Richard Michael Cohen

Rich Cohen was our lawyer regarding estate issues. At first, I thought he knew what he was doing. However, as the case progressed, motions were not filed in a timely manner and we were charged hourly rates for legal work that was not completed or followed through with the court. He also failed to ...send our family copies of court filings, yet we were charged. We ended up hiring another attorney who was way more familiar with the law. I do not recommend him as he does not follow through yet he runs up your bill. Our issues were never resolved by Mr. Cohen and I cannot recommend him for any type of estate work as it ended up being a very costly mistake for our family by hiring Richard Cohen.

Richard took care of all the details of my mother's estate in order to qualify her for Medicaid and seamless entry into a much needed nursing facility. We had the misfortune of my father's death while documents were being prepared that required a number of re-filings that Richard took care of without... charging more. He handled my grief with compassion and care and we appreciated his calming personalty during this period. His attention to critical details allowed me to keep my parents assets without it all going to the nursing facility.

I consulted Richard Cohen so I could become my sister's guardian after my mother died. He was recommended by my daughter and son-in-law, for whom he drew up wills. Mr. Cohen arranged to have the guardianship transferred from my mother to me, so I would not have to pay additional fees and court costs... to have new guardianship papers drawn up. He charged me what I consider a very fair fee.

I consulted with Richard M. Cohen on the telephone on behalf of my elderly (although mentally competent) father, who my sister was pressuring to leave his home and move in with her, which he did not want to do. I believed she was financially motivated, and though at the time I knew nothing of POAs, ... I wanted Dad's wishes to go on record, with the idea that there might be something a lawyer could do to ensure that they be respected. Based on Cohen assertions that he would help us, I arranged an appointment at his office. We visited his office as a group, including my sister. Cohen had said the first thing he would do would be to ask my sister and I to leave the room so that he could ask Dad what his wishes were privately. He did not do so, instead standing over us like an authority figure while TELLING, NOT ASKING Dad what to do. At 92, Dad was somewhat frail and intimidated by this behavior. In the meeting, I suggested Dad's accountant of over 40 years as a possible alternative as POA (at the time I was planning on leaving the area, so I was not considered) but was ignored. Apparently, Richard Cohen thought he should be the person to choose Dad's POA, and that the person he should have was the very person who was a threat to him. Ultimately, Dad did not sign Cohen's paperwork, which he had prepaid and never recieved a penny back on when he realized he had been misled by the attorney. I decided to remain in the area to care for Dad and to protect his interests. Dad had the Camden County Legal Aid society prepare the papers for me to be his POA, which they will do at no charge for any elderly person, and signed them. After consulting with Mr Cohen and seeing how dishonestly he behaved, I would not recommend him under any circumstances.