a case or two along the way. If we refer you a case and you opt for us to handle the probate, we can even offer special discounts.
Sure do! We currently have several firms who use us exclusively for their probate needs. We have 2 firms in Chicago who routinely send us cases, as well as one in St. Louis. And we are adding firms and attorneys all the time. If you'd like to speak with one of our regulars, just let us know and we will put you in touch with them.
Call us right away. Our phones are manned 24/7 by American receptionists. If you have an urgent case that needs probate right away, don't waste time filling out a contact form. Just call us and let us know, so we can get things going faster.
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