The questions we get asked most.

The person you meet at the first consultation is the person who works your matter and the person who picks up when you call about it.

The firm is small on purpose. You will not be handed to someone who has never heard your story.

Whatever you have, and no more than that. Documents help if you have them, but plenty of first meetings happen with nothing but the situation itself.

If there is something specific we need before we can be useful, we will tell you when we book the time.

We serve both cities and the communities around them, and we regularly work with people who live further out.

Ask when you call. If your matter needs to be somewhere we do not practise, we will say so and help you find the right person.

We will tell you how the initial consultation works when you call, so there is no uncertainty about it before you arrive.

For well-defined work, often a flat fee, because it lets you decide with the price in front of you.

For open-ended matters a flat fee is not an honest promise, so we explain how the billing works and keep you posted before costs move.

No. If a line on an invoice is not clear, call and ask, and you will get a real explanation rather than a restatement of the line.

Sometimes not, and we will tell you if that is our honest read.

Where a lawyer earns their keep in an amicable case is in the drafting. An agreement that is clear about the awkward details is the one that does not bring you back a year later.

Orders about custody, parenting time and support can be revisited when circumstances change in a meaningful way.

Whether yours qualifies depends on the specifics, and it is a short conversation to find out.

No. Property held jointly, accounts with a named beneficiary, and assets already in a trust generally pass outside probate entirely.

Some families arrive braced for months of court and learn at the first meeting that very little of the estate needs it.

After any of the big ones. A marriage, a divorce, a birth, a death, a move to another state, a business started or sold, or a significant change in what you own.

Absent those, a read-through every few years catches the small things that have drifted.

Not always, though for most owners the cost of forming one is small next to what it is protecting.

The more useful conversation is about what the entity actually does and does not protect you from.

The standard form still has blanks and addenda that shift real risk between the parties, and signature is the last moment the terms can change.

A short review is inexpensive next to what is at stake in a property purchase.