Contact Us Please read this section completely before you contact us.   If you are serious about seeking legal representation you must do your homework.   Whether or not you hire me, you will need the answers to these questions and you will need the requested information and documents in order to administer the estate, so put it all together at the beginning and make my job, and your job, easier.   It is very important for both of us that you answer the questions noted below, and that you assemble the information and documents noted below, before you contact us. Our first contact is crucial for both of us.    Our first contact enables me to determine whether or not your matter is one which I can help you with.   In order for me to make this legal determination, I must obtain certain basic, but detailed, information from you.   Please be assured that as an attorney I am not permitted to share your information with anyone outside of my law office, and my office staff are also included under this prohibition.   Your information will not be sold, shared, given away, or used for marketing or any purpose other than my rendering legal services to you should you decide to hire me.   If you do not hire me, or if I decline to represent you, I will return your information to you if you request me to do so. So that I can properly advise you, I need to obtain this detailed information from you before we can discuss your matter in person or on the telephone.   I am not requesting this information just to satisfy my own curiosity.   As an attorney it is my legal duty to look at all aspects of the case before I determine what steps need to be taken, and before I determine whether or not I can assist you with taking those steps. For your convenience, I am listing the information and documents I need to obtain from you before we can productively discuss your new estate matter.   Please printout this Contact Us page and use it as a worksheet to assemble the information and documents that I need in order to help you.   You do not need to be formal in your preparation - you can write on this Contact Us printout if that is easier for you.   Please answer the questions, get all of the information requested, assemble all of the documents requested below, and then send all of your information and documents to me so that I can review your matter.   We can discuss this information by phone first (if you prefer) - you can call me at (949) 859-0861.   Then, you can either FAX the requested information and documents to me at (949) 362-1749, or you can snail mail the information and documents to me at Genevieve Wall, A Law Corporation, 23521 Paseo de Valencia, Suite 304-B, Laguna Hills, CA 92653. Once I review your information and documents I can then respond to you with accurate legal advice based upon the information that you provide to me.   If I determine that this is a matter that I can help you with, and if we both agree that you wish to retain me, then we can take the next steps in this matter (sign a retainer agreement, set up a costs trust account, and I can start preparing your legal documents to administer the estate). INFORMATION THAT I NEED TO PROPERLY REVIEW YOUR CASE AND TO PREPARE TO DISCUSS YOUR CASE WITH YOU - PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AND BE PREPARED TO REVIEW THE INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS WITH ME: 1. Name of deceased person (the "decedent") 2. Date of death 3. Please provide a copy of the death certificate. 4. Is this a new estate matter? (Yes or No) 5. Are you the named Executor or Trustee? (Yes or No) 6. Are you willing to act as Executor or Trustee? (Yes or No) 7. Are you a beneficiary of the estate? (Yes or No) 8. Has a petition for Probate of Will, or appointment of an Executor, been filed in any court for this matter? (Yes or No)       If yes, please provide a copy of the Petition, and if the Petition was granted, please let me know. 9. Has a petition for an Intestate Administration, or the appointment of an intestate Administrator, been filed in any court for this matter? (Yes or No)      If yes, please provide a copy of the Petition, and if the Petition was granted, please let me know. 10. Did the decedent sign a Will and any Codicils to the Will? (Yes or No)       If Yes, please provide a copy of the Will. 11. Did the decedent person sign a Living Trust and any Amendments to the Trust? (Yes or No)       If Yes, please provide a copy of the Trust, and all Amendments, and the name of person presently acting as Trustee (or if there is no acting Trustee, the name of the person willing to step into the office of the Trustee). 12. Have any attorneys been hired or involved in this matter prior to you contacting me? (Yes or No)       If Yes, please provide their names, addresses, and telephone numbers, and tell me what they were hired to do, who hired them, and what was the outcome of those services. I will not contact these attorneys unless you authorize me to do so. 13. What is the total value of all of the assets in the decedent’s estate as of the date of the death of the decedent?  This includes any and all assets in which the decedent had an interest, including:       A. Assets held in the decedent’s name alone, such as real estate, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, cars, jewelry, personal effects, etc.       B. Assets held by the decedent in Joint Tenancy with other people       C. Assets held in the name of the decedent which have a beneficiary designated       D. Assets of the decedent held in a Living Trust       E. Life insurance policies payable because of decedent’s death (whether or not owned by the decedent)       F. Annuities owned by or payable to others because of the decedent’s death       G. Any other assets which do not fit into any of the other categories above.       Please provide me with a list of all of the decedent’s assets, showing a description of the asset, how title is held, who the beneficiary is (if there is a beneficiary designation), and the value of the asset on the decedent’s date of death.   If we decide to work together, I will ask you to provide copies of the actual title papers, such as deeds, copies of statements, etc. 14. Is there any litigation (ongoing or contemplated) regarding this estate? (Yes or No)       If yes, please describe the parties and briefly describe the litigation, location of the court, etc. 15. Is there anyone who claims to be a beneficiary of this estate who wants more than the decedent provided for that person in the Will or Trust? 16. Please provide a "family tree" for the decedent, which includes the name and age of:       A. The decedent’s surviving spouse (if any)       B. The decedent’s deceased spouse or spouses (if any), and their date(s) of death.       C. All of the decedent’s children who survived the decedent (if any)       D. All of the decedent’s children who died before the decedent (if any)           If there are any deceased children of the decedent, and if they left "issue" or children who survived the decedent, please provide the names and ages of those persons       E. If the decedent had a deceased spouse or deceased spouses, did the decedent inherit any property from them?           If yes, please describe. DO NOT LEAVE ANY FAMILY MEMBER OUT OF THE FAMILY TREE, EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT NAMED AS A BENEFICIARY IN THE DECEDENT'S WILL OR TRUST, AND EVEN IF THE DECEDENT "DISINHERITED" THEM.    IF YOU FAIL TO DISCLOSE ANY FAMILY MEMBER TO ME, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THEY COULD TAKE A SHARE OF THE DECEDENT'S ESTATE.     IF YOU DO NOT WANT THIS TO HAPPEN, PLEASE BE OPEN AND ACCURATE IN YOUR LISTING OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY TREE. 17. Is anyone fighting or arguing about any part of this estate? (Yes or No)       If Yes, please describe briefly the parties and reasons for the argument. 18. Is there any other information you can provide to me, or that you think I should know, in order to help me understand the dynamics of the parties involved in this estate? (Yes or No)       If Yes, please provide it. 19. Do you have any specific questions you want me to answer (other than a general discussion of what we need to do to administer the estate?       If yes, please give me your questions. 20.  Is there any other information you can, or wish to, provide to me regarding this estate so that I can assist you?       If yes, please provide it.  21.  How do you wish to communicate with me?        FAX (please provide your FAX number)        Email (please provide your email address)        Phone (please provide your phone number)        Regular postal mail (please provide your mailing address)        Any or some of the above (please select) I look forward to hearing from you, and I hope that I can help you with your new estate matter. Cordially, Genevieve Wall Genevieve Wall, A Law Corporation 23521 Paseo de Valencia, Suite 304 B Laguna Hills, CA 92653 (949) 859-0861