Submit a Case Profile

Tell us what happened and an attorney at Corcoran Smith Law will review it. We ask for the facts that actually determine whether you have a claim: the dates, the documents, and who is involved. You will hear back within one business day.

Before you submit. Sending this form does not create an attorney-client relationship, and what you send is not confidential until an engagement letter is signed. We run a conflict check before any substantive review, which is why we ask who else is involved. Do not include information you consider privileged or sensitive until we have confirmed there is no conflict.

How to reach you

Your full name

Where we send our answer. We reply to this address only.

Phone optional

The estate

California county optional

Where the decedent lived. It sets the probate department and the venue.

Your relationship to the person who died optional

This is what determines whether you have standing to bring a claim.

Name of the person who died optional

Needed for the conflict check.

Date you were served the trustee’s notice optional

If you have it, this is the single most important date. Estimate your deadline first if you would rather.

Conflict check

Everyone on the other side

The trustee or executor, the siblings involved, any company or bank acting as trustee. We cannot review your matter until we have checked these names — if the firm already acts for one of them, we have to tell you and stop.

What happened

In your own words

Plain language is fine. What changed, when you found out, and what you have been told. Keep out anything you consider privileged for now.

Your draft is kept in this browser only, so you will not lose it if you navigate away. Nothing is sent until you press the button.

Prefer to talk?

Some things are easier said than typed, and if your deadline is close a call is faster than anything else here.

We Answer 24/7 — Call Anytime · (415) 275-1492

Need help with legal fees?

We litigate select cases on contingency, with no upfront fees.

Costs are separate from the fee, and whether you are responsible for them is set out in the written agreement before you sign anything.

You pay no fee unless there is a recoveryThe firm carries the risk of the case. If nothing is recovered, no fee is owed.

The rate is negotiable, and must say soCalifornia requires the written agreement to state that the fee is not set by law.

Costs are separate, and disclosed up frontThe agreement must state how costs affect the fee before you sign it.

How contingency fees work in California

A contingency fee means the attorney is paid from what is recovered rather than by the hour, so a beneficiary who cannot fund litigation out of pocket can still bring a claim. California regulates these agreements closely. Under Business and Professions Code section 6147, the agreement must be in writing and the attorney must give the client a duplicate copy, signed by both, when the contract is made. It must state the agreed contingency rate; how disbursements and costs incurred in prosecuting or settling the claim will affect that fee; and to what extent the client could be required to pay for related matters. Unless the matter falls under section 6146, the agreement must also state that the fee is not set by law and is negotiable. These are not formalities: failure to comply with any provision of section 6147 makes the agreement voidable at the client’s option, leaving the attorney entitled only to a reasonable fee.

Sources: Business and Professions Code s.6147 - Contingency fee contracts · Verified 2026-08-03.

Not every matter suits a contingency arrangement, and the firm does not take every case on one. Whether yours qualifies depends on the facts, the likely recovery, and the assets actually available to satisfy a judgment. Ask when you call.

We Answer 24/7 — Call Anytime · (415) 275-1492