Roberta A Schreiber

I had never hired a lawyer before, so I asked some friends about their lawyers. Two of them said that I should see Roberta, who lives in my town. I was nervous when I called, but her secretary, Jeanne, was very friendly. Jeanne asked me some questions, to make sure that Roberta could handle my c...ase, and set up an appointment. She told me the first consultation was free. When I walked in, there was the cutest dog I have ever seen (he is Roberta's dog). His name is Sam. Jeanne asked me if I was ok with dogs. I was (I have three dogs), so I played with him until Roberta met with me. Roberta was very friendly and asked a lot of questions about me, my health, my children, and why I was meeting with her. It was very easy to talk to her. I told her I needed a Will. She explained that I should also have a Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy. She asked me if I was concerned about protecting my house and savings if I had to go into a nursing home. I was glad she asked. I was worried about it, but didn't know how to ask about what I could do. I didn't want the State to take my housel. She told me about MassHealth, a program that pays for the nursing home. She asked if my husband (he died three years ago) was a veteran. When I said that he served in World War II, she said that I could apply for Veterans Aid and Attendance benefits if I needed money to pay home health aides to help me stay in my home. She also said that I should contact the local Elder Services Agency if I need help to stay in my home. She also explained that if I did no planning, all of my savings and my house could be lost if I had to go into a nursing home. She told me about deeding my house to my children with a life estate for me and setting up a trust that could not be changed. It was a lot of information. Roberta could tell I was confused, so she suggested that we have a second meeting, with my children there. She said that my children would be involved in my estate planning, and they should understand the ways I could protect my house and savings. We had a second meeting with my children at the meeting. After the meeting, we decided that the Trust (an irrevocable trust) was the best way to protect my home and savings. Roberta sent documents to me and my children with a letter explaining everything. I went over the documents with my children. I didn't understand some of the legal language, but my children did, so I felt good about signing the documents. We had a third meeting. Roberta explained everything again before we signed, to make sure that we understood and then we signed the documents. I am so glad I called her. I didn't think that an attorney would be that friendly. She did her best to make sure that I (and my children) understood the documents that we were signing. I admit I don't understand everything, but my children do. And I trust Roberta. I feel like that I did the right things to protect my home and my savings. Roberta is very smart and knows a lot about programs for older clients. My children also like her. My son is going to do his estate plan with her. I like everything about going to her office. There are bowls of candy and I really like her dog, Sam.

I called Attorney Schreiber because my mother has alheimers. She was living with me and my family, and we were all stressed out. I have a part time job, a husband and three children. Someone had to watch my mother all of the time. We had to figure out how to keep her from wandering away from the h...ouse or turning on the stove and leaving an empty pot on it. I was exhausted by the time I met with Roberta. The first thing that she did was help us get a Personal Care Attendant through MassHealth, at a very low cost to us. That really helped. When my mother got worse, Roberta helped us find a good nurinsg home nearby and she applied for MassHealth to pay for my mother's care. Roberta made things so much easier for me. She did all of the paperwork to get my mother benefits. She is a very caring person. She understood what I was going through (she told me that her father had been in a nursing home before he died). She always returned my calls. I am so grateful that I found her.

I consulted Attorney Schreiber because I was appointed as Executor of my mother's estate. The first attorney that I hired was not responsive and did not tell me what to do after I was appointed. My sisters were asking what was happening, and I was not able to tell them. A friend told me about At...torney Schreiber and I made an appointment to meet with her. She and her assistant were friendly, and I liked them right away. I was offered cofffe, tea, or water and there was a plate of cookies. Attorney Schreiber was right on time. From the first meeting, she told me exactly what to do. She also gave me a checklist to consult after I left the office. She helped me find a good real estate broker and my mother's house was sold three months later. She told me how to close out my mother's bank accounts and she filled out the paperwork to sell the stock. She wrote to my sisters to tell them what was going on. She worked with my mother's accountant to make sure that the correct tax returns were filed. Everything was settled about eight months after I met with her. My sisters and I got our distributions and the estate was done. My sisters and I are very happy with Attorney Schreiber. She even returned telephone calls on the same day.