Attorney Patrick Smith

If you're seeking a knowledgeable and experienced attorney for your estate planning, I highly recommend Patrick Smith. He has a strong reputation in the field and is intentional and efficient with each client. He ensures that his communication is clear, thorough, and empathetic. All estate planning is approached with professionalism and care.

Just had a phone conversation with Patrick Smith regarding setting up a Trust. I sent him our original Trust from Mass and we just need the same thing for our new Florida home. He kept asking me questions such as my husbands name and I said all that information is on the Trust. He said (arrogantly) you don't know your husband's name. I wanted him to have the exact spelling of my husands name that is why I kept referring him to our original Trust. Then of course I provided my husband's name. Then he wanted me to read my 27 beneficiaries that I am giving my assets to. I said you already have the list of names. He was being arrogant saying it sounds like you don't want to tell me the names. I said it sounds like you are DRIVING and you want me to read off 27 names!! He said yes he wanted the 27 names so I gave him the names and then he asked about the percentages I was giving each one of them. He said is it equal distribution and I said no. Then he wanted the divided percentages and that's when I said this isn't going to work. Again I knew he was driving so he wasn't like he was writing it down or confirming against my other Trust. BTW he never denied that he wasn't driving!! After hanging up we Googled him and checked reviews and apparently I'm one of many who had an issue with him. If I can stop one person from going to him - then I'm thankful! There were other issues scheduling a call with him but you already know enough now!

I am writing this review to hopefully save someone and their family for what happens AFTER he drafts up your will and when you actually need to use Patrick Smith to carry out said will once someone has passed. To give a background both my parents worked at Disney and found Patrick Smith on the Disney website that suggestion lawyers and people that are in network. They found Patrick in Clermont years ago in 2015 and remember them saying he was super helpful, knowledgeable and nice up front when drafting up their will. Unfortunately, our dad passed away in 2020 and mom unexpectedly in 2023, we called Patrick Smith to help with the legal proceedings and settling their affairs. To start, his office and secretary really need a class on common respect and basic customer service. I would love to tell you her name but she never gave it, gave her condolences and just flat out rude. When we FINALLY were able to have a quick 15 min phone call with Patrick about next steps and talk about what to do and answer our questions (we are all in our early 30's and have never had to do this so we weren't sure what to expect) he never gave his condolences, felt very rushed off the phone and annoyed he was even talking to us and just talked about his fees $4500 base fee plus court fees and 3% of whatever is in the estate to settle. He also said it would take about a year! This is when his secretary sent us an email addressed in our dead mother's name outlining all this. This rubbed my sisters and I the wrong way! Again, this whole practice has no empathy for the family period. We began asking friends around town about Patrick and reading reviews. The consensus we got wasn't a good one. He is a snake and only cares about himself and money. He will drag out any legal proceedings and drain as much money out of the estate as he can. He will be nice upfront but when it comes time to actually doing the work he's a lazy money hungry lawyer. The one thing we are very grateful for is our parents DID NOT set him as executor of the will or access to execute the will "to help out" the family after the lost loved one. Please for your family sake do not do this your family, they will never get any money you planned to leave for them. In our case, we had all got a bad vibe from him and his office along with the communities responses which makes me laugh his website says "peace of mind business and every family matters" we decided to go with another lawyer. Our new lawyer charged a flat $4000 and no court or percentage taken out of the estate. It has also taken him 4 months which Patrick said would take him a year! The new lawyer was so empathetic about our situation and went above and beyond to help us out. When filing my parents will he did need Patrick Smith to sign an addendum and tried reaching out to his office almost everyday for 3 weeks and got the same rude secretary, if they answered, and never heard from Patrick or got the form he needed. He even told us Patrick is one of the most difficult lawyers and rudest staff he has ever dealt with in his 25 years of practice. Even though our experience was short with Patrick Smith we instantly got a bad money hungry vibe from him and his rude office staff. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if you care about your family and children do not use Patrick Smith for Estate planning and drafting your will! There are a lot better lawyers out there!!

My initial meeting felt rushed. Patrick felt like a slick car salesmen just trying to collect my money. Before being able to execute the final draft, I had to update my name and address. I let the office know this. The changes occurred three months after their usual one year draft period, so they insisted I would have to pay them another $695. At no point did the office remind me of this when I called before that deadline. They agreed it was an easy change, that the cost hadn't changed from when I initially paid, but that was our contract. This is the worst professional service I have ever experienced. I am going to make sure my church knows to not bring him back. If I could give a 0 rating I would. I don't remember ever leaving a bad rating for a business.

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Attorney Patrick Smith. Patrick guided me through updating my Trust, Will and other legal documents. Patrick paid special attention to the fact I am a senior citizen and made certain I understood everything clearly. He is very professional and I trust him like family. He quotes his fees upfront and honors them. I have already recommended him to several of my friends.