Probate Referrals for Professionals

When you call, you reach an attorney, not a queue. The file stays local, in Mt. Vernon and Centralia, where the court, the clerk, and the property are. We do not ship the work to a St. Louis processing center and let a grieving family chase status updates across a state line.

You can hand a family a phone number that a real person answers. That is the kind of recommendation that comes back to you well.

Many estates include a house or land that has to be sold. Olson & Reeves co-owns Mt. Vernon Title Company, so we handle the probate, the estate’s property sale, and the title and closing under one roof. That means fewer hand-offs for a family that is already stretched thin.

Instead of sending the family to a lawyer, then a separate title company, then back again, we keep it in one place and one point of contact.

You referred the family, and you would like to know things are moving. With the client’s written consent, we keep you in the loop on the basics, so you are not left guessing when your client asks you for an update.

We never share a client’s confidential matter without permission. The client decides what we may tell you, and we honor that.

Probate lands on people at the worst moment of their lives. We explain the steps in plain language, set realistic expectations, and move the file without drama. A family that feels taken care of remembers who sent them to us.

You made the introduction. We work to make sure it was the right one.

Families ask you what comes after the service, and probate is often the first thing they have to face. You need a local firm you can name with confidence, one that will treat the family the way your own staff does.

We meet families where they are, explain probate without jargon, and move quickly when a deadline or a property issue is pressing. You hand them a number, and we take the legal weight off their shoulders.

When a client dies, the accounts you manage often cannot move until the estate is opened and a representative is appointed. You need probate done right and done promptly so you can settle and retitle assets the right way.

We open the estate, get letters of office issued, and coordinate with you on the timing, with the family’s consent. That keeps your own work on track and keeps the family from sitting in limbo.

Estates raise tax and accounting questions that land on your desk: final returns, estate income, basis on inherited property. You need the legal side handled by someone who will keep clean records and communicate.

We handle the probate administration and keep the documentation in order, so the numbers you need are there when you need them. With consent, we coordinate directly with you on dates and figures.

You deal with frozen accounts, safe deposit boxes, and the question of who is authorized to act for the estate. The family needs letters of office, and they need them without a long wait.

We get the estate opened and the representative appointed so the bank has the authority it requires on file. We are easy to reach when a question comes up about a specific account or document.

You have a listing where the owner has died, and title cannot transfer until the estate is handled. A house left in a deceased owner’s name will not close, and the family may not know what to do next.

We open the probate, get the authority to sell, and clear the title so the sale can close, often in our own office. See Clearing Title Problems Before Closing and Selling Estate Real Estate in Illinois for how we get an estate listing to the closing table.

You can refer a family three ways: use the form on this page, give them our phone number at (618) 316-7322, or have them mention your name when they call. Tell us as much or as little as the family is comfortable sharing, and we take it from there.

If the family is ready, the simplest path is to introduce them through the form so we can reach out. If they prefer to call on their own, hand them our number. Either way, there is nothing you need to manage after the introduction.

No. There is no cost to refer a family to us, and we do not pay for referrals. Under the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer cannot give anything of value for recommending the lawyer’s services, so we do not offer fees, gifts, or commissions of any kind.

We earn referrals the only way that lasts, by doing the work well and treating the family right. When you send someone our way, send them because you trust that we will take good care of them, not because of anything we could give you.

Only with your client’s consent. A client’s matter is confidential, and we will not share details about it without written permission. When the client agrees, we keep you informed on the basics so you can answer their questions and close out your own file.

This protects the family and protects you. The client decides what we may tell you, and we honor that. If the client would rather keep things private, we respect that fully and you simply know the family is in good hands.

Yes. Some estates can be settled with a small estate affidavit instead of full probate. Under 755 ILCS 5/25-1, that affidavit covers personal property only, up to $150,000, and excludes registered vehicles.

If the family owns real estate, or the estate is larger than that limit, they usually need full probate. We look at the facts and tell you which path fits, then handle it. See our Illinois Small Estate Affidavit Explained guide for the details.

Yes. Because Olson & Reeves co-owns Mt. Vernon Title Company, we handle the probate, the estate’s property sale, and the title and closing from one office. That keeps the family from juggling a separate lawyer, agent coordination, and a title company.

We open the estate, secure the authority to sell, clear the title, and run the closing in-house. See Selling Estate Real Estate in Illinois for how an estate listing gets to the closing table.

We are based in Mt. Vernon and Centralia and handle probate, estate property sales, and closings across Southern Illinois. That includes Jefferson, Marion, Franklin, Williamson, Clinton, Washington, Wayne, and the surrounding counties.

If you are not sure whether a family’s matter is in our area, just ask. We will tell you straight whether we are the right office for that county, or point you somewhere that is.