Helpful FAQs

At Nielsen Cashman & Dean, we offer a wide range of legal services, including estate planning (wills, trusts, powers of attorney), civil litigation, business organization and management, conservatorship, Medi-Cal planning for long-term care, probate, trust administration, elder law, and more. Our experienced attorneys are here to address your unique legal needs.

Nielsen Cashman & Dean (formerly Gale & Nielsen) has proudly served the Eureka, CA, community for over twenty-five years. Our commitment to providing quality legal solutions at a fair price has made us a trusted resource in the region.

Our firm is led by Arthur Nielsen, a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. We prioritize common-sense resolutions and personalized guidance to minimize the delays and expenses associated with formal litigation. Our approach combines legal expertise with compassion for our clients' unique situations.

For Estate Planning and Probate matters, we provide a complimentary initial meeting or phone call up to 30 minutes, for the limited scope of having an opportunity for you to inquire about our services and determine if they align with your needs. Any consultations that include resolving legal issues and problems are billable at our hourly rate set forth below. 

You can contact us through the contact form on our website or at (707) 269-0167. Our team is here to assist you with questions about estate planning, business legal matters, or any other legal concerns.

Yes, we are licensed to practice law in California and New York. Our focus, however, primarily revolves around serving clients' legal needs in Northern California.

Yes! Our firm has fixed fee estate plans, as outlined below. We also offer our services at an hourly rate depending on the project.

Will Plan

$2,200 for Couple

$1,600 for Individual

• Last Will and Testament

• Durable Financial Power of Attorney

• Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions

• Letter of Instruction

Standard Revocable Family Trust Plan

$3,800 for Couple

$3,000 for Individual

• Revocable Family Trust with Schedule A

• Certification of Trust

• Real Estate Deeds

• Last Will and Testament

• Durable Financial Power of Attorney

• Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions

• Letter of Instruction

We usually work on an hourly rate or a per-project flat rate that is negotiated before we begin. Our lawyers and paralegals keep detailed logs of the time they spend on your case. We count in six-minute increments (so you don't pay for a five minute phone call as though it took fifteen minutes). Our bills show all of the time that an attorney and paralegal spent on your case. We usually give an estimate of the final cost of a project, and will often work out a flat rate with a client on projects that have predictable schedules. All bills include reimbursement for costs that we advance for things like court filing fees, court-ordered appraisals, recording fees, and process servers. All rates are subject to change with written notice to our clients. Our rates are as follows:

Partner - Certified Specialist: $450 per hour

Partner: $350 per hour

Senior Paralegal: $200 per hour

Paralegal: $150 per hour 

Our firm understands that situations can change quickly.

If you decided you would like to name a different person to help you upon loss of capacity or handle your affairs after you've passed, want to add a small gift to your grandson Billie for always cleaning out the gutters, or decided your dear pal Fluffy should go to Suzie instead of Jan, we are happy to make small changes at no cost, provided that your estate plan was prepared by us within the last 60 days.

Otherwise, our attorneys and paralegals typically charge an hourly rate to draft amendments or new documents for you, but we always strive to keep the fees as reasonable as possible.