When our father passed away, he left a fairly complex estate, well beyond our ability to manage as executors. We needed an attorney with equally diverse skills. Someone comfortable with a mix of asset types and properties. Someone adept in tax, family, and estate planning strategies. Someone able to navigate legalities across multiple states. And above all, someone willing and able to listen to our priorities, and to calmly navigate varying points of view.
There were, no doubt, many other attorneys who could have provided us competent counsel. We chose Bob, not only because he clearly had the requisite expertise and experience, but also for his demeanor. Throughout the process, he was not just thorough, methodical and clear; he was also patient, understanding, unflappable, and unfailingly kind.
Bob’s nuanced understanding of our personal goals allowed him to offer creative solutions I suspect many attorneys may have missed. He consistently went beyond, “Here is the simplest solution,” to “Here is a way we can achieve your more challenging goals, and here is why this approach is right for you.” The resulting strategies helped us circumvent several potential pitfalls and led to multiple win-win solutions.
Anyone dealing with that uniquely challenging period, where great personal loss coincides with great legal complexity, would do well to consider retaining Bob.