Legal Services

It is one of our great joys in our job to assist parents in adopting children.  As one of our attorneys is an adoptive parent himself, we understand the adoption process from both the legal and emotional dimensions.  We will work to make your adoption one that is rewarding for life.

In court and administrative proceedings, sometimes things do not  go the way people hope.  If you are on the losing end of a decision, we may be able to help you make it better by “appealing” it to another court.  We will explain to you the procedures of appealing and evaluate your case to see if an appeal is worthwhile or if there are other options that are a better fit for your situation.  If you need to appeal, we will prepare the necessary documents and argue for your rights.  We also represent those who are trying to protect  a favorable decision that is being appealed by another party.  We are able to appeal to both Indiana appellate courts and the Federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.   Because appellate practice is uniform throughout Indiana, we are able to accept cases that originate outside of the Northeast Indiana region.

We value the spirit of those who choose to open and run their own businesses, and we know how to clear the legal hurdles that business owners face on their journey to growth and hopeful prosperity.  We assist entrepenuers in choosing the right type of business structure to use when opening the business and help them make sure to keep their paperwork current and in order with the government.  Once your business is opened, we can advise you on employment issues, regulatory issues, and other legal matters that you face in your business operations.  We can review and draft your contracts and employment policies.   If you are buying or selling your business and/or other assets, we can help you complete that transaction advantageously.    In short, we can be on your “business team” as your legal expert so that you can focus on building your business.

When you loan money to another person or provide goods and services, chances are you want to be paid as agreed.  When that does not happen, our firm can help you get the money you earned as quickly as possible.   Our firm serves the legal needs of all types of creditors, from indivduals and small business owners to large corporations.   We use a variety of legal means to get money into your pocket as quickly as possible.

While few people really want to go to court either as a plaintiff or a defendant, if you have a court or administrative proceeding looming—of if you need to start a proceeding to protect yourself— it helps to have a knowledgeable friend at your side to advocate for you and steer you in the right direction.  We want to be that friend for you.   We have extensive experience in all types of civil and other litigation  and will represent you thoroughly while keeping your budget in mind.  If you forsee a lawsuit or other proceeding in your future, come to us and we’ll try to give you some thoughtful advice and help.

Although everyone hopes they never need a criminal defense attorney, you may find yourself in a position where you must make sure your rights are protected.  Our firm’s experience covers cases ranging from traffic violations and juvenile matters to misdemeanor and major felony defense.  We will make sure your case is thoroughly examined and present you with all of your options, while at the same time protecting your rights.  We also defend clients’ rights  in Child In Need of Services (CHINS) cases, terminations of parental rights, contested adoptions and guardianships, and contempt proceedings.

Planning for nursing home level of care at a facility or at home can be intimidating and difficult.  Paying for those services can be even more daunting.  If you or a loved one requires the medical attention of a nursing home or the equivalent level of care at home, you may be eligible for Medicaid benefits.  It is also worth exploring the eligibility requirements if you foresee this need in the future because you may be able to protect some of your assets and pass them on to your family.

Medicaid laws constantly change and evolve, but effective planning can help protect your assets and income while still qualifying you for Medicaid benefits.  Medicaid eligibility rules dictate how much of your assets can be kept, transferred, or converted into non-countable assets.  Effective Medicaid planning tools include pre-paid funeral trusts, income-producing real estate, and certain allowable transfers.  Other tools, like a Miller Trust, can help you qualify even if your income is high  It’s important to understand these eligibility rules and the application process before making any decisions involving a nursing home.  Our office can help you, your spouse, and your children plan for these expenses and help you qualify and apply for these benefits.

When a loved one dies, the last thing people often want to think about is “estate administration”.  While there is almost always some work to be done no matter the situation of the deceased, you can trust our firm to take care of those details while you deal with the loss of your loved one.  We handle estates of all sizes and all aspects of estate administration, including transferring property and handling issues with the taxing authorities and other agencies and businesses.

A clear and comprehensive estate plan can be one of your greatest gifts to your loved ones.  We assist our clients in creating all kinds of estate plans, from simple wills to complicated trusts.  After we evaluate our client’s financial and medical situation, we help them pick the best options in light of tax and other consequences that might not be obvious.  We also assist our clients with planned giving.  Finally, because we believe that a good estate plan includes preparation for a person’s eventual need for medical and personal care, we also offer our clients advanced directives such as powers of attorney and appointments of health care representative.

The firm provides a broad range of estate planning services ranging from advance directives to gift giving techniques, including individual and charitable, the preparation and implementation of a variety of trusts, to basic Wills, as well as detailed and complex credit shelter, QTIP, and disclaimer Wills.  We discuss with our clients their needs and desires and try to recommend the appropriate documents to achieve their goals, taking into consideration any estate, inheritance, gift and income tax consequences.  We strive to prepare documents to carry out the intention of our clients which are written in clear and precise language.  Our attorneys regularly attend estate planning and tax institutes to keep abreast of any changes in the law as well as planning techniques that may occur.

If you have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony charge in the past, you may be eligible to have the conviction expunged from your record. Indiana law allows you to seek expungement of conviction records five (5) years after you are convicted of a misdemeanor offense or eight (8) years after you are convicted of certain felony offenses. This is a once-per-life event and can cover multiple convictions in multiple counties.  We can help you through the expungement process and prevent an old criminal offense from hindering future job prospects and restore other rights.

Family Law cases are usually difficult, especially when children are involved.  We steer our clients toward fair solutions that are the least emotionally and financially taxing on them.  Also, we will zealously advocate for the rights of our clients and their families.  The areas of family law our practice covers include dissolution of marriage (divorce), legal separation, paternity and other custody matters, parenting time / visitation, and child support.

We try to be more than a “general practice” law firm.  For over 100 years, our attorneys have honed their expertise helping people solve the various problems that they bring in to our office and to do so with professionalism, sensitivity, and promptness, all the while keeping our billings reasonable and affordable.   We have made many lifelong clients and friends applying our special skill of quickly identifying the exact legal needs of our clients  and coming up with sensisble options that work best for their situation.

Sometimes a child or a disabled adult needs a family member or friend to step in and provide for their care and/or manage their property.  If you are facing one of these situations, we can help you.  We will help you provide what is best for your loved one by representing you in court and by helping you navigate the procedural hurdles of guardianships, like financial management, periodic accounting, and inventories.

Our firm also prepares tax returns for individuals, businesses, partnerships, estates and trusts.  We also provide tax counsel and planning. .

We strive to be a different kind of personal injury attorney.  No, you won’t see us on television or get a letter from us in the mail after you have had a car wreck, but if you are injured or have lost a loved one or property, you will find at our firm attorneys and staff who will work to get you fair compensation as quickly as we can.  We hope you will trust us with this very important matter.

Whether you are simply buying your first home, selling several acres of farmland, or are involved in a complicated construction project on commercial land, we can help you to make your real estate transaction work efficiently for you.  We review and draft real estate contracts, including residential and commercial leases, and can advise you on how to make your arrangement advantageous to you.  While we prepare and conduct real estate transactions with the hope of avoiding unpleasant disagreements and lawsuits, they will inevitably arise in some real estate cases.   If that happens, you can rely on our experts to advocate your rights in and out of court.

If you received an executed or suspended sentence through a criminal case and you are seeking to change the length or terms of that sentence, we can assist you through the process of petitioning the court for a modification. We can advise you of the requirements in Indiana for sentence modifications and the steps you can take to improve your chances of receiving a modification from the court.

As the tax laws continue to change, our attorneys stay abreast by attending on an annual basis the Purdue University Tax School and other tax seminars as may be needed.  We counsel people on tax planning involving individual and charitable gift giving, as well as personal and business planning.  Our office prepares tax returns for individuals, businesses, partnerships, estates, and trusts, and we provide tax counsel and planning in regards to those returns.  Tax laws continue to become more complex and we pride ourselves in keeping up to date on those changes and how they relate to our clients.