Trust & Estate Lawyers ... Final Pick Help

[BK001]

Hi All,

I did an extensive search here for a T&E lawyer recommendation. Read all the comments, etc. and narrowed the list to the following three candidates:

Susan Sullivan
Mary Trotter
Amy Reed Pittman

Is there anything you can tell me so that I can reduce this list further? They seem to be equally qualified and equally conveniently located. I believe our needs are basic and any would be a fine choice but I’m reaching out to you rather than flipping a coin. Any thoughts? Thank you for your help.

Barbara

[Dan9871]

Hi All,
...search here for a T&E lawyer recommendation.

Did you consider Jeffrey Skates at McLin Burnsed?

[Villager Joyce]

We met with two attorneys NOT on your list and didn't feel very comfortable with either. We both got warm fuzzies from Mary Trotter. No particular reason. Just felt right.

[shaboobie]

We Used Andrew Curtis 352-315-0333. We went to his seminar and was very impressed. He has done over 10,000 trusts. He is located in Fruitland Park (I noticed in the paper he is having seminars this week). Very Reasonably priced

[Aw Man]

Hi All,

I did an extensive search here for a T&E lawyer recommendation. Read all the comments, etc. and narrowed the list to the following three candidates:

Susan Sullivan
Mary Trotter
Amy Reed Pittman

Is there anything you can tell me so that I can reduce this list further? They seem to be equally qualified and equally conveniently located. I believe our needs are basic and any would be a fine choice but I’m reaching out to you rather than flipping a coin. Any thoughts? Thank you for your help.

Barbara

Have heard great things about all three candidates.
We picked Amy Pittman to work with and were very pleased with her work product for us.
She proved to be very professional, knowledgeable, and personable. We're happy to now consider her our family attorney.
Good luck with your choice!

[villager]

Susan Sullivan has done all of our family members' final documents and also some personal documents for us. She is great! Fair, knowledgeable, caring, not pushy and reasonably priced. Had one experience with Mary Trotter's office a while ago - was far from a pleasant experience.

[OpusX1]

We interviewed 4 attorneys and picked Mary Trotter and have been very happy with our choice.

[NYGUY]

We went with Amy Pittman. Very knowledgeable and enjoyable to deal with.

[Rango]

Susan Sullivan has done all of our family members' final documents and also some personal documents for us. She is great! Fair, knowledgeable, caring, not pushy and reasonably priced. Had one experience with Mary Trotter's office a while ago - was far from a pleasant experience.

I used Susan Sullivan also.

[rivaridger1]

We were quite happy with Mary Trotter who had to deal with an old trust which needed amendment.

[villagetinker]

We have and continue to use Pittman Law office.

[Karenu]

I was looking for someone that my daughters would feel comfortable with. Amy Pittman was my choice. In the end it will be their relationship that will be important.

[Carla B]

I was looking for someone that my daughters would feel comfortable with. Amy Pittman was my choice. In the end it will be their relationship that will be important.
You nailed it! Any competent attorney specializing in trusts and wills can write the docs. What matters is how accessible and reasonable the attorney will be when called upon to settle the estate.

When my husband's stepmother, a widow, passed, the attorney was accommodating and reasonable. The CPA's, however, charged three times as much as the attorney for an estate that consisted of nothing but some C.D.s, a few shares of stock and a vehicle.

[BK001]

Thank you all for your comments. Still no consensus so it looks like it will be the old flip of a coin. However, it's a nice feeling that there are no losers in the bunch.

[FMF Doc]

Susan Sullivan

[Carl in Tampa]

We were quite happy with Mary Trotter who had to deal with an old trust which needed amendment.

Mary Trotter revised a Florida Living Trust for me and produced a new Florida Living Trust for a friend whose Trust was from another state.

Both were quickly and thoroughly done, reviewed in detail in person by Mary, witnessed by members of Mary's staff, and the final work product was turned over to me. In addition, an electronic copy of the finished, signed document was stored by Mary's office to protect against the possible damage or loss of my original copy.

If I needed other work done, I would return to her office.

[Biker Dog]

Patrick Smith

[Aw Man]

Thank you all for your comments. Still no consensus so it looks like it will be the old flip of a coin. However, it's a nice feeling that there are no losers in the bunch.

Have you met with one or all of those on your short list?
Most of them offer a no cost initial consultation.
We were in your decision making position and after meeting with Amy Pittman we felt very comfortable in moving forward with her.

[Challenger]

Amy is a member of the Rotary Club of the Villages (morning) and is actively engaged with our philanthropic efforts in the Villages and through the world.

Good Citizen, good mother, in addition to her outstanding legal background and skills.

[hulahips]

We just saw Pittman. Our needs very basic so thought $1,000 was a bit high? I thought maybe $800 would be more appropriate for us.

[eremite06]

:agree:We just saw Pittman. Our needs very basic so thought $1,000 was a bit high? I thought maybe $800 would be more appropriate for us.

Same here.

[autumnspring]

Hi All,

I did an extensive search here for a T&E lawyer recommendation. Read all the comments, etc. and narrowed the list to the following three candidates:

Susan Sullivan
Mary Trotter
Amy Reed Pittman

Is there anything you can tell me so that I can reduce this list further? They seem to be equally qualified and equally conveniently located. I believe our needs are basic and any would be a fine choice but I’m reaching out to you rather than flipping a coin. Any thoughts? Thank you for your help.

Barbara

Franky, I read your post because it is long past due that we rewrite our will.

It is clear to me that EVERY atty that you have listed is FEMALE. Three out of three could not be a coincidence.

Having said that, I would look for a large law firm. Years ago when my parents passed away, my sister and I needed to settle their limited estate. We had a copy of their will and were told it was no good as it did not have the BLUE COVER ON IT. I triend to contact the atty with her name on the will and discovered that she had closed her office and was now????? But, she claimed she remembered mailing it to my sister. HOW STUPID IS THAT. The will was over ten years old and she remembers mailing it? In any case, to get a copy WITH A BLUE COVER ON IT with no one contesting the will cost us a couple of hundred dollars in legal bills.

Also, back to my experience. I located an atty that would handle the distribution of my parents estate at a FLAT FEE of $2,000. Sadly, there were issues between my sister and myself not due to the estate but due to other things. My sister wanted some other atty and rather than to fight on this issue I gave her the choice she wanted. When the estate was finally settled the atty MY SISTER WANTED sent us a bill of over $8,000. He did not even supply an itemized bill which you are entitled to by LAW. As check over of his bill and he charged us his time plus his assistants time to tell his assistant what to do. A quick check and his assistant was A LAW STUDENT working for free. A bit of action ON MY PART. Telling him I was going to report him to THE BAR and he agreed to cut his bill by 4-5,000.

JUST BEWARE OF WHO YOU HIRE.

[BK001]

Franky, I read your post because it is long past due that we rewrite our will.

It is clear to me that EVERY atty that you have listed is FEMALE. Three out of three could not be a coincidence.

Having said that, I would look for a large law firm. Years ago when my parents passed away, my sister and I needed to settle their limited estate. We had a copy of their will and were told it was no good as it did not have the BLUE COVER ON IT. I triend to contact the atty with her name on the will and discovered that she had closed her office and was now????? But, she claimed she remembered mailing it to my sister. HOW STUPID IS THAT. The will was over ten years old and she remembers mailing it? In any case, to get a copy WITH A BLUE COVER ON IT with no one contesting the will cost us a couple of hundred dollars in legal bills.

Also, back to my experience. I located an atty that would handle the distribution of my parents estate at a FLAT FEE of $2,000. Sadly, there were issues between my sister and myself not due to the estate but due to other things. My sister wanted some other atty and rather than to fight on this issue I gave her the choice she wanted. When the estate was finally settled the atty MY SISTER WANTED sent us a bill of over $8,000. He did not even supply an itemized bill which you are entitled to by LAW. As check over of his bill and he charged us his time plus his assistants time to tell his assistant what to do. A quick check and his assistant was A LAW STUDENT working for free. A bit of action ON MY PART. Telling him I was going to report him to THE BAR and he agreed to cut his bill by 4-5,000.

JUST BEWARE OF WHO YOU HIRE.


Thank you for your response and advice. Based upon your experience, good questions to ask would be about the probate process (although when that becomes an issue, it will be an issue for our beneficiaries and not for us).

So glad you pushed back on the attorney's bill and prevailed. Sounds like highway robbery. Kudos to you.

As far as the fact that the attorneys referenced in my first post are all female in no way represents a personal bias. I simply relied on the volume of positive responses and these three names came up repeatedly -- no male name came even close. So from my point of view it is nothing BUT pure coincidence. Regardless, I don't care about their gender, rather having an approachable, cost effective and knowledgeable professional help us with our estate.

Do you have any lawyer/law firm in mind that you are considering?