We're looking for a probate lawyer to deal with settling our recently deceased mother's estate. So far we've heard quotes of $250.00 to $300.00 an hour. From your knowledge or experience, about how many hours will it take from the first consultation to the probating of the estate in court?
2007-01-07 10:36:36 · 5 answers · asked by MNL_1221 6 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
i think your best bet would be to get ahold of someone who is a lawyer that you trust, most ppl know someone or atleast know someone who does, ask them, most lawyers know a lot more than what they practice, and i would think that looking for a lawyer that would do it as a one time fee (which i know has a name i forget it) or a percentage is a better way, ive found that at all times posible dont go hourly unless you have to, or unless you know it is the cheapest
2007-01-14 14:51:44 · answer #1 · answered by doomsday45 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is a tough question because you haven't provided many details. $250 - $300 per hour is a reasonable rate for an experienced lawyer. If there are no complications, the fees should be between $5,000.00 to $10,000.00. If the brothers and sisters and other family members are going to fight over stuff, it will cost more. A big issue in any probate is how much is the estate worth. Are there a lot of debts? Did the decedent own a business? There can be so many issues. Was there life insurance? Were trusts set up? If it's a small estate, may be you can do it yourself. There are self-help books on the subject. Good luck.
2007-01-15 04:52:52 · answer #2 · answered by maninthemirror327 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lawyers usually use one of three methods to charge for probate work: by the hour, a flat fee, or a percentage of the value of the estate assets. Your lawyer may let you pick how you pay—for example, $250/hour or a $1,500 flat fee for handling a routine probate case.
Hourly Billing
Many probate lawyers bill clients by the hour. The hourly rate will depend on how much experience and training the lawyer has, where you live, and whether the lawyer practices in a big law firm or a small one. Small town rates may be as low as $150/hour; in a city, a rate of less than $200/hour would be unusual. Big firms generally charge higher rates than sole practitioners or small firms, unless a small firm is made up solely of hot-shot specialists.
A lawyer who does nothing but estate planning and probate will likely charge a higher hourly rate than a general practitioner. The advantage to you is that a specialist should be more efficient. Someone who has steered many probates through the local court has probably learned all the local rules and how to prepare and file documents the way the court likes them.
2016-07-31 18:49:50 · answer #3 · answered by alfa 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am a California attorney. In California $250-300 an hour is pretty standard. However, if it's a full probate case then the attorney will likely be paid a percentage of the gross assets of the estate (about 3% is a good rough estimate). This can work out to more than the hourly rate. Back to your exact question, without knowing what state you are in and what type of probate it's hard to say exactly but I would take a wild guess of about 20 hours for a straightforward probate. Again, that's a WILD guess. Good luck to you.
2007-01-09 03:43:36 · answer #4 · answered by John 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In my state you can do a probate without an attorney. So, go to your state's judicial website and make sure you can't download the forms yourself. (for example, coloradostatejudiciary.org). If you can't do that, and if no one is fighting over the estate, it should take 5-6 hours of attorney's work. But this is a real hard question to answer without more information. How large is the estate? How many heirs? Is there real estate? BTW-the attorney fees you have been quoted are really high.
2007-01-07 10:46:01 · answer #5 · answered by David M 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋