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James F. Kocher Law Office
Thank you for visiting my website. I have been an attorney in Marion, Indiana since 1980. What distinguishes my law office from others is the unique nature of inheritance cases in which I represent people from around the world. Many of my clients receive unexpected inheritances from a long lost or distant relative. Most clients enjoy learning more about their family history and all clients enjoy the financial benefits.
I am a graduate of Indiana University Law School and also admitted to practice law before the Federal District Courts since 1992. I am a member of the Indiana Bar Association, a former Deputy Prosecutor, former City Attorney for Marion, and a member of the Indiana City Judges Association. I have worked in conjunction with the firm of Martin Investigation, Inc. (Rodney Martin, Darrell Martin, and Lew Herring) to handle estates, document inheritance and property rights cases.
About Estates and Inheritances
The estate process starts when a person has died. All states and countries have laws in place for the handling of the deceased person’s assets. These laws govern the administration and distribution of the assets depending upon whether the deceased had a will (testate) or not (intestate). In either event, the estate process is generally handled by court procedures which include identifying assets, determining those persons entitled to the assets, payments of the fees and taxes associated with the estate process, and closing the estate. In the event this process was not started soon after the decedent’s death, the locating of heirs and assets and the administration of the estate can be very complicated and time consuming. Fortunately, I have been involved with hundreds of such inheritance cases and can represent you in handling your case. Many times, the nature of an inheritance or estate will require opening “ancillary” estates in different states or different jurisdictions. As an example, if an estate is opened and probated in Iowa, and the decedent had property in Florida, it would be necessary for an ancillary estate to be opened in Florida to deal with disposing of the property there since a Florida court would not honor an Iowa Court’s order to sell the decedent’s property. When additional estates are required, I will work with the out-of-state attorney and coordinate the progress among all of the estates and parties involved.
Inheritance and estate work will vary state by state since each state determines who can inherit under their specific rules of descent and distribution. A second cousin, once removed, might inherit in one state, but would not be recognized as a next of kin in a different state.