What exactly can I do for you?

Estate Planning

Do you need a Will? A Durable Power of Attorney? A Healthcare Power of Attorney? Maybe you don't know if you need Estate planning.

 

Here are a few questions that will determine if I can help you:

 

Do you have a Durable Power of Attorney in case something happens and you can't make decisions?

Do you have a Healthcare Power of Attorney and have you discussed with your family what you want if you can't express your wishes?

Do you have a Will to help your family know what to do when you pass away?

 

If the answer is "No," then I can help you with that.

 

Do you have any assets, like a house, a car, or a retirement account that you own independently from anyone else?

Do you have multiple children who would inherit your estate?

Will your family argue over things when you pass away?

Are you uncomfortable talking about your wishes and intents with your family?

Are you overwhelmed by the idea of an estate plan?

 

If the answer is "Yes," then I can help you with that, too.

 

Estate planning isn't only for the elderly. It should not be put off until there is an emergent reason to need a plan.  Estate planning is something almost everyone would benefit from doing.

 

For many reasons, a lot of people just don't want to do estate planning. Maybe you think you are too young or nothing bad is going to happen to you. Maybe estate planning feels too morbid. Maybe you think it will be too expensive. Or maybe you think once you are gone then it isn't your problem.

 

Estate planning covers more than just what happens when you die. It also covers how you want things done while you are alive.  And once you die, probate without an estate plan takes extra steps, costs more than probate with a Will and often results in disputes. 

 

Probate Services

Has someone passed away and now you need help? Do you need help opening the right kind of probate? Do you know the deadlines for probate? Nebraska is one of only a few states with state inheritance tax. Do you need help doing the calculations? Are there assets that need distributed? 

 

Whatever the issue is, however you need help with probate, I can probably help.

 

Probate Mediation

Is there a probate open and a fight is getting ready to boil over? I understand probate laws and can help everyone, whether represented by separate attorneys or not represented at all, negotiate solutions to many probate disputes. 

 

Mediated and Collaborative Divorce with or without a Parenting Plan

If you and your spouse both agree that you want to be divorced, and neither of you has an attorney, then I can offer a unique situation where by mutual limited representation, I will assist both of you at the same time. How this works is that I meet with both spouses and we decide who will file and who will be filed against. After that I assist the drafting of all of the remaining documents, to include voluntary appearances and waivers of service. Then we mediate the division of property. If there are minor children of the relationship, then we can also mediate the parenting plan. 

 

If, at any time, there is a dispute that is unable to be resolved in our limited representation mediation sessions, I will discontinue representation of both spouses and both spouses will need to find separate representation to litigate any unresolved issues. 

 

This form of divorce isn't for everyone, but I have seen several very happily divorced couples who actually felt like the outcome was better because they didn't have such formal competition. The overall combined cost is a tiny fraction of the cost if both parties were to hire independent counsel. The time it takes is generally reduced to the shortest allowable per the law. It is the lowest stress option for getting divorced.

 

Mediation

Whether it is a landlord and tenant dispute or a contract disagreement between a homeowner and handyman or anything in between, I will help the parties negotiate a resolution. More and more, the Courts in Nebraska are relying on mediation and, in many cases, judges are ordering parties to attempt mediation before taking the issue to trial.

I do not currently have the expertise to mediate personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, or other large ticket issues.

 

If you have a mediation need, and you are not sure if it fits in my practice, just ask! If I can't do it, I probably know someone who can!