Bivens & Associates

I went to Bivens & Associates based on a recommendation from a friend who said they were excellent attorneys and were very responsive to the needs of the elderly. Unfortunately, what I found is that they are not very responsive to the needs of their clients. The initial intake meeting with Stephanie Bivens and my parents to discuss setting up a trust and their wills, was fine. Stephanie was patient and attentive and seemed to understand what my parents wanted. Unfortunately, she either failed to clearly communicate those wants to her associate attorneys and staff or they failed to understand. The initial set of papers my parents and I received did not reflect the conversations with Stephanie. In spite of asking to have someone call me to discuss (a request made both my phone and email) that was not communicated clearly internally and I had to follow up to find out what was happening. It’s one thing to cause me hassle, but when staff started calling my 80+ parents and not taking careful notes and calling back the next day, three times, making mistakes every time, I knew it had got out of hand. Attorneys working with the elderly should understand that multiple calls to elderly parents and making mistakes multiple times can cause frustration and upset at a level that it would not cause younger clients. I emailed Stephanie with my frustration and asked her to call me the next business day — I did not receive a phone call of an email in reply. Interestingly when sent an email terminating representation, I received a response within a few hours. Bivens & Associates would do well to provide that sort of rapid response to clients BEFORE they are being terminated.

My aunt and I met with Ms. Charlotte Johnson to get information regarding long term care for my mother. She was wonderful. She provided us all the necessary information we needed, and some we didn’t know we needed! She took her time with us, answered all of our questions, and when we left her office, we felt that we understood the process much more thoroughly than before. She genuinely cared about our situation. There is an hourly fee to meet with her, but it was fair and well worth it! I would recommend her to everyone and use her again if the circumstances warranted it. Thank you! :)