Indiana will and trust attorney
is also skilled in personal injury cases.
About the Firm
You are about to make one of the most important decisions of your life. The purpose of this web site is to help you choose the right lawyer for your case. Gerald L. Cowan has practiced law for more than 34 years and actively represents injured victims and individuals involved in will, trust, and inheritance disputes. In each case, carefully selected co-counsel is added to the team. The co-counsel will have represented clients in the same or similar type cases to yours and will assist the Law Offices of Gerald L. Cowan in protecting your rights and, if necessary assisting in preparing your case for trial. With the use of carefully selected co-counsel, the Law Offices of Gerald L. Cowan strives to give you the highest quality representation and equips itself to practice not only in all parts of Indiana, but also all parts of the United States. In every case, mediation rather than trial is pursued in an effort to bring about a fair result. The advantage of mediation is that cases are often settled in a few months rather than a few years as is often the case with trial.
The Law Offices of Gerald L. Cowan and its co-counsel have the depth of experience, which is complemented by an expert support staff, to protect your rights in personal injury law, including wrongful death, traumatic brain injury, defective products, dangerous drug litigation and all types of will, trust, and inheritance disputes. This high level of expertise and a record of successful client representation has resulted in Gerald L. Cowan's Martindale-Hubbell AV rating, the highest rating available, and his being listed in The Best Lawyers in America. It is his goal to conduct his practice at all times in accordance with Christian principles.
At the Law Offices of Gerald L. Cowan we know that many people think that personal injury lawsuits are not worth their time and effort, especially when the result is an inadequate amount of monetary compensation. Our firm treats personal injury cases differently than most other firms. We have two main objectives when representing every case, which are:
- Settle all cases quickly and spare the plaintiff from the time consuming process of a lawsuit. Mediation is a natural option for a quick settlement. As George Bernard Shaw once said, "Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not." Mr. Cowan is definitely a "why not" lawyer.
- Recover the largest monetary recovery possible for our personal injury clients. Personal injury accidents may cause long-lasting or permanent injuries and/or disabilities. They may also prevent the victim from performing pre-accident activities, including employment and daily tasks. Our Indianapolis personal injury lawyers hold the negligent party responsible for the injuries they have caused.
Will, trust and inheritance disputes are highly emotional matters and often involve millions of dollars. Frequently a dispute centers on a family heirloom or personality conflict. Again, mediation is often an excellent way to settle this type of case. The personal aspects of mediation which gives each side the opportunity to state its case and the reasons behind it. This together with the non - threatening atmosphere where individuals are permitted to make a voluntary settlement are distinct advantages of mediation. Mediation should always be tried and sometimes tried a second or subsequent time.
Any interested person may contest the validity of a will or trust. An interested person is anyone who is a beneficiary of a prior will or trust or anyone who would receive an inheritance if there were no will or trust. Usually, there is a short time period within which to act, so do not wait but get legal counsel immediately. The usual basis for a contest are:
- Unsoundness of Mind
- Undue Execution
- Duress of Fraud
Once the contest has been filed, mediation should be pursued to minimize costs and seek a quick end to the controversy. There have been cases which appeared to be totally impossible that have been settled by the effective mediation representation of both parties by alert lawyers facilitated by a skilled and adept mediator who had 14 straight cases settle; no doubt due to his mediation talents. Mediation is a relatively new technique and is meeting with excellent success as a settlement tool.
