Working Together

We have years of experience working on probate cases and have spent a lot of time learning the rules, moving cases forward, and helping families receive the closure they need. But for many of our clients, this is often the first time they have had to deal with the probate process. For some clients, it is also the first time they have had to hire an attorney or work with the courts.

Whether this is your first probate matter, your first legal matter, or if you have done this before, we are committed to working together with our clients through the entire probate process.

Here are a few things that you may not have asked, were wondering about, or were too shy to ask:

1. Communications
2. Sending us documents
3. Who to communicate with
4. Concerns
5. Invoices & billing

Communications

Everybody has their preferred way to communicate–be it by email, phone, online conferences, or in person.

Here are our preferences:

1. We prefer email: We live in our email system. This is our preferred method of communication. We try to answer every email by the following business day.
2. Scheduled calls and online conferences: If you send an email and do not get a response by the next business day (or if it is urgent), we ask that you use our calendar system to book a phone call or online conference meeting directly on our calendar. We have time slots available just about every weekday. You may also find this link at the bottom of our email communications.
3. Unscheduled calls: If you prefer unscheduled calls, that is fine. We can work with that if need be.
4. Unscheduled office visits: We do not prefer unscheduled office visits. But if this is your preference, we’ll respect it and work with it.

Sending Us Documents

During probate, you will need to be ready to send a variety of documents. This can include the decedent’s will (if one is available), property deeds, a certificate of death, among other documents. There are several ways to get documents to us–be it electronically, by fax, by mail, or by in-person drop-off.

Here are our preferences:

1. Electronic delivery is preferred: If you have the ability to scan and email documents, we’d ask that you send your documents to us that way. If you have too many to email but have them saved on your computer, we can send you a Dropbox link to drag and drop the files to us.
2. Fax works fine, but not for court documents: If you want to fax documents to us, that’s fine. Our fax number is (866) 633-3083. Please note that court documents have to be clear copies. Faxes won’t work for those.
3. Mail and in-person drop off: This is the preferred method for voluminous documents. Please mail them to our 6671 Southwest Fwy, Ste 820, Houston, TX 77074 office. If there is some chance that the postal system will lose your documents and they are irreplaceable, please pause to consider whether putting them in the mail to us is warranted. In-person drop-off may be a better option. If you want to drop them off in person, please call ahead to let us know when you plan on dropping them off.

Who to Communicate With

We are a teaching law firm, which means we always have associate attorneys working on cases. This is our obligation to the legal profession. We also use paralegals to keep our client’s legal costs down.

You may have two attorneys and a paralegal working on your case. Who do you communicate with? The answer is it depends on what your question is:

1. Talk to the paralegal: If you have a basic procedural question, such as how to fill out an intake form, question about your invoice, what the date of your hearing is, or how to find the courthouse, it is better to ask the paralegal
2. Talk to the attorney. If you are asking for legal advice, case strategy, how to deal with a family situation, etc., please ask for an attorney as they are qualified to provide you with legal advice.

We also have a Texas Probate Guide, which can help provide an answer to any question you may have concerning the probate process. You might also check our FAQs page regarding some of the frequently asked questions we receive from our clients.

Concerns

Probate is not a fast process.

Getting the courts to schedule hearings can take time. The intestate cases are even slower (those without a will), as the court will take time to assign an attorney ad litem, and the ad litems are often slow to work probate cases.

Hang in there. We’ll work through it. But if you are really concerned and feel that the case isn’t moving, or you see something going on with your case that you don’t understand, please let us know about the concern.

Invoices & Billing

We bill monthly, typically on or about the first day of the month. Our system is set up to send automatic reminders for unpaid invoices. These are sent out by email every few weeks. Please don’t ignore the reminders. We do close cases if the invoices are not paid timely and we do not hear from you about it.

If you are having difficulty paying an invoice, please let us know about it. There are many different possible solutions, and can often work out a plan to minimize the costs going forward. This may include you doing more of the work, and us serving more as an adviser or it may include the paralegal handling more aspects of the case. However, each solution starts with you, the client, contacting us to talk about it.

Why Choose Us?

Local Expertise: With a focus on probate and assisting clients in Houston, we understand local peculiarities and leverage our established network to expedite the probate process.

Vast Experience: Our attorneys bring years of dedicated experience in navigating Harris County’s probate system.

Client-Centered Approach: We recognize the emotional stress often associated with probate administration. Our objective is to alleviate this stress by providing you with top-notch legal support.

Contact us today to arrange a FREE consultation and make the probate process simpler for you.

Our Houston Probate Attorneys provide a full range of probate services to our clients, including helping with probate administrations. Affordable rates, fixed fees, and payment plans are available. We provide step-by-step instructions, guidance, checklists, and more for completing the probate process. We have years of combined experience we can use to support and guide you with probate and estate matters.

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Disclaimer:  The content of this website is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice and should not be acted upon without consulting a qualified probate attorney.

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