Probate and Guardianship

Don’t Allow the Complexities of Probate and Guardianship to Overwhelm You

At Thomas E. Scifres, our personalized approach is especially important when handling matters that deal with your family’s future. We take the time to get to know you, your family, and your goals, in order to develop creative solutions for your legal needs. Whether you’re dealing with the probate process after the death of a loved one, seeking to establish a guardianship, building your estate plan, or pursuing other matters, we strive to provide experienced and knowledgeable counsel.

Probate

As an experienced probate lawyer, Tom has guided countless families through the entire probate process. If you’re the personal representative for a recently deceased loved one, having a skilled probate attorney to help you with settling the estate, transferring assets, filing the paperwork, and carrying out the terms of the Will or identifying and distributing to heirs at law can not only make the complicated process easier, it can also protect you from potential future disputes and litigation.

Should someone contest the will or take issue with your settling of the estate, Tom is skilled in litigating such disputes through trial, and has extensive experience mediating cases to a settlement short of trial. Should litigation be necessary, our legal team is ready to defend your best interests in court.

No two estates are the same, and that’s why our fees are based on the amount and complexity of the legal work involved in your probate case. Tom engages in probate matters daily, and the firm’s probate administration team is ready to help you settle even the most complex of estates. If you’re thinking toward the future and hope to spare your family members the hassles of probate, we can also help you create a comprehensive estate plan to meet your goals for the future.

Guardianship

Formalizing a matter of guardianship so that a child is properly cared for can be overwhelming and frustrating if handled without the experience and know-how it deserves. At Thomas E. Scifres, we understand the stress and uncertainty one may have when dealing with such issues. Because of this, we pride ourselves on educating our clients beyond a cursory understanding of their situation.

A child being cared for by someone other than his or her biological parents is not uncommon. While such arrangements often do not present major roadblocks, there can be difficulty when medical, educational or legal issues arise and authorities are allowed to speak only with the biological parents. If the best interest of the child is the primary focus of the guardian in such situations, we are ready to help.

In a similar way, planning for the future with older relatives can sometimes be an overwhelming task. With so many moving parts to any one person’s life, trying to make sense of everything alone can lead to improper and detrimental decisions with far-reaching consequences.

Setting up guardianships for children or adults with special needs is extremely important. The assistance of a guardianship lawyer can ensure you protect your loved ones and don’t open them up to being abused or taken advantage of by other parties.

At Thomas E. Scifres, we have years of experience in navigating complicated and sensitive legal situations. We don’t treat guardianship as a single transaction; we believe in building long-term relationships to better serve the parties involved, especially those most vulnerable.

 We’re With You Every Step of the Way

For matters of probate and guardianship, a purely legal approach simply is not enough. We recognize the personal issues of individual dignity and pride associated with the natural physical and mental decline in later life. We speak to those issues and look for creative solutions to ease the transition for our clients and their families.

Whether clients are seeking to establish guardianship, entering into probate litigation or pursuing other matters, providing experienced and knowledgeable counsel is our number one goal.

To speak with an experienced lawyer for guidance in matters of probate and guardianship in the Salem, Indiana, area, call (812) 359-8007. You can also contact us by email.