Holmes Law is a solo practice admitted in Idaho, California, Texas, Washington, North Carolina and Massachusetts. Every number below rings the attorney who would handle your matter — there is no intake desk in between. Consultations are free, and most of the work is handled remotely, so where you are rarely decides how quickly you can be seen.
Call Direct
Seven direct lines, one for each place the firm practices. California has two — north and south.
michael@askholmes.com
Replies usually come the same business day.
Mailing addresses
360 E. 1st Street, Unit 716
Tustin, CA 92780
3313 W. Cherry Lane, #1080
Meridian, ID 83642
These are mailing addresses. The practice is remote; meetings are arranged by appointment, and matters that require an appearance in person are handled in person.
Send a Message
If it is easier to write than to call, use the form below. Tell me which state the property, the business or the person is in — that is usually the fact that decides the answer.
Sending a message does not create an attorney-client relationship, and nothing sent through this form should be treated as confidential until the firm has confirmed it can act for you.
What Holmes Law Handles
Five areas of law that tend to overlap across a lifetime. If you are not sure which one your question falls under, say so in the message — most matters touch more than one.
- Estate planning — wills, trusts, powers of attorney and advance directives, drafted to work in the state where you live and in the states where your property sits.
- Elder law and life planning — long-term care and Medicaid planning, incapacity documents, guardianship avoidance, and estate recovery rules that differ sharply from one state to the next.
- Real estate — residential and commercial purchases and sales, deeds, leases, title questions and closings, in six states with six different closing customs.
- Business law — formation, ownership and buy-sell agreements, contracts, transactions, and restrictive covenants whose enforceability changes at the state line.
- Family law — full service in Idaho. In the other five states the work is limited to prenuptial and postnuptial agreements.
What Happens After You Get in Touch
There is no intake questionnaire and no screening call with someone who then hands you off. The first conversation is with the attorney who would do the work, and it is usually short.
The purpose of that first call is to answer three questions: what you are actually dealing with, whether it is something this firm should handle, and what it would take to deal with it properly. Sometimes the answer is that you do not need a lawyer at all, or that you need one in a state where the firm is not admitted. You will be told that plainly rather than sold something.
If the matter is a fit, you will get a written engagement letter setting out the scope and the fee before any work begins. Nothing starts, and nothing is billed, until you have read it and agreed to it.
What to Have Ready
None of this is required to make the first call. It just makes the first call more useful, because the answer usually turns on documents rather than on description.
Estate planning and elder law
- Any existing will, trust, power of attorney or advance directive, however old.
- A rough list of what you own and roughly where it is — which state each property, account or business interest sits in.
- Whether anyone in the picture has a disability, receives benefits, or is likely to need long-term care.
- Whether there are children from a prior relationship, or anyone you intend to treat differently from the others.
Real estate
- The address, and whether it is residential or commercial.
- The contract or letter of intent if one exists, and any deadline already running.
- How title is currently held, and whether the property is in a trust or an entity.
- Anything unusual already known — a boundary question, an easement, deferred maintenance, a tenant in place.
Business law
- Where the entity is formed and where it actually operates, if those differ.
- The operating agreement, bylaws or partnership agreement, and any buy-sell provisions.
- The contract in question, if the matter is a specific agreement.
- Whether any employee or owner is subject to a non-compete or similar restriction.
Marital agreements
- The wedding date, if one is set. In California in particular, timing is a legal requirement rather than a preference.
- A general sense of what each party owns and owes coming in.
- Whether either party has already retained counsel.
- Which state you expect to be living in over the next several years.
Which State’s Law Applies to Your Matter
This is the question that decides most of what follows, and it is rarely the state you happen to be sitting in. Real property is governed by the law of the state where the land is. A trust is generally governed by the state named in the document, which may be a state nobody in the family lives in any more. Marriage and marital agreements follow the state of domicile, which moves when you do. A business follows the state of formation for internal questions and the state of operation for almost everything else.
The result is that one family can easily have three states in play at once — and the usual answer, hiring separate counsel in each, means nobody is looking at the whole thing. Conflicts between the documents then surface years later, usually in probate, when they are expensive to fix and the person who could have explained the intent is gone.
You do not need to work out which state governs before getting in touch. Describing the facts is enough; sorting out which law applies is the work. If it turns out the answer lies in a state where this firm is not admitted, you will be told that on the first call.
Consultations, Fees and Engagement
The initial consultation is free and carries no obligation. It is a conversation about whether the firm can help, not a sales appointment.
Where the work is predictable — most planning documents, most marital agreements, most straightforward transactions — it is quoted as a flat fee, so you know the cost before deciding to proceed. Matters that cannot be scoped in advance are handled hourly, and you will be told which category yours falls into before you commit to anything. Whichever it is, the engagement letter states the scope and the fee in writing first.
The practice is remote by design, which is what makes serving six states practical rather than nominal. Consultations happen by phone or video at a time that suits you, documents are signed the way the relevant state permits, and matters that genuinely require an appearance in person are handled in person.
Contact by State
Each state has its own page with that state’s direct line and a short note on what changes there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the first consultation really free?
Yes. The first conversation costs nothing and carries no obligation. Its purpose is to work out what you are dealing with and whether this firm is the right one to handle it. If the answer is no, you will be told so.
Do I have to live in one of the six states?
No. What matters is where the property, the business or the person is, not where you happen to live. People who live elsewhere regularly have an Idaho house, a California trust or a Texas entity that needs attention.
How quickly will I hear back?
Calls reach the attorney directly rather than an answering service. Messages sent through the form usually get a reply the same business day.
Can we meet in person?
The practice is remote by design, and consultations normally happen by phone or video. Meetings can be arranged by appointment, and matters that require an appearance in person are handled in person.
Do you handle divorce outside Idaho?
No. Family law is full service in Idaho only. In California, Texas, Washington, North Carolina and Massachusetts the work is limited to prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and contested matters in those states are referred to counsel who appear in those courts regularly.
My situation involves more than one state. Which number should I call?
Any of them. Every line reaches the same attorney, so there is no need to work out in advance which state governs your matter. Sorting that out is part of the work.
Is what I send through the form confidential?
Not yet. Sending a message does not create an attorney-client relationship, and nothing sent before the firm has confirmed it can act for you should be treated as confidential. Keep the first message general and save the details for the call.