Wow! What a great experience. Robert Smykowski just completed my estate planning documents, as well as my boyfriend's, and we were both really impressed. He is extremely knowledgeable, thorough, organized and a very nice man. When I first contacted his office, he called me back within 1/2 hour. We set an appointment for that Saturday (yes! he works Saturdays) and within a week he emailed us rough drafts of our documents. We made some changes and then went in to sign. In addition, he gave us some really great investment advice. The whole process was professional, seamless and inexpensive. I suggest you get yours done before he retires! read more

He did what he said he was going to do. He did it quickly. And it looks like they're going to be around for a long time. He educated us on some things that were updated From a couple of years ago. read more

David prepared the living trust, wills, and powers of attorney for my parents. We were extremely impressed -- He was able to answer all of our questions and guide us through the process quickly. David was very responsive, and was patient and thorough in answering all of our questions. My parents both started the process feeling a bit hesitant about working with an attorney. Now they trust David and his work and are very happy we worked with him. I'm also pleased that we all have the peace of mind of having the estate documents completed professionally. Great work and great service! One note: I found the Smykowski law office on Yelp, and the information available said the price to complete the living trust package was $495. That may be out of date as the cost for us was $695, still well worth it. read more

I got referred to Robert Smykowski when I was working for Qualcomm back in 2007. He did our estate planning documents. We haven't looked anywhere else to get ours updated every five years, ever since. Robert is very thorough, knowledgeable and organized. I found his rates to be the lowest, when I checked around back then. Excellent service at a reasonable cost. No wonder he gets so many referrals. I have referred half a dozen friends to him. Just met with him yesterday and thought of writing a yelp review to help others like myself looking for good service. read more

I have to share my traumatic and devastating experience with Robert A. Smykowski an Estate Attorney who straddles the border between apathy and indifference. Hired to provide a Will and Trust for my mother, a 77 year old retired RN, First Responder and cherished matriarch. Healthy throughout her life she rarely suffered more than a high fever and never any major illness or hospitalization. Which is why around September of 2020 she embarked on a downward spiral of declining health - ultimately ending in tragedy. It was devastating! And if that weren't enough, Attorney Smykowski was distant and disconnected when it mattered most and could have made a difference in the traumatic events that followed. Compiling a Will and/or Trust was intended as part of a plan to lessen the anxiety in an already stressful situation and to focus on the grieving and coping processes. At least that was the hope. When we met Attorney Smykowski we discussed various aspects of the will that were important to us. Both my mother and I answered a series of questions ostensibly to guide Attorney Smykowski's effort in drafting the Will and Trust. When satisfied that enough information was gathered, Attorney Smykowski indicated that he would email drafts to me to download and present to my mother for review. Accordingly we would schedule to meet, formalize and sign the respective documents and perfect the Trust and Will. To be clear, this was the objective, this is what we requested, this is what was expected and this is what we paid for. This never happened. In the weeks, days and indeed even hours leading up to my mother's death, was a blur of seemingly inter-connected events, one right after another almost like a fog of panic and fear. Not knowing what to expect or what to do next. No way of gauge what was more important and what was not. Everything was dire and consequential and you did what you thought was best under the circumstances. Everything was reduced in terms of immediacy and how to satisfy them. Relieving pain, discomfort and suffering were the highest concerns. Accommodating, alleviating and preparing was only part of the daily routine it took to take care of my mom. My mother's throat began to narrow making eating, drinking or taking vitamins very difficult. She was unable to keep anything she did eat down and she described it as getting stuck in her gut. Her hands and feet swelled and were increasingly painful. This is only mentioned to illustrate what life had become for my mother the closer and closer it got to the time of her death. There was not a time that could be set aside for reviewing the Will and Trust. The only reprieve my mom to the pain and discomfort that occupied her waking moments was to sleep. And that;s what she did and looked forward to. She did this until the day she appeared to have a stroke. It happened just after noon on a Thursday or Friday. I noticed she was having difficulty finishing her sentences or completing her thoughts. I tried to be encouraging but before I knew it I was on the phone with 911 and trying to follow instructions - at the same time trying to figure out how to contact my aunt, my mom's younger sister and a 35 year Veteran of the VA Hospital. Also a client of Attorney Smykowski who actually referred him to my mother. By the time we got to the hospital, while in the ICU I finally was able to contact my aunt to inform her what had happened. It was then that it had dawned on me that I had not heard anything from the Attorney and asked that she contact him and inform him of the seriousness of my mom's situation. That the Will and Trust had not yet been signed and that there needed to be provisions made in order to do so. According to my aunt, Attorney Smykowski was unyielding in his directive that my mother needed to come into his office to formally sign the Will and Trust in his presence. This was impossible and the next morning my mother passed away. My first contact after her death with Attorney Smykowski was not to worry, take all the time I need and that we would get together to work everything out. Somewhat reassuringly I contacted him approximately three weeks later where he, somewhat cold and aloof, declared that there was nothing that he could do and he wished me the best of luck. In the wake of my mother's death I was met with what I call the border between apathy and indifference. What I have since learned is that there are indeed things that could have been done or at the very least attempted even around the time of her death or even moments just before like securing two witnesses amongst any one of a number of admiring RN's present or administrators or Doctors all ready willing and able to attest to her desire to perfect her Last Will and Testament. At which point a Mobile Notary Public could have easily been summoned. Recent legislation supports this and certainly should have been part of any competent Estate Attorney's knowledge and expertise. Shameful read more

Exceptional customer service! Robert is a true professional and I would trust him and his staff for my Estate need!

It's been a little over a year since the untimely death of my mother, Rose M. Gorospe. And as hard as it has been - the turmoil, the devastion and outrage I am left with little more than memories of a great mom. She was a retired RN and always full of life. Attorney Smykowski was paid to prepare a will and trust on her behalf primarily intended for securing her property and assets for me where we both resided for nine years. But she never got the chance to sign. I've since learned that because of the assets involved there were options. Firstly, when I contacted Attorney Smykowski just prior to her death he failed to mention obtaining two independent witnesses that could've gone a long way in the probate process in addition to a mobile notary. Also, this type of situation, untimely death and ill-preparedness can't be new to a seasoned probate attorney with supposed years of experience right? Why was I not told about remedies such as Small Estate Probate where you can bypass the whole probate process if assets are $166k or less. It's not only cheaper, quicker and more efficiency. After all, he had been paid and never performed his duty to have a signed will and trust. Besides losing my mother, I lost my house of nine years, the equity, nearly all of her and my worldly possessions and trust in all things good. If you want to hire Attorney Smykowski then good luck. He is either incompetent, apathetic or whatever the opposite of diligent is. So unless you have reason to believe in his ability then take a chance. But if you're find yourself. Just going through the motions then you probably ain't getting the best interests met. And God forbid something goes astray and you find yourself in a complicated mess then at least I tried to warn you. In my case, Attorney Smykowski left me in as bad a situation then if I had no Attorney which is what I ended up with. What did I pay him for exactly? You can find a lot better. read more

Robert Smykowski is a very conscientious and personable attorney who has been very helpful in developing our Trust Agreements. He creates the living trust and related documents in a very efficient manner and his fees are as reasonable as I have seen them. With my wife passing last month I had to rely on his work to get me through the estate process and his documents were not only extremely helpful but avoided a key pitfall I heard about from others who had lost their spouse. There are other attorneys advertising presentations at restaurants along with a free gift but when I checked into them I was surprised at their significantly higher fees. So glad I had Attorney Smykowski on my side. Lee read more

I have been putting off getting a trust for years and had no idea what it would entail. Robert made it very easy and convenient. The consultation was free even though I had a million questions, the trust was only $495, which is much cheaper than any other attorney I looked up. He is extremely knowledgeable and helpful through every step of the process. read more

I ONLY yelp if it's very good or if it's really bad. I don't know Robert personally but we've used him 2x in the last 15 years, our 1st family Will & Trust full package and our 2nd since our daughter is an adult and we had to update it. We submitted all the legal docs as requested, signed papers and within a week, we received our Will & Trust package. Nothing fancy. Just stapled, no binder. Went to the County Recorder to have it recorded and that's it. Viola! Very simple, no fuss. Great for families with kids who needs to designate legal guardian, medical directives, etc. For the flat rate of $495, it gave my family peace of mind that we have all this in order, whenever we travel, etc. Robert is very professional and did NOT offer as any investment strategies. The only recommendation he provided during our 1st time was to move most of our assets to a trust (mortgage, etc.). My parents used another law firm and charged them $1,700 ten years ago. It had the exact same legal documents as ours, except it was in a nice binder. So, we have an appointment next week for my parents to update theirs, now that they are in their golden years. We've recommended ALL our friends & families to Robert and they were 100% satisfied. read more

I made an appointment for a trust. Once I got into the office with my paperwork, Mr. Smykowski tried to tell me my investments were all wrong and he had much better ideas for them. He was noticeably miffed when I didn't take him up on his offer to help me out investing. I did get the trust, but had to do all my own legwork with regards to getting the paperwork about the trust to the necessary people. read more

My husband and I went to Robert Symkowski for our Will and Trust. It was very affordable so that was a huge plus. He was very friendly and professional. I have had a lot of questions along the way, but he has been so patient. He answers all of my questions right away and seems happy to help. That is another huge plus. I highly recommend him! read more

We had a living trust done with Robert Smykoski. We kept putting it off because we thought it would be a long, hard and expensive process. We were wrong. It was fast, easy and affordable. He is professional and very helpful, He listen to our needs and answered all our questions. We highly recommend him. read more

Robert did my trust in 2001 and did such a great job that now that I needed to get it updated I went back to have him do it.

My husband and I went to Mr. Symkowski for our will and revocable trust. He was very easy to work worth, very helpful and professional. I highly recommend him. read more

My daughter and I met with Mr. Smykowski and I had my trust, will, etc. drawn up. Never felt "pressured" to take his advice re: investments, and we had a pleasant meeting. I had gotten quotes of up to $2000.00, from attorneys, for this same service so for Mr. Smykowski's rate, I didn't have a problem having copies made and getting those copies to the necessary people. I'll be seeing him again, soon, as some changes need to be made to my trust. Glad I found him and saved A LOT of money. read more

Used Mr. Smykowski for my Estate Planning needs and updates. He is very knowledgeable and always wants to help. He has given outstanding advice and feel very secure our personal needs have been address. He also provided valuable financial knowledge to supplement my monthly income through a series of financial products. I recommend Mr. Smykowski without hesitation. read more