Hi. I'm Rachel.

How I ended up doing this work.

Hi. I'm Rachel. I run probate.help and the firm behind it — Rachel Schadt Law, in Sarasota.

I'm a third-generation Florida attorney. My grandfather practiced in Sarasota before there was an interstate. My father practiced here too. I grew up watching them help neighbors through the kinds of moments that don't make the news but change a family's life — the death of a parent, a business succession, a homestead that almost ended up in the wrong hands. By the time I went to law school, the work felt familiar — like something I'd been preparing for without realizing it.

I chose probate and estate planning specifically because of who shows up. The clients who walk into a probate practice are usually carrying something heavy — grief, paperwork dread, family tension, or all three. The work itself is mostly procedural — competent paperwork done on a schedule. The hard part is the human part: showing up calmly, listening carefully, and giving someone a clear next step when they feel underwater.

That's the firm I've tried to build. High tech, high touch. Modern tools — encrypted upload, e-sign, SMS status, calculators that actually work. And on the other side of every email, a real person who texts you back inside five minutes and means it.

We're easy on people and tough on problems. The grief, the family dynamics, the not-knowing-what-to-do — we hold those gently. The deadlines, the creditor claims, the sloppy filings other firms leave behind — those we go after hard. That's the whole job.

Flat fees, published.

Most Florida probate firms bill by the hour. We don't, and we never have. Every engagement we take comes with a price quoted in writing, before you sign anything. The price is the price — even when the case takes longer than we expected.

There are two reasons we run it this way. First, hourly billing is a tax on asking questions. If you're worried about a clock running, you're not asking us the things you should be asking — and that's exactly when our work gets worse and your stress gets higher. Second, we're better at scoping than most firms because we've done thousands of these. We can quote a flat fee accurately because we know how the work goes.

The exception: litigation. We don't litigate, and the rare time a case needs it, we refer to specialists who price it differently. If your case is uncontested — which 99% are — flat fees apply.

You're going to get through this.

Tell us what's happening. We'll tell you exactly which path applies, what it'll cost, and how long it'll take. No sales pitch. Most calls end with a 4-step plan and zero stress.