Harris Joel A Law Office Of

BUYER BEWARE before trusting your estate and future well-​being to Joel Harris. My elderly mother learned the hard way after seeking his counsel back in 2001. She suffered miserably during the last few years of her life because of it.
My mother turned to Mr. Harris to help draft a revocable living trust, as well as an Advanced Directive. Despite the wishes of her AD, my mother spent the final year and a half of her life bedridden in a convalescent hospital with a feeding tube inserted into her stomach. The only purpose it served was to prolong her misery. It was a horrible existence, one that NOBODY should ever have to endure.

Mr. Harris allowed my mother to sign over Durable Power of Attorney to an irresponsible family member, granting the power to make life and death decisions over her health and welfare. There were 37 paragraphs of terms and conditions in the DPA. Most were written in legalese that would be a challenge for any non-​attorney to understand. I’m quite certain my 82 year old mother, who suffered from severe anxiety and was on multiple medications, didn’t fully comprehend what she was getting herself into.

My mother tended to trust authority figures without question and she probably assumed Mr. Harris would do right by her. I wonder how much time Mr. Harris spent interviewing my mom’s designated trustee, so that he could inform her of her fiduciary responsibilities and ascertain whether she was competent and willing to take on the role of being my mother’s caretaker. That would have been the responsible thing to do before allowing an elderly client to make such a critical life decision. I suspect it didn’t happen.

You would think an experienced probate attorney, one who genuinely cared about the welfare of his clients, might counsel them about «financial abuse of the elderly», how prevalent it is in today’s society and how to protect against it. The biggest perpetrators are often family members. I also wonder why there were no physicians listed on my mother’s AD, even though she had a life-​long doctor who practiced in Antioch. I guess Mr. Harris either failed to ask or just assumed it wasn’t relevant. Regardless, he signed off on it.

Like any run-​of-​the-​mill probate attorney, Mr. Harris will more than likely answer the questions you ask, but what he didn’t do for my mother was proactively answer questions she SHOULD have asked; answers that would have likely prevented her from withering away in a convalescent hospital during the final years of her life. Because of the secrecy of how her trust was drafted and executed, nobody that genuinely cared about my mother was able to do anything about it until after it was too late. Living trusts are not a matter of public record, so there is no way of accessing one if the designated trustee wants to hide details from other family members.

For what it’s worth, I have never spoken to Mr. Harris directly. His paralegal, Marina, intercepts all of his incoming calls and decides who he talks to. She couldn’t even answer simple questions pertaining to California probate law. My mother was a devout Catholic; her religion played a key role in helping her cope with the challenges of day-​to-​day life. Her AD specified a Catholic interment. This would have been a priority for her, yet she did not have one. When I mentioned this to Marina, she advised me that since my mother had already passed, her AD was no longer relevant. Was she empathetic or compassionate? Not so much.

If you feel compelled to use Joel Harris to advise you on estate planning or draft an Advanced Directive, it would be wise to bring along a trusted friend who has no financial interest in your estate. If you are immobilized or disabled, mandate an annual wellness check by a designated third party to ensure that no family member, including the trustee, is blocking access to you for nefarious reasons, like using your Social Security money and other assets for their benefit. Don’t expect Mr. Harris to proactively advise you on how to protect yourself. Don’t let him talk you into a «No Contest Clause». It only serves to deter other concerned relatives from protecting you should your designated trustee abandon their responsibilities.
In closing, there were steps that a good and caring probate attorney could have taken to protect my mother from the horrible fate she suffered at the end of her life. Unfortunately for my mother, Mr. Harris was not that kind of attorney.

Joel was very courteous and knowledgeable about giving me information on a trust for my elderly father.
He went into great detail on advantages and disadvantages to help save money in the long run.
I would highly recommend him if you are in the need of estate planning or other services.

Joel made it exceptionally easy to work with us in an emergency situation, even going so far as to prepare a will and trust for us at the hospital bedside. He was prepared, efficient, and reasonable. He even brought a witness with him. Thanks a million Joel.

A retired single parent, with a grown daughter and 5 young grandchildren, I needed to discuss estate planning to secure their future. Litigation Attorney Martin Gonzalves, whom I had previously retained two years ago, highly recommended Joel Harris for my estate planning. I spoke with Eileen who immediately made an appointment for me and e-​mailed a worksheet to me to list my assets, including listing my home and adding my daughter as sole beneficiary.
His fee was very easy with my fixed income. I was able to pay ½ when we met, then the balance at the closing meeting.
Within 3 weeks, I had the privilege of meeting Joel Harris. He greeted me and was very welcoming. I felt comfortable discussing my finances and home situation. He asked questions that I hadn’t thought about, including offering a direct health initiative, living trust, and naming beneficiaries.
At his suggestion, I brought my daughter to the closing meeting two weeks later, so that he could explain her role in my future as well as the future of my grandchildren. I felt he was very compassionate discussing the estate planning, which became a little emotional for my daughter. I received my legal documents in about 3 weeks. I feel a huge weight has been taken off my shoulders now that all my paperwork is in order. My daughter is planning to make an appointment with Joel so that her children’s future and guardianship will be secure.
If you need estate planning, Joel Harris will take away all the worries that have been on your mind for years, freeing you up to enjoy your life!