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What is my First Step?

In the meantime, please continue to browse our site to learn more about our firm and how we can help you with your legal matter. You can contact our office via phone 810-516-5116 or email me directly.
Before we meet you may want to take a look at these articles on divorce and estate planning fees.

Divorce - How Much Will My Divorce Cost?

The answer is: It depends!!
Generally four factors are involved in determining the cost:
  1. How acrimonious will you and your spouse be?
  2. How complicated are your assets and debts and will you and your spouse be able to agree on how your assets and debts will be divided?
  3. Can you and your spouse agree on child custody, parenting time and support issues?
  4. Who your spouse hires as an attorney.

Typical fees to retain an attorney for a divorce case can range from $3,500 for an uncontested, no property, no children matter, to as high as $5,000-$7,500 or more if child support, property issues or a pension are involved. Considering the seriousness of this life changing event, it is extremely important to retain the services of an experienced attorney in the area of divorce.

Also keep in mind that hiring an attorney that is a "fighter" generally just costs you and your spouse more money because the attorney may be willing to create problems or not try and quickly resolve them so as to increase the total fee. Also, hiring the cheapest attorney may well be "penny wise and pound foolish" because he or she may not respond to your telephone calls, have "office staff" giving you legal advice or not completely researching your legal issue to get the best result. Hiring an experienced attorney, like myself, that knows how to effectively end your marriage and resolve issues is generally more cost effective and less emotional in the long run. Hire the right attorney the first time.
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Many law firms say that they offer personalized service, but their actions don't always reflect that when it comes to dealing with their clients. I'm David McCleary, and at my law firm, McCleary & Associates, P.C., I take those words to heart. I want to be your trusted adviser for all of your family law needs.

​I meet with all my clients personally, one-on-one. This means I can offer a true individualized service to my clients. You always meet with me directly, not with an assistant or staff member.
I look forward to meeting with you and helping you with your legal matter.

Read These Articles for More Information

Estate Planning - How Much Do You Charge for a Will?

 If you came to this page to find out what I’ll charge you for a Will or you are considering calling me (or any other attorney) to ask, "How much do you charge for a will?" Stop.
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This is NOT the right question and I’m glad I caught you in time.

The question you want to ask first is "What do I really need to have in place to ensure I, my family, and my money are cared for the way I want?" 
Far too many people make their estate planning decisions based on what it’s going to cost. Sometimes, that may be the right criteria. Most of the time it’s not.
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The problem is you don’t know what you don’t know.
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When you get on the internet to download a cheap will or fill out canned documents from a book or DIY kit from the office supply store, you don’t know what you are actually putting into place or setting in motion.
When tragedy strikes, it’s your family who is left holding the bag: Failed plans, unnecessary, expensive, public probate, multiple probates in different states, legal fees for guardianships and conservatorships, being at the mercy of the judicial system. 

When you call me and ask how much for a Will, I can’t give you an answer because I don’t even know if that’s what you need.  Maybe a Will would suffice for your family, but maybe it won’t.  If I tell you how much a Will costs and then you come into my office and you need so much more, you’ll be angry with me.
So I won’t answer your question,  because I don’t charge for Wills.  I charge for advice, guidance, counsel and support.  The Will? It’s free.
Estate Planning Process:
Our process begins with a Planning Session.  Before this Session, you will need to complete this questionnaire. Whether I ever write a Will (or any other documents) for you or not, I want every interaction of ours to be extremely valuable to you. To that end, I’ll review the homework you complete before we meet, and then we’ll invest our time together exploring your life, looking at what would happen to you, your children, your money, and the people you love if anything happens to you.

You will feel heard, cared about, informed, educated, and empowered to make the best decisions for the people and things that matter most in your life. If, after we spend that time together, it turns out you need a Will (or any other type of legal planning), it will be because we came to that conclusion together. Then, I will offer you planning packages that will cover the different options for taking care of things the way you want.
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I can tell you this – most of our foundational plans range between $1,500 and $8,000.  Your package will be customized to the specific needs of your family.  And you will stay in control the whole time.
  • When you hire me, you aren’t paying for documents. You are hiring me for my guidance throughout your lifetime and to be there for your loved ones when you can’t be.​
  • When you hire me, you aren’t renting my time, but my brain and my heart. You are hiring an ally who will help you get your affairs in order, and keep them there across time and changes in the law, tax policies and your life.
How do you Choose Your Lawyer if Not Based on Price?
  • Get referrals from your friends and family. When you call the office to inquire about their services, rather than asking what they charge, ask HOW they charge and what makes their office different than others.
  • Get connected. When you find the right lawyer, he or she will be a member of your team for the long term, not for just this one transaction. Your lawyer should be approachable and not only want to be in a long-term relationship with you, but have systems and a team to support that.

​Do not simply ask, "What do you charge for a will?" This question does not get you what you need in order to make the most effective decisions for you and your family. A far more powerful question to begin with is:
"What do I need to do to make things as easy for my family as possible, if something happens to me?"

​Please call me to find out.

Depending on where you live and how complicated your family and financial circumstances are, a lawyer may charge anything from a few hundred to several thousand dollars for a will and other basic estate planning documents.

Do you Really Want to Fight in Court?

I’m lucky to be busy – so I get to tell potential clients what I really think of their cases. And what litigation is really like. Some hire me anyhow.

For what it’s worth, here are some of my most worn out lines:

It’s Not What You Think

My Three Rules of Litigation

1. It costs too much
2. It takes too long
3. You never really get what you think you deserve

Most litigation starts with a bang and ends with a whimper.

If you decide to go forward, you will spend a ton of money. Odds are someday we will be in a room, you will be tired of paying lawyer fees and you will have lost the enthusiasm for “winning” that animates you now. I will encourage (but not pressure) you to accept a settlement that is less than what you think is fair.
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Calculate the emotional cost – project out and think: If you can let it go now – how much is that worth in maybe dollars later?

Buying and Selling Risk

Almost all probate litigation occurs in greyness. Except for very few cases, nobody is really all good and nobody is really all bad. It’s just a matter of who tells the story better.

​Through discovery, each party looks for ammunition to use if a trial were to occur. Each party can see the ammo the other side is accumulating. Then it gets to a point where each party has a reasonable idea about what their risk would be if they go to trial. At that point, do the math. Risk of losing multiplied by what you would get on your best day in court = what you pay to make it go away.

F Principle

I am a lawyer. It’s about money. If you can reasonably project that you will end up with more money than you pay me, ok. But if you want to pay someone to fight for the “principle” of it, go elsewhere. After you spend enough money, you’ll change your mind and I don’t want to be there when that happens.

Other Miscellaneous Pointers

It costs as much to litigate over a thousand dollars as it does a million. Maybe not completely true, but it’s close.

Outspending the other side is a legitimate strategy. If you can’t hang, better to factor that in now.

Two reasonable lawyers with client control can settle cases. Whether the other side is going to be reasonable or whether the lawyer(s) on the other side effectively manage their client’s expectations in a rationale way, will have a lot to do with what this case will cost you. But I don’t control the other side.
Article by Doug Chalgian
mielderlaw.com

Article from FreeAdvice.com: How much should it cost me to have a lawyer prepare a will or a trust for me?

"Asking how much a will or trust costs is much like asking how much a house costs. There is a wide range between a tiny cabin in rural Montana and the castles of the rich a famous in Beverly Hills or in Park Avenue."

How Do Lawyers Charge?

Estate planning lawyers don't all charge the same way. You may want to ask up front if you're more comfortable with one way or another.
  • Flat Fees 
    It’s very common for a lawyer to charge a flat fee to write a will and other basic estate planning documents. The low end for a simple lawyer-drafted will is around $300. A price of closer to $1,000 is more common, and it’s not unusual to find a $1,200 price tag.
  • Packages 
    Some attorneys who specialize in estate matters offer will "packages." Don't confuse these with those you might purchase online or at an office supply store. Attorney packages usually include at least one meeting with the lawyer. The attorney then draws up your will according to your specifications. If you’re requesting only a will, the minimum cost can run from $150 to $600, for an average cost of about $375. If any complications or problems arise, the attorney might bill you for more time at his hourly rate. If you want more than just a will, such as a power of attorney and other estate planning documents, the cost can rise to $1,000 if you’re single or $1,500 if you’re married and requesting joint documents. 

Article from Info.LegalZoom.com: The Average Cost of Making a Will