Had the pleasure of working with mr Brooke several times . And this time working on my estate plan reminded me of how Insistently professional this law firm is. Extremely happy and explained everything to me. read more

Darrell Brooke is severely incompetent. He demands monthly payment of his invoices for no work done. It seems that's what his staff focuses on the entire time is to generate fake invoices for work not done. When you ask a second opinion about what he advises, you find out he was lying to you about the law so he could keep billing you for work he never does and make false promises. If you call to ask a question, he threatens to dump you and makes you feel helpless and desperate with your case and ultimately you will conclude that he is a scam. Report him to the state bar if you have problems with Brooke which appears to be the case from prior reviews on Yelp. After you pay your monthly invoice for no work done and you try to call him to discuss your issue, he is NEVER available to answer your call and then by that time he's created more problems for you by not doing the work you paid him to do and costing you more money to address in the end. His employees also sue him because he is impossible to deal with. read more

It's was news to me that Darrell is professional and altough apparently he may be good at working on estate plans and living trusts, if you are looking for a probate attorney who is compassionate, trustworthy, respectful and his number one intrest is to fulfull the last wishes of your deceased loved one, then without a doubt stay clear from him and his office. Unfortunately, as one of five beneficiaries, and not an beneficiary/executor with the right to hire a probate attorney for representation, we at least thought that he would be professional. He was vary evasive with answering legitimate questions, and failed to follow-through some basic, yet critically important processes:filing documentation, notifying all beneficiariries with matters of the estate with regards to the sale of properties, and notifications, and our approval of sale price, etc. The list is endless, and I feel that I have already spent far too much of my energy and time expecting professionalism and a level of work ethics that just was never coming. Although the list is long, I would defintely like to mention that Darrell does Darell, his interests and knowledge to manipulate his words, and situations for his benefit can only come with practice. Here is only one example of what I and my other siblings had to deal with; Closing of the probate case, and I received the petition for my inheritance dispersement check, and I find the following: 1. My name spelled incorrectly (after a year and a half dealing with his office, and yet there it is. (I thought well, mistakes happen, no big deal). 2. Received an updated notice, and this time the address where my check will be mailed is also incorrect (again this address has been on all the "Proof of Service forms for the last year and a half!". So of course, I emailed him and his office requesting that it be corrected, and asked him to please verify and review these very important documents prior to sending them out to me again. Now mind you, he has a very small office, and so this was a feasible request, especially when he racked up $40,000 of attorney fees and extraordinary fees (fees for work and hours he claimed he spent on ensuring that all was done correctly, etc.). Unfortunately, my siblings and I, minus our executor, learned quickly that there is much to be worked on with our probate legal system in upholding what is "fair". The written answer via email that I received from Darrell was "chill out , you will be getting your check." If after reading this, you consider this presssional conduct from an attorney that is representing your loved ones' estate, then by all means you should hire him. I am thankful that this nightmare is finally over with, and that my mother can finally hopefully rest in peace, and that I never have to deal with his man ever again! Unfortunately I had to give him one star in order to submit the rating. read more

Darryl Brooke is a liar, he likes to manipulate me, belittle me and he thinks I killed my mom which is not true. I loved my mom and my mom would still be here if Huntington hospital didn't give my mom morphine. My mom said she was going to change everything so that everything goes to me. I know how to manage my own money and I don't need a trustee to tell me what I need to do or how to use my own hard worked money. I worked hard for my money and the trust takes it away from me like I'm nobody. Citizens Business Bank was supposed to take over. So I don't know what happened or how it was changed. It all started as soon as my mom passed away I got a bill to pay the death tax. I had to sign it with the tax man and Jodi Montgomery was suppose to be temporary trustee somehow she copied and paste my signature so that Jodi Montgomery becomes permanent trustee. Then as soon as my mom's paperwork was all done Darryl Brooke changed it to go to Jodi Montgomery I'm very unhappy with this setup and I hate everything that they did and everything that they said about me. My wife wanted to say something and Darryl Brooke said to my wife to shut up. I was shocked and didn't know if I ever will get out of this situation. It's been a living hell for me and my wife. He is Greedy, dishonest (liar), manipulative, very unprofessional, and very judgmental, worse attorney, I wonder how did he pass the bar exam no doubt he cheated or pay someone he doesn't have any clue of what he is doing,,, beware he will take your money and run away! Oh one more thing I need to add he is obnoxious, rude and disrespectful. He took out $90,000 out of my mom and dads account and he didn't even list what he did with the money. There are millions of dollars in my account and my mom and dads account. I requested that he give me at least $20,000 a month I'm only getting $5000 a month that's barely enough for 3 kids in the house my wife and me. Now he's threatening me to get rid of my cars. I'm a car collector and I have a parking lot of cars. He said he will sell the units if I don't give up my cars and he will give me only $3000 a month. I wish there was a way to change it so everything goes to Citizens Business Bank. I don't like the how they are managing the money and I hate how they are treating me. read more

Rude to my husband when it was COVID and I didn't want him to have an in person meeting with Darrell and instead suggested zoom. This attorney disregarded my husband and treated him poorly because of this. Does this seem right to you? read more

Making a Living Trust is something I had often thought about doing but kept putting off. "Do I really need one, I don't own an estate" But after speaking with Darrell I realized it was long over due. I have a son and it is important to me that when I die what I have is transferred to him with ease. The process was simple I provided my assets, and my will, living trust, general power of attorney and advance health care directive were drawn up for my review. I am hopeful I will be around for a while however I am now at ease that my "estate" no matter the size will transition to my son with ease. read more

I went to Darrell to handle the trusts of 2 family members. He filed the title of their primary residence incorrectly with the county assessors office. I understand that everyone makes mistakes, but he would not take accountability for the mistake, but rather blamed everyone from his secretary to the assessors office. After months of persistent follow-upon my part, the error which caused my elderly aunt, who lives on social security, to have a huge increase in her property taxes was" resolved". Today, as we were closing the sale on this house, the fore mentioned error lead to more issues on the title. Once again, I had the same experience when I called his office and he did not take my call. Past experience told me that leaving a call back number would go unanswered. Please do not trust this man with your important legal needs unless you enjoy the run around and poor quality work. read more

Unfortunately, Darrell deserves a ranking of zero stars but I have to leave one star in order to write this review. Please stay away from this attorney. He is inept and does not take responsibility for his errors. My entire family went to him for a probate case and he seemed very amiable at our first meeting, since he was trying to make a good impression. At our first meeting, I did observe that he spoke in circles and never clearly answered questions. I was not the executor, my brother was, and so he chose Darrell as the probate attorney to our detriment. I really can not write everything that went wrong with the case due directly to Darrell's actions because then I would be forced to write a novel. One huge flaw is that Darrell does not like to be questioned and takes things very personally. I and other siblings (non-executors) had sincere questions but he dismissed them each one by one and took each question as an insult to him personally. This showed lack of character and confidence in his abilities. Darrel was definitely not professional and did not take accountability for his actions or errors. Please steer away from him, he will cause you grief and frustration! I am not sure what law school he graduated from but his bed side manner is atrocious! Because I was not an executor, his mantra was, "Go find an attorney to represent you because I represent the executor(s)." Talk about not being represented by an attorney you thought was the attorney for all the beneficiaries. His main objective is to make sure he gets paid and charges a ridiculous amount of "Extraordinary Fees." I would hate for any other family to undergo the anguish we had to endure for almost two years. It was a trying time because we lost our mother and then had to undergo such a horrible experience perpetrated by Darrell. I am certain there are professional, knowledgeable, and earnest attorneys in the area but Darrell is not one of them. Please heed my experience and do not knock on Darrell's legal door. read more