What happens is this- in the most common cases a person is in an auto collision, or has vehicle damage where the value of the entire case is less than $10,000.  Given what juries are awarding these days, many cases fall into this realm.  A demand must be sent both to the driver of the at-fault vehicle and their insurance company.  I send medical records and billings to the insurance company only.  Then we wait for 30 days.  If the insurance company comes in with a decent offer, then we settle and it’s a contingent fee.  But, if the insurance company comes in with a lower offer than we (attorney and client) think the case is worth, we file the case.  Defendant must beat that offer at arbitration or trial, or risk paying attorney fees from the date the client walked into the office.  The client then receives the entire award or judgment.

This statute is intended to settle the “small” cases in Oregon because the defendant could take a very big hit on attorney fees.

If we decide to use this statute in your case you will receive alot of more information on ORS 20.080, it’s risks, it’s benefits, and whether it’s right for your case.

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2010/12/08/walking-away-from-your-home-a-live-chat-with-author-brent-white/

We charge charge $300 for a will.  If the will is mutually similar, for example if a married couple (or any couple) is giving the same items to eachother, then the two wills are $300.

Please contact our office for the will questionnaire.  This questionnaire will get you oriented to the type of decisions you need to make.  Please return the questionnaire with $300.  Only then can we begin drafting your will.

We will then send you a draft of your will.  If you have any questions, it’s best to for us to answer them then.

Next we schedule a will execution.  At that time you will need to bring in one witness (generally Elizabeth acts as one witness and Theresa as notary).  This witness cannot have taken in your will!  If you cannot find a friendly neighbor (or pastor or friend) then we can work on a time when there are other people in the office who can witness.

A will service can also contain an Advanced Directive and/or Power of Attorney.  These documents are not necessary to the will and can be found at Stevens-Ness Legal Publishing Co. at http://www.stevens-ness.com, 916 SW 4th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204, 503.223.3137.

Also, please consider attending our will seminars to get your general questions answered.  We look forward to meeting you!

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.  The annual selections are made using a rigorous multi-phashed process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area.

Elizabeth E. Welch is co-founder and partner of Kohlhoff & Welch, Oregon’s first exclusively mother-daughter firm, which was opened in 2006 with attorney Theresa Kohlhoff. A determined advocate, Welch represents injured clients in car accidents, falls, or injuries caused by third parties at work. Kohlhoff & Welch also handles family law, real estate, wills, and probate. After nine years of professional experience as a legal secretary and paralegal, she graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School in 2004 and became a member of the Oregon State Bar in 2006. Involvement in both professional and community organizations continues to be a focus for Welch, the mother of two daughters. She is a board member for the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association and Vice President of North Portland’s Peninsula K-8 PTA

If it turns out that you need a lawyer to assist in a small estate affidavit, I can help where needed and the rate is $350 @ hour.  Last year I helped a man file and administer one of these and the cost to the estate was $1,200.

If you do need a probate, then I don’t get paid until the end and then only by court order. Court costs, bonds, publication fees, etc…for a probate, as opposed to attorney fees, are paid by the client as we go along.  They are reimbursed by the estate to the client at least before the close of the probate.  Attorney fees are often highly overestimated:  everyone has heard of the lawyer who basically got the whole estate, alla Charles Dickens.  Well, that didn’t happen in Oregon, if it happened anywhere.  Generally, a probate without any outside litigation will run about $4,000 to $7,000:  it all depends on the amount of time and the complexity of the issues.  On the other hand, the costs to others are more than most imagine.  The filing fee to the State of Oregon is based on the county where the probate is filed and the amount of the estate.  So for example, in Multnomah County, the filing fee is $457 for estates below $500,000, the cost of publication in the Daily Journal of Commerce is $134, the cost of a final accounting for the same below $500,00 estate is $100, etc..  If there is no will, the court very often requires bonding which is an amount that depends on a number of factors including the size of the estate, the type of assets and the personal representative.  Recently a woman was assessed a bond premium of $1,200 for an estate of about $380,000.

Hope to hear from you soon.