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05 Oct, 2018 by Don
I was incarcerated and DCF was attempting to take my child away if I did not comply with a ridiculous case plan. My criminal charges were violent but my children were in no way connected to those allegations. Upon release from custody i was awarded full custody of my daughter did to Ms Brennans excellent job at trial(while I'm wearing an orange jumpsuit). She won almost every objection and ultimately won my trial beating the all powerful DCF. She is very knowledgeable and fought hard for me. Highly recommend.
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15 Jun, 2016 by Anonymous
Beverly Brennan was hired by me in March of 2015 for a parenting plan agreement. I paid the retainer amount requested and signed the agreement which stated the hourly fee as well as the fact that I would receive monthly billing statements. Over a year went by throughout the case from start to finish and I expressed to Mrs. Brennan the need to keep costs low during our initial conversation as I do not have much. Not receiving monthly statements of my account as outlined in her agreement gave me the impression that my retainer was still being used. When the case was successfully settled, I received a whopping invoice for over three times the amount of the original retainer without any prior disclosure or monthly billing statement (which was outlined as common practice in her agreement). When I emailed her regarding my concern, my email went ignored and a month later, I had received a bill from a collections company for the total amount. Beware of this attorney as she had no problem escalating charges without my interest in mind and secretly kept the accruing amount to herself despite what her retainer agreement states otherwise. If a legal document states that I should expect monthly billing statements (as my other attorneys have done in the past), then when I am not receiving them, I naturally assume that the retainer amount was sufficient. I am now contacting the Florida Bar Association and filing a formal complaint as I have found discrepencies on her invoice for billed phone time in excess of what my phone records show. Makes me wonder about the emails as well as she has billed me for emails sent on dates that cannot be validated through documentation. One month she claims she emailed me a couple of times ($120 worth) and I have only one email from her for that month that states she was on vacation. Sad part is that now I am stuck with an absorbant bill in collections and am left to the assistance of only the Florida Bar Association.
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17 Jul, 2015 by Anonymous
From her staff to the attorney they are all wonderful. Mrs.Brennan is always available to answer my questions. Very dedicated to ger job, very understanding and always willing to help. I highly recomend her!
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26 Jan, 2019 by Anonymous
I hired him and he wrote letters but did not speak to anyone. He did not convey a clear plan. He promised to call next week but when I called his office he was out of town! He was slow to return emails. I switched to another attorney who is an excellent attorney with trusts and wills.
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15 Aug, 2013 by Leonard
John has the HIGHEST professional stantdars and his knowledge of the law makes him the ideal attorney
I would recommend John at anyone who wants the finest representation or best legao advice
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06 Nov, 2014 by George
I have been Lombardi's client for estate planning for 10 years and find her work to be excellent and her and her assistant Joann very good very responsive.
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04 May, 2013 by Marcello
Found her name in a local advertisement and called her office. Apparently there is no assistant or the person doesn't return phone calls. Had to call three more times before receiving a call back. She quoted me a large amount to change some estate documents - another attorney was half the price. When confronted with the price diferential she said, fine I am not the cheapest and never offered to assist with a discount.
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21 Jul, 2012 by Wiggins
Expensive, didn't listen to our needs. More interested in ensuring charges were correct, erred on her side, then on our Estate. Go elsewhere.
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20 Aug, 2023 by Anonymous
I was going through a dependency case with my attorney and my child the attorney that was given was Aldo Ruccio he failed to comply with procedures follow rules and he failed me and my family he used our Paint and our broken family to financially gain $10,000 from the government I filed a petition against his motion to the court requesting the money and it wasn’t done properly so nothing ever occurred and he got paid but this is just the beginning if he’s done you wrongContact me at 239-398-4339 I have something in the works
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09 Jun, 2023 by Anonymous
He was court ordered to be my underaged daughter's attorney. She died. He charged money to learn my daughter died. It is actually on the bill saying the cost to learn this. Disgusting!
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24 Feb, 2022 by Patrick
In October 2019 I was falsely accused of a crime that never occurred. In October 2021 I was falsely convicted of that “crime“ due to the abhorrent representation of Mark Alderuccio.
This man sat on every piece of information I gave him. Every piece of exculpatory evidence, every defense strategy, and let every single lie told about me at the trial go unchallenged.
The sheriff falsified the police report from top to bottom, vilifying me and impugning my character in every way imaginable, asserting that I confessed to this woman’s accusations.
I wanted to have a jury trial, but Mr. Alderuccio was concerned that they may believe the lies that were being told about me. Instead…
“You couldn’t have a better judge for a bench trial“ he said to me. Giving me example after example about just how fair minded this judge was, explaining how he’s worked with him since the 90’s — KNOWING full well that “burden of proof“ and “reasonable doubt” don’t even factor in at a bench trial, it all comes down to whoever the judge wants believe.
In this case an immigrant from Honduras who “hardly speaks any English“ or a man who admitted to angrily yelling at her for disturbingly him. Who sounds more likable already?
I didn’t know any better, I trusted him, I agreed. I couldn’t have known that I’d just hung myself.
The sheriff perjured himself on the stand by repeating what he said in the report, that I had admitted to what I was being accused of.
Instead of rebutting the sheriffs lie by submitting my 911 call incident detail report which states:
1. “Patrick Fitzgerald… Someone made a false police report about him and he wants to file a report about the report”
Mr. Alderuccio Left me to spring it on the judge minutes before the end of the trial, at which point he cried out to the prosecution “Now how am I supposed to believe that?”
I was told to return to my seat. I asked Mr. Alderuccio If he submitted that 911 detail report (proving that what I just said on the stand was the true) and he said excitedly “I didn’t have to because you just told him!”
As though ANY judge would consider the word of an accused criminal over an official document.
The most critical piece of information that needed to be communicated to that judge was the fact that I have denied that anything even happened from the beginning. Mark Alderuccio had proof of that and sat on it.
Making matters worse, he made two incriminating motions to dismiss. Arguing that because the sheriff had to wake me, I couldn’t have been aware of a crime, so the case should be dismissed.
His voice was cracking both times, he didn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth, and for good reason. Without challenging the judges believe that a crime had occurred, he was arguing in effect that I had committed the crime, forgot about after the fact, and that’s why the charges should be dismissed.
Thanks to Mr. Alderuccio, the judge had no other option but to conclude that everything he already believed to be true, was indeed true and convicted me.
I saw Mark Alderuccio a week later in his office to ask if there was still time to appeal, something he never even told me was an option.
After defending the prosecution and judge as having gone into the trial with an open mind, I attempted to ask a question about the trial to which he angrily cut me off, exclaiming “You were convicted! you can’t second-guess every little thing after the fact!“
Every “little” thing.
I have no doubt that man fully expected me to be carted off to jail that day to have nothing more to do with me as he has treated me with utter contempt ever since.
These are just a scant few examples, the list goes on and on and on.
How many other peoples lives has this man ruined, and how many more will he?
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28 Oct, 2021 by Anonymous
HORRIBLE MAN …. His employees are awful and just everything to do with them is bad business!They do not care about you or anything. All they care about is the money and nothing else. Taken advantage of mentally disabled people and using their money . They do not give 2 craps about what mentally disabled people need or what is good for them. They simply just want to take their money and use it for them self and leave them without any personal allowance. They are doing very sneaky stuff with group homes in Naples and the word is going around. Something needs to be done and quickly before things get even worse.
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24 Apr, 2015 by Anonymous
This gentleman was involved in the obfuscation of knowledge of estate money from myself and my family, until the death of my beloved relative. When I called him on it and the fact that the trust company and others had claimed the funds for themselves he replied...I'm paraphrasing..." Oh now you care about your family member all of a sudden" This was right after she died and far from the truth.
From what I understand either he and or his cohorts got away with approx. $100,000 of my families' money, knowing that I would not be able to cover attorney fees and travel expenses in order to claim my inheritance.
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07 Oct, 2021 by Anonymous
Terrible attorney. Not trustworthy at all. I would highly detract from using her for any and all matters.
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21 Jul, 2009 by Anonymous
BEWARE! This man is corrupt, totally uninformed of the law, does not have any sense of ethics or confidentiality, backstabbing, incompetent and inept, among many, many other forms of breeching a client's trust and his own Bar oath. Let me begin by stating that my husband and I had been married nearly 20 years when this all occurred.
He did our estate planning and when my husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and our documents came into play as far as guardianship, powers of attorney, etc., every single document was either done completely wrong, both legally and morally, did not convey the correct points as we had discussed with him and was so incorrectly written that things went to court and continue to this day to be in court.
Yes, he sent the documents to us for review, knowing that we were leaving for Africa within days and wanted them to be in place before we left. I quickly reviewed them and we signed them.
Upon our return we discussed and decided to make some minor changes to the Trust and Will of my husband, with written authorization for him to do so from his neurologist stating that he was not incompetent to do so.
After making an appointment with Stinziano to do so, he took it upon himself to phone one of our financial advisers, who then phoned a 'friend' of the family, who then phoned my husband's daughters and their husbands to advise them of our appointment and intent to make changes. He even phoned another attorney that we had previously used for real estate, employer relations, etc., who then admittedly discussed our entire estate file with others in the community!
As a result, we found ourselves in the midst of a lawsuit filed by my stepdaughters for guardianship of the assets. For three years we were involved in this lawsuit with my stepchildren attempting to take control of our assets, costing us a fortune in attorney fees, psychologists, doctors & mediators
My husband eventually passed with the disease and once again we (I) found myself in such a huge mess due to his incompetence that the remaining estate continues to be sucked away by attorney's, trustees (wrongly put into place), and bad business decisions.
I took the documents that were written by him to three attorneys and was told by eac h that they were a joke and that they never should have been written like that. He managed to take the wishes that we told him to include and, after giving us completely WRONG definitions of some of the instruments, (i.e. generation skipping trusts) he wrote what we THOUGHT covered our requirements but which in actuality did not even come close to what he had explained to us nor how he had explained the document worked. Thus, we had no control over the guardianship and no control of ANYTHING that was supposed to have been done.
He made mistakes involving inheiritances by other individuals causing them to have to sign disclaimers and he agreed that he would make them right himself if we did not file complaints, then when asked to do so, said he didn't have to because they had already signed the disclaimers.
If there were negative stars in this rating scheme, he would receive as low as it goes from me. I still cannot believe how totally incompetent this man is to practice estate planning. In ending this, I would also like to state that AT NO TIME DID THIS SO CALLED ATTORNEY STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND ADMIT THAT HE HAD DONE WRONG OR THAT THE DOCUMENTS WERE NOT WHAT WE THOUGHT THEY WERE OR THAT HE HAD EXPLAINED LEGAL ITEMS TO US WRONGLY OR OFFER TO PRODUCE NOTES FROM CLIENT CONFERENCES OR ADMIT THAT WHAT HE WAS PUTTING US THROUGH WAS HIS FAULT. CONVERSLY, HE INFERRED THAT I WAS LYING ABOUT WHAT WE HAD REQUESTED HIM TO DO AND HOW THE DOCUMENTS WERE INTENDED TO BE INTERPRETTED. THE DOCUMENTS, IN FACT, WERE LEFT TO INTERPRETATION BY OTHERS NOT EVEN INVOLVED IN OUR PRIVATE BUSINESS. The resulting lawsuits against us merely served to speed the Alzheimer's symptoms and thus the death of my husband leaving me without the intended inheiritance from my husband and continuing legal fees to this day.
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06 Feb, 2016 by Anonymous
I would not recommend hiring Mr. Skrivan for legal assistance. After my father passed away, I was in need of legal guidance with his estate. He never answered my phone calls or replied to my emails. He did not follow through with my instructions and he dismissed my concerns. It has been almost one year and my father's estate has not been distributed. Mr. Skrivan terminated his professional relationship by a letter without explaining why and he kept $2,000. I'm very disappointed in myself because I had trusted him. Do not hire him.
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15 Jun, 2024 by Louis herkalo
Not a trustworthy attorney! Be careful and do your due diligence if you decide to use Chris Prices' services!
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FAQs
Questions? We have answers
What an Estate Planning Lawyer Can Do for You
An estate planning lawyer helps individuals plan for the management and distribution of their assets after death or during incapacitation. Their services involve drafting important legal documents, such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives. Estate planning attorneys work to ensure that your assets are transferred according to your wishes, minimize tax liabilities, and avoid probate court. They also help clients plan for potential long-term care needs and protect their estate from being diminished by healthcare costs.
By working with an estate planning lawyer, you can have peace of mind knowing that your loved ones will be cared for and that your estate will be managed efficiently and according to your desires.
When Should I Hire an Estate Planning Lawyer?
Hiring an estate planning lawyer is beneficial in many situations, especially when you want to ensure that your assets are handled properly after death. Common reasons to hire an estate planning lawyer include:
- Drafting a will: If you want to clearly define how your assets will be distributed after death, an attorney can draft a legally sound will.
- Creating a trust: For those looking to avoid probate or provide for loved ones over time, setting up a trust can help manage the distribution of assets.
- Planning for incapacity: An estate lawyer can help draft powers of attorney and healthcare directives so that your financial and medical decisions are made by someone you trust if you become incapacitated.
- Minimizing estate taxes: If your estate is large, a lawyer can help create strategies to reduce or eliminate federal and state estate taxes.
- Special circumstances: If you have minor children, blended families, or complex assets like businesses, an estate planning lawyer can create tailored solutions.
- Guardianship or conservatorship: If you want to designate guardians for minor children or ensure proper care for incapacitated adults, an attorney can help.
Hiring an estate planning lawyer is especially important if your estate is complex or if you want to ensure that your wishes are properly followed.
What Does an Estate Planning Lawyer Do?
An estate planning lawyer provides a range of services designed to help you organize your affairs and ensure your estate is managed according to your wishes. They can:
- Draft wills and trusts: Creating legally binding documents that dictate how your assets will be distributed and managed.
- Create powers of attorney and healthcare directives: Appointing someone to make financial or medical decisions for you if you become incapacitated.
- Minimize taxes: Developing strategies to reduce estate taxes, gift taxes, and other financial liabilities for your heirs.
- Help avoid probate: Structuring your estate plan to avoid probate, which can save time and money for your beneficiaries.
- Advise on long-term care planning: Helping you plan for potential healthcare needs in the future, including Medicaid planning and protecting assets from being depleted by nursing home costs.
- Assist with beneficiary designations: Ensuring that life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and other financial instruments are correctly designated.
- Handle probate and estate administration: If a loved one has passed away, an estate planning lawyer can help guide you through the probate process or act as an executor.
How Are Estate Planning Lawyers Paid?
Estate planning lawyers typically charge for their services in one of several ways, depending on the complexity of your estate and the type of services you need. Common payment structures include:
- Flat fee: Many estate planning services, such as drafting a will or trust, are charged on a flat-fee basis. The fee covers all work related to preparing the document.
- Hourly rate: For more complex planning, such as estate tax strategy or trust administration, lawyers may charge by the hour. Rates vary based on the lawyer’s experience and location.
- Retainer: Some lawyers require a retainer for more complex cases, such as ongoing trust management or estate administration. The retainer is an upfront payment that covers future legal services.
It’s important to discuss fees with your lawyer upfront to avoid unexpected costs.
How Much Does an Estate Planning Lawyer Cost?
The cost of hiring an estate planning lawyer depends on the complexity of your estate and the services you require. Here are some general guidelines:
- Simple wills or powers of attorney: A straightforward will or power of attorney may cost between $300 and $1,500, depending on your location and the lawyer’s experience.
- Trust creation: Establishing a trust, such as a living trust or revocable trust, can cost between $1,000 and $3,000 or more, depending on the complexity of your assets and estate planning needs.
- Comprehensive estate planning packages: Some lawyers offer packages that include wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives, which may range from $2,000 to $5,000 or more, depending on the estate’s complexity.
- Hourly rates: For ongoing services like estate administration or tax planning, lawyers may charge hourly rates ranging from $150 to $500 or more, depending on the lawyer’s experience.
Always get a clear estimate of costs during your initial consultation to ensure the services fit within your budget.
Top Questions to Ask an Estate Planning Lawyer
Before hiring an estate planning lawyer, it’s important to ask questions to ensure they are the right fit for your needs. Here are key questions to ask during your consultation:
-
What is your experience with estate planning?
Ensure the lawyer has substantial experience drafting wills, creating trusts, and handling other estate planning services. -
How will you charge for your services?
Clarify whether the lawyer charges a flat fee or by the hour and ask for a detailed estimate of costs. -
What strategies do you recommend for my estate?
A good lawyer should be able to explain the best strategies for minimizing taxes, avoiding probate, and ensuring your assets are distributed according to your wishes. -
How often should I update my estate plan?
Ask how frequently you should revisit your estate plan, especially if your financial situation or family dynamics change. -
Do you offer ongoing support or updates?
Some lawyers provide periodic reviews or updates to ensure your estate plan stays current with changes in your circumstances or the law. -
How will you help my beneficiaries if something happens to me?
Ensure the lawyer is willing to guide your heirs through the estate administration process or help manage your trust after you’re gone.
How to Check the Credibility of an Estate Planning Lawyer
To ensure you’re hiring a credible estate planning lawyer, follow these steps:
- Verify their state bar license: Check with your state bar association to confirm that the lawyer is licensed and in good standing, with no history of disciplinary actions.
- Look for estate planning certifications: Some lawyers are certified as estate planning specialists, which indicates they have extensive knowledge in this area of law.
- Read client reviews and testimonials: Online reviews on sites like Avvo, Google, or Martindale-Hubbell can provide insight into the lawyer’s professionalism and client satisfaction.
- Ask for references: A credible lawyer should be able to provide references from previous clients who can speak to their expertise and client service.
- Check for membership in professional organizations: Lawyers who are members of organizations like the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) or the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) often have a strong reputation in the field.
What Should I Prepare for My First Consultation?
To get the most out of your first meeting with an estate planning lawyer, it’s important to come prepared. Here’s what you should bring:
- List of assets and liabilities: Provide a detailed inventory of your assets, including real estate, bank accounts, retirement funds, investments, and personal property, as well as any debts you may have.
- List of beneficiaries: Be ready to discuss who you want to receive your assets and in what proportions. This includes naming guardians for minor children if applicable.
- Existing estate documents: Bring copies of any existing wills, trusts, powers of attorney, or other relevant estate planning documents.
- Questions about your estate goals: Write down your goals, such as avoiding probate, reducing taxes, or setting up charitable donations, so your lawyer can tailor a plan to meet your needs.
- Information on medical and financial decision-makers: Be prepared to discuss who you want to appoint for healthcare and financial decisions if you become incapacitated.
By being well-prepared, you can ensure a productive consultation and begin building a comprehensive estate plan that meets your needs and protects your loved ones.
