Gambill Law Office

I am disappointed to learn of your complaints concerning my attempt to assist your uncle with certain legal matters. First, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on my phone conversations with your uncle because those are confidential attorney/client matters. However, there are certain inaccuracies in your recent review of our law firm. First, you have confused "Power of Attorney" with "Personal Representative." A Power of Attorney is someone who is authorized to act on legal matters pursuant to a properly created Power of Attorney designation. A Personal Representative is a person authorized by the Court to administer a deceased's estate assets. A Personal Representative named in an Indiana Court must be an Indiana resident, or, alternatively, serve as a Co-Personal Representative with a resident of the State of Indiana (Indiana Code 29-1-10-1). Second, absent special circumstances, a spouse may not disinherit a surviving spouse and a surviving spouse may take against the Will and is entitled to one-half of the net personal real estate of the deceased spouse (Indiana Code 9-1-3-1). You indicated in your review that you had spoken with other attorneys who indicated that there were "work arounds" to this legal requirement. There may indeed be certain Trusts and other transfers of property prior to a Testator's death that can assist in transferring assets to persons other than the surviving spouse. However, you indicated that the purpose of contacting my firm was to obtain a "simple Will" and such documents and property transfers are not part of a "simple Will."Third, I would note that I spent well over 2 hours conducting numerous phone conversations with you and your uncle. I did not charge or receive any fee for my legal assistance. My approach to the practice of law is not to tell clients what they want to hear but to describe what the law requires.Finally, I understand and can accept your unhappiness in my providing information on what the requirements are under Indiana's Probate Code. However, it is inappropriate to transfer that resentment toward our firm's staff who at all times treated you professionally and with courtesy.