California Attorneys are Available

How to find an attorney:

The best way to find an attorney is to ask friends and acquaintances WHOSE JUDGMENT YOU TRUST who they have used for themselves? What did they like? Not like? Then make a list of what you want*.

And CHECK OUT YOURSELF the person(s) that are recommended to you:
ALL California Attorneys must be licensed to practice law in this State by the CALIFORNIA STATE BAR. Membership is mandatory, not optional. See http://members.calbar.ca.gov/search/member.aspx to learn about that person. The State Bar member’s page will show you if they are Active members, where their office is located, including their phone number, FAX number, where they went to school, when they were admitted to practice, and any disciplinary issues.

Some national financial planning magazines suggest you ask for a list of ‘satisfied customers’ but a California Attorney will be Unable to give you such a list. ~ Please understand that in a California Attorney has an absolute duty of Confidentiality as part of YOUR Attorney-Client Privilege. So just as your affairs are no one else’s business, the past Client’s business is none of your business, either.

Two California Elder Law organizations which are helpful are:

CALIFORNIA ADVOCATES FOR NURSING HOME REFORM (CANHR) has referral attorneys all over California.
See http://www.canhr.org/index.html for referral to a local attorney for a situation involving illness, disability, planning for Long-Term Care, or related issues, which may also involved Wills, Trusts and spousal property transfers so that the Well Spouse can live at home. These Attorneys will also be able to refer you to local Geriatric Care Managers, for case management assistance, which costs less than legal fees.

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ELDER LAW ATTORNEYS (NAELA) has referral attorneys all over the United States.
See http://www.naela.com/Applications/ConsumerDirectory/index.cfm
for help with estate-planning (Wills, Trusts, Conservatorship) and estate settlement (Trust termination, Joint Tenancy, Probate) and related issues. Also, these attorneys may be able to refer you to locate Geriatric Care Managers for case management assistance, which costs less than legal fees.

About that “list of what you want” in your Attorney:

How do you balance the following factors?

TIME?
COST?
QUALITY?

It is easy to provide two of these factors: for example

Short-TIME + Low-COST = (often) Poor QUALITY

OR

Short-TIME + Higher COST = High QUALITY

OR

Adequate TIME + High QUALITY = Reasonable COST

Attorneys want to provide all 3 for a Happy Client, as in the last example above.

Are all 3 factors within your control?

If not, which ones are not?