Very knowledgeable. Aaron is so polite, understanding, and knows his business. Glad we chose him…read morefor our Trust and Will needs.

Developing an EOL plan and generating all of the legal documents is a daunting task without help…read more Fortunately Aaron at Atlas Law was the right person for us. Aaron was extremely knowledgeable and professional and guided us through the entire process. He was thorough and surprising fast. We are very pleased with the end result and highly recommend Aaron at Atlas Law for all your legal needs.

Chelsea was in my corner from the start, providing not just legal advice and representation but…read moreassistance in communicating with my family--and just generally looking out for my well-being. Chelsea was warm, while being direct and honest about my situation and my options. Not only did she support me directly, but she helped me navigate to the best representatives for the legal and civil aspects of my cases, connecting me with other quality attorneys, as needed. She communicated with me continuously during lengthy proceedings, and helped me understand the complicated jargon and insular language of legal documents without being judgmental or condescending, and without losing patience. I wholeheartedly recommend Chelsea as a first-person-to-call in legal or civil matters, when you need a lawyer on whom you can depend and a person you can trust.

One of the best firms around. Extremely knowledgeable and dedicated to positive results. Highly…read morerecommend Rebeck Allen.

No, not ever ... useless attorney. Over charges $9,833.00 for a 3 month…read moreeviction notice. Robert never did get the eviction case resolved. He was hired to file probate papers he never started or filed in any Court filings. Essick is an attorney who is less than mediocre, my opinion. I can't see how he was ever successful, maybe that's why he over charges.

Based on my experience, I would never again use Robert Essick. First, he might offer to not charge…read moreyou if he does not win, so get that in writing because we agreed to those terms and he later conveniently failed to remember that he said it. Second, keep track of time that he bills you and make sure you tell him you must approve everything ahead of time. For example, he was going to charge me for having a deposition transcribed until I stopped him. I did not need, want or ask for a written transcription and he only admitted that he was going to do that when I started asking questions - he did not volunteer that information. Third, when I agreed to a settlement on an inheritance, he did not tell me that the person was allowed to take the settlement amount out of the estate before I agreed and that meant that everyone involved paid a portion of the settlement (including me). I wanted the person who caused the grief to have to pay it out of their portion of the settlement and I would not have settled if I had know the person was allowed to take it out of the estate unless we made other arrangements (so he failed to advocate for me). Fourth, he initially told me we had a good case and much later (and thousands of dollars later) he told me it was going to be my word against the other person to encourage me to settle out of court. This is despite what I considered a damning deposition. Seems like Essick conveniently forgot to tell me several things and misled me several times.

This is a review about my family's experiences with the Rutkowski Law Firm in regards to estate…read moreplanning. More specifically, the discussions around preparing and executing a trust. My wife and I recently became parents and we were thinking about what how we should protect our assets and what we should have in place to distribute them should, heaven forbid, something happens to us. We did some research and found that a trust is the best route to take because if we did a will, then it would have to go through a time-consuming and expensive probate process. We also discovered that a trust sets up directions for our financial institutions that saves time and money and it would ensure that the things we have would get in the hands of the people we love. Without a trust, then the state of Michigan would be the ones deciding who gets our assets and how much they would receive. We searched for law firms in the area and we eventually were referred by a friend to the Rutkowski Law Firm. So we called and set up an appointment and met with business owner and attorney, Mike Rutkowski. We were greeted by Office Manager, Coleen at the Bloomfield office and she was warm and friendly. She showed us to the board room where we would meet Mike and she explained that he would go over estate planning. She offered us some water or coffee, so we asked for water and she brought us a couple bottles of water. You can tell a lot about a business by the demeanor of its employees and Coleen was a happy person with a great attitude, so obviously we were in good hands. The law firm was extremely clean too, which means the employees obviously take pride in their work. Everyone was professional, polite and friendly. Mike walked in and greeted us by introducing himself and giving my wife and I a firm handshake with eye contact. We exchanged some small talk and eventually got down to business. We found that it was easy to relate to Mike because he was clearly a family man based on our small talk and family is most important to us. He reviewed the differences between a will and a trust and the importance of a trust and advised that it's a set of instructions for what to do with our assets should something happen to my wife and I. The following pieces would fall within the trust: 1) financial power of attorney, 2) healthcare power of attorney, 3) will, and 4) trust. He explained each of these four pieces in great detail so we could make an educated decision on who we wanted to designate for every piece and at what percentages, if applicable. Mike reviewed the estate planning questionnaire that he gave to us and explained each question and the importance of each answer. More specifically, he spoke to the why, which is extremely important to me-why we were having the meeting, why we were setting up a trust, etc. Then we discussed next steps and the next step was to have a conference call with Client Relations Manager, Trisha. Once we got the details of the trust ironed out with her, then would meet to review and sign the trust. We set up the time and date of the conference call with Coleen and we were on our way. Trisha and I talked on the phone for about fifteen minutes and she asked me who I wanted for each piece of the trust and who would receive our assets and at what percentages. She advised that she was going to e-mail my answers to me so I could verify that everything was correct and then we would set up a meeting to review and sign the trust. We ended up changing things several times via e-mail and she was patient and understanding with us, which we appreciated. Once everything was finalized, Coleen called me and we set up a meeting to review and sign the trust at the Rochester office. Once again Mike reviewed everything in great detail and spoke to the why. The meeting lasted about thirty minutes and one of the exciting aspects of the trust that he pointed out was that this trust could be used as a beneficiary on our investments. He said that financial advisers will try to tell us that that is not true, because that is the case with most trusts, but we would in fact be able to use this trust, executed by the Rutkowski Law Firm, as a beneficiary on our investments. It would be a contingent listed after my wife for me and after me for her. The key to Mike's success with us was his ability to demonstrate value. He demonstrated the value of working with the Rutkowski Law Firm and the value of having a trust. We could have piece of mind now that we knew that the Rutkowski Law Firm was going to take care of our family and make sure that important decisions would be made to our liking even after we were gone. It's a feeling of safety knowing that our family will receive what's owed to them.

utkowski Law Firm made estate planning feel completely manageable. They listened closely, explained…read moremy options without any pressure, and treated me with genuine care. Truly a great team to work with.

I was introduced to Andrew Grabowski via the Hantz Group, as we were in the process of redoing our…read moreretirement and estate planning. I felt Andrew was very knowledgeable and helpful, and I highly recommend him.

I also was introduced to Andrew Grabowski through Hantz group. We're very happy with our experience…read moresetting up our estate planning. Andrew was very professional and yet kept the discussion light considering the not-so-happy topic of wills and death. We appreciated being able to get our estate in order.

One of the nicest lawyers in town who really takes the time to help clients. Knows Michigan…read morebankruptcy law and knows how to educate about it so you're informed before making any decisions.

From the owner: Where Every Client is Treated Like Familyread more

As an older adult, I was in need of getting my papers in order and making sure my family wouldn't…read morehave to deal with more than they had to, if/when it came time for legal work. I am so grateful for the kindness, patience, and expertise I found with Mr. Collens and his staff. From the moment I phoned for an appointment, I felt visible and cared about. His assistants were friendly and knowledgeable and I received a quick follow up when I had a question or concern. I'm so glad to have found Collens Estate Law and would highly recommend.

This firm recently helped our young family prepare a trust and estate plan. This is so important…read morefor everyone, not just those who are aging, or wealthy, or have complicated affairs. We knew we wanted an attorney that would give us confidence in having our estate in order and that we could turn to in years to come. Mr. Collens was very thorough and gave great guidance in addressing many areas we never even considered! The professionalism and expertise he provided has given us the peace of mind to know that our children are taken care of and our estate is in order. We would highly recommend the firm for anyone looking to have these important items take care of.