Initial Consultation in the Toledo Wrongful Death Car Accident Case

Because of the initial consultation in the Toledo wrongful death car accident case, our attorneys were able to vet the needs and requirements of our client and the case, respectively.

However, not every victim of car accidents might find that they have the same options that our client did in her case. To ensure that you could recover the compensation you need, it could be beneficial to talk to an attorney familiar with cases like the Toledo wrongful death wreck.

First Contact and First Meeting with the Deceased’s Wife

The surviving spouse of the victim contacted the attorney’s office about a week or so after his passing.

In the first meeting with the client, we started out by asking who the victim was as a person, what their relationship was like, and about their children.

After getting some background on who the deceased was as a person, we talked about the specific concerns the client had and if she had any goals in mind to measure how successful our office was or could be in handling her late husband’s case. Her husband had died intestate, meaning without executing a will prior to his death. We wanted to get an idea of who he was as a person to help the client make decisions that her late husband would have wanted had he executed a will and provided instructions on how to handle his affairs after his death. In this particular instance, the deceased had children from a previous relationship for whom the client had helped care and provide a home for. She was their stepmother, but she did not have legal custody of those children. One of her major concerns was whether she was able to get custody of those children and how she would go about doing that. Her second major concern was trying to purchase the house or assume the mortgage on the home that she and her husband had shared. She was not listed on the deed or the mortgage for their home, therefore she was not technically the owner of the house when her husband passed.

Documents Filed During the First Meeting

At the very first meeting, the initial documentation was signed that would allow us to have the client appointed as administrator of the late spouse’s estate. Wrongful death claims are brought by the administrator of an estate or executor if the decedent had a will at the time of passing. We had to open an estate on behalf of her late husband because he had property in his name at the time of his passing. The main piece of property was the house. The deceased was the only person listed on the mortgage and the deed for the property, so it was important to get those things transferred over into the surviving spouse’s name so that she would have a home for herself and for her children moving forward.

We signed the initial probate estate documents, and those documents were filed the very same day that she came to our office.

Why Our Team Was Chosen Over Others

The biggest reason the client decided to hire us was because she had a previous relationship with the referring attorney who brought her to our office. She trusted that individual and that attorney helped ease her concerns about hiring someone to assist her through the process of trying to pursue a wrongful death claim for her husband’s passing. When she came to our office and met our staff, she felt that she already had most of her questions answered because she had this trusted source who had brought her to us.

Paperwork Requested from the Client to Ease the Process of Her Legal Pursuit in Toledo

Based on the client’s concerns with the case, we first got a copy of the mortgage to contact the bank immediately so that we could ask what documents they needed in order to transfer the mortgage into her name. The type of mortgage that her husband had taken out on the home on the home did not allow the client to assume the mortgage, so this was a bit more complicated than in other circumstances.

She had to prove that she was able to obtain her own mortgage in her own name with her own credit and would be able to afford to make the payment on the mortgage before the company would allow her to take over the house. We also requested background information about the mother of the deceased’s two children from the previous relationship so that we could assist the client in applying for guardianship with the juvenile court.

Talk to an Experienced Attorney Today

The initial consultation in the Toledo wrongful death car accident case yielded many goals for our team that we felt were of importance. We wanted our client to have custody of her children and also have a home under which she could live with her children. However, these goals would not have been met without first sitting with and getting to know the client. If you are in the midst of deciding whether or not to pursue a legal claim, it could prove beneficial to first consult an experienced attorney, much like the client in the Toledo case did. Reach out to an attorney today.