Received great service from the staff and and knowledgeable legal advice for a reasonable price…read more Would recommend for estate planning needs.

My family needed help to get conservatorship for our father. We went to Woods Law Office. Audra…read moreWoods never did get us our conservatorship but did cost us thousands of dollars. We had to sign a contract and give her a $3000 retainer. 3 months later she raised her hourly rate another $25. She still had gotten what we paid her for. I asked her how can you raise your rates ? That is not what we agreed upon when we hired her. She told me, nothing I can do about it. That was crap ! My only other choice was to hire another attorney, start all over, pay him to do what she could not. That would probably cost the family more to start over with another attorney. Throughout the whole ordeal I found her to be argumentative and did not listen. When I questioned a credit I had coming from a previous mistake in billing her response was we can't find that. I was out of state at the time, so I could not produce it but when I came home I found it. I got a bill from her after not hearing from her in 3 years for filing a paper to keep the personal representative every year. I told her that I was told by her office that I would not be charged for filing that . She responded, in a snippy tone " no one would have told me that ". Basically calling me a liar. We were very disappointed in Audra Woods and her firm. She did not help my family and DO NOT RECOMMEND THEM !

If you are looking for a lawyer who has outstanding experience, very Knowledgeable, responsible and…read moreresponsive in Probate Court matters, I Highly recommend John R Tatone & Associates. John handled my Long-Term Probate Case with expertise, giving me Peace of Mind. I had been fighting in Probate Court since 2019, when I came across John. He took over my case and moved expeditiously. My case has recently been settled. Thank you for your much needed help. Shirley Lee

I retained John Tatone a little over a year ago to assist with visitation for my mom due to my…read moresister having guardianship. After numerous court dates and almost $10K in unnecessary legal fees, I am became extremely dissatisfied with his ability to represent me. He continuously lied under oath. I started to become suspicious regarding what I was being told by John Tatone, therefore, I reached out to another attorney. She told me that John Tatone mislead and misinformed me regarding the guidelines of a conservator. After finding this out, I visited Tatone and asked him why was he untruthful. I paid my remaining balance and immediately asked him to file to withdraw as my attorney. After 3 phone calls, 2 emails and multiple visits from my husband to his office, he finally submitted the petition to withdraw (2 weeks later). I caution EVERYONE... Do NOT hire John Tatone for anything.... Not even to represent a dead dog.

I am usually a positive person and rarely write a bad review. The information I am going to provide…read moreabout my case (case number 2023-518907-DM at Oakland county), handled by Mr Bernier can be verified on courtexplorer.oakgov.com I must first say that Mr Bernier is a very pleasant and respectful person, and used to always ask how I was doing. We kept good communications for the most part. My divorce was contested, mainly about parenting time, and when I interviewed Mr Bernier for the first time, I was very clear about my expectations to go to a trial not an arbitration, if an agreement can not be reached through mediations, and he agreed to represent me. I have a graduate degree and I have done extensive research about divorce before I spoke to him. I provided him with a USB and a binder that has all the exhibits and a written description of my position. Our first trial date was set 10/23/23, on 10/3/23, the opposing attorney filed 3 motions for spousal support, attorney fees and to exclude our witnesses and exhibits from trial. The opposing attorney indicated during the motion hearing, which anyone can watch at the media center in the county building, that he notified Mr Bernier about the motions over the phone and he served him the motion notice, and that he filed the motions because he never received our exhibits and witness list despite requesting them from Mr Bernier. The motions were heard by the judge and granted, since we weren't present, on 10/18/23. Mr Bernier, not only didn't answer the motions in writing and go to attend the hearing, but didn't even notify me about the motions till our scheduled meeting date to go over our trial strategy on 10/20/23. Since my attorney and I weren't present at the motions hearing; the judge postponed the trial date indicating that we weren't ready, despite being ready. When I met with Mr Bernier on 10/20/23 and for the following months, he kept insisting and pursuing me to go to arbitration, indicating that he agreed with the opposing attorney to do so, and the opposing attorney will let us use our exhibits and witnesses if we go to arbitration. I asked him to file the motion for reconsideration with the judge, and helped with the draft, but he filed on 11/07/23 a motion to compel discovery (discovery that I requested prior to hiring him) and asked the judge to allow us to use our exhibits in the motion, since the other party wasn't complaint with the discovery. Outside the court house, the opposing attorney indicated that we filed the wrong motion, and the judge will not hear the case of excluding our exhibits and witnesses in the motion to compel discovery, so Mr Bernier didn't have the motion heard by the judge. On 01/17/24, Mr Bernier filed a motion to compel discovery and a motion for relief from judgment (which I helped with the drafts), but he cancelled the motions on 01/23/24 WITHOUT consulting with me first. At that point, the due date to file any motion before our new court date was past. He told me again, that he reached another agreement with the opposing attorney to go to arbitration. I couldn't replace him at that point because the attorneys I contacted didn't want to take the case at that advanced point. I felt as if I was left without any options only to agree to arbitration, which took about 10 months from the point we all agreed to go to arbitration till we received the divorce judgment, and cost about 10,000$ for the arbitrator alone (rate 400$/hr) while the court would have been free, and I would have had the option to file an appeal if I deemed necessary (the grounds for filing an appeal to an arbitration award are extremely limited). There are other things that were missed by Mr Bernier and his staff, but I think I don't need to go into more details. I emailed Mr Bernier after I received an invitation from his office to write a review at the conclusion of my case, and asked him to explain to me why he ignored the first 3 motions, which led to my case being dragged way longer and cost way more money, but did not receive an answer.

Great firm! Joel Bernier is great attorney with morals, values, and operates with integrity. Highly…read morerecommend!

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.