I needed a minor issue to be addressed by a lawyer. But which one? Danger Dog says do your homework.
I chose the first one on the list when I googled this county. This has led to a difficult experience. I explained what I needed from him, and even why. He seems to have jumped to the conclusion that I needed a will. Absolutely no amount of talking to him about this issue has in any way deterred him from making a will. When I say, "Well, that's not what I needed. This is what I need," he begins to tell me, incorrectly, the name of the only person I happened to mention, which is my nephew. Calling him by his nickname, the lawyer said, "Tater Tot has been excluded from the will." This lawyer doesn't actually know my name. He asked me to call him with the full names and exact spellings of two witnesses. I got that and called him back. "Well, I can't take that information right now because I'm driving." That's another thing about this sketchy man. He originally made an appointment with me at his office at 1:00 pm on a Friday around a month ago. When I went to his office, he wasn't there. The office was a glass front room in a strip mall. The door was locked.
I called him from home to say that he had missed the appointment. I had arrived with Mrs. Billingsley at his office. I told him that it had been necessary for me to call 911 to get first responders here to help me get her into the car. I had called 911 to help me get her back in the house. He blathered on for a moment, not understanding that my mother was not in the house but still sitting in the car, where she would be for another twenty or thirty minutes. He offered to come to the house on the following Monday. He started to discuss "the will," but when I tried to tell him it wasn't about a will, he began to define a will. Then he told me there would need to be chairs. On and on he went about chairs. Next he told me we would need a table. Did I own a table? "No, I don't own a table," I said.
I have spoken to others about going down this rabbit hole, and how I need to climb out of it. Oh no. All lawyers are rabbit holes. Just continue forward with this one and get it over with. But I am never going to be able to get the actual document that I needed from this person. I googled his name to check reviews. Goodness. You never saw so many people spitting tacks. "Unprofessional," was the kindest review. "Rude," was ubiquitous. "He belittled me." "He cursed me and hung up." One said he was filing a complaint against him with the bar association.
So even if I were resigned to all lawyers being demons from hell, I just can't take any more stuff from this one.
There are two lawyers that I'm considering now. One is in this county. One is in the next county. I actually went to the one in the next county in the past. I had seen his father about a will, but then his father had retired, and his son had taken over. Well. OK. I wasn't completely sold on the son, but he seemed adequate. Oh, by the way, there had been no witnesses to this contract that I had been required to bring. The other one, in this county, I don't have any history with, except that I once took a civil lawsuit to court, and either he was the judge or one of his relatives. The lawsuit was judged in my favor. Goodness the hooting and hollering that went on outside the courtroom after that. The entire benighted clan was there. That little battle had had way more drama from the people I sued than one would ever imagine. I needed them to chain their vicious dog. I knew that if I could get one penny from them for any of the damage the dog had done, that dog would be chained. And the dog was chained after that. Mrs. Billingsley told me she could see the roof of their house blowing off when they had to pay me $150.
I guess it's a toss up now between the lawyer in this county and the one in the next county. Maybe I should go to the next county. At least I don't feel that either of these two are out of their minds. All I need is a one page form.
I wonder why every step of the way in any endeavor has to be made impossible?
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