Ruth Celia Rhodes

After years of multiple hip surgeries it was a stroke in April 2023 that ended up putting my wife Tyra into long term care. She did come home from Sea Pines afterwards but it was clear that I could not provide the care she now needed. I made calls and toured several assisted living, rehab, and long t...erm care facilities. The more I investigated, the more confused I got. A social worker from one of the in home PT providers suggested I may need an attorney. I checked many lawyer reviews from all over Central Florida before I called Rhodes Law. My first contact with Rhodes Law was by phone with Jackie McManus. I told her what was going on and she made me an appointment to see her right away. Tyra had to be admitted to Viera Del Mar within 30 days of being discharged from Sea Pines for Medicare coverage reasons. Talking to their admissions office left me with unanswered questions. With me in her office Jackie called Viera Del Mar. Jackie knew the people in admissions on a first name basis. Tyra was admitted on June 9th within a few days of the Medicare deadline. Next Jackie explained what was needed to protect Tyra's care and our estate if anything happened to either one of us. She laid out a timeline and a list of documents for Rhodes Law to do both of our Wills, Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, Healthcare Surrogate and Hippa Release Authorizations, Declarations for Naming Pre-Need Guardians, and a Revocable Trust! Jackie kept me up to speed on what she still might need from me with the looming August 31st, papers, assets and bank accounts sorted, deadline approaching. On September 1st everything was in place so Tyra's care was covered and everything that we had worked for was protected. This review turned out to be a lot longer than I expected it would be. It shows how unprepared my wife and I were. We had POAs and Wills from a "state specific" legal forms website. For years I had been her caregiver. Before retiring Tyra had had her full charge bookkeeping business. We thought that we knew what we were doing. We figured we were in good shape in case anything were to happen. The work that Rhodes Law provided showed how unprepared we had been. Tyra passed peacefully on October 6th surrounded by 7 of her 8 children, 7 of her 10 grand kids, and her great granddaughter. A month or so after Tyra's death Jackie got in touch to let me know paperwork Rhodes Law prepared to reapply for our homestead exemption was ready to be picked up. It had to be done before a March 2024 deadline or we would lose the exemption for the year. I had no clue this was necessary. Thank God I called Rhodes Law in May 2023.

My case was extremely complicated. The family dynamics were difficult at best. My family wanted to take away my mothers decision to have me be her POA. I felt ambushed by the family and previous illegal/unethical activities that had taken place prior to my arrival at Rhodes Law Firm. I was tr...ying my best to take care of my elderly mother who has recently passed. Upon retaining Rhodes Law Firm the team, led by Attorney Rhodes, the firm quickly dismantled and corrected errors in accusations by family and helped right the wrongs done to my elderly mother. We even had to go to trial twice for false allegations and one was an emergency hearing. Attorney Rhodes helped me win both cases and genuinely cared about the welfare of my mother and myself I always felt that Attorney Rhodes took a personal interest in my case. She worked long hours over holidays to prepare for trial. She literally worked the entire weekend of the New Year. She has tirelessly worked weekends to make sure that everything was kept in the order that my mother would have liked. No matter what situation arises I know that I can reach out to Attorney Rhodes and her Law Firm for guidance and direction in a timely manner. Although she is usually three steps ahead of me and sees actions that need addressing before myself, including interfacing with other types of attorneys to protect my mother’s estate. Her guidance here has been invaluable. I often reached out to attorney Rhodes after hours and usually received an immediate response back. She was not just an attorney for me, she became a confidant, a friend, and advisor. I trusted her with my mothers welfare and she did not fail me. I can’t thank her and her staff enough nor imagine having to go through what I went through without the support of Attorney Rhodes and her firm. Many many thanks to all of you.

Ruth Rhodes, Esq., gave me a whole new understanding of the unfairness of the legal profession. From the onset of my case, she led me to believe we would win and had a strong case. However, at the end, she advised to settle, move on and cut my losses, including her fees, without closure to my satis...faction. I would suggest using another lawyer if you want to win and is fair to you, the client.