Christine and her firm helped me draft a petition for presumptive death. I contacted several lawyers before I found one that was willing/able to help. Some states have example petitions or forms online, but Arizona does not. The process took a little over two months from first contact to a court-ready document including the time it took me to understand and sign the retention agreement. I provided the firm with all the evidence necessary for the petition. I think it helps to do as much homework as you can before you contact a lawyer. They employ a web portal that facilitates encrypted transmission of documents and messages. Most of the communication occurred over that channel except the document was emailed to me. The advantage of that is that the document is accessible even if my access to the web portal is terminated, but like all email, it’s not protected with encryption. I was quite pleased with the result and their performance. The only surprise I encountered was being billed for questions that I emailed after they emailed me the document. In hindsight, this seems fair as it does take time and effort to answer questions.
Randall B. Smith
January 4, 2021
