Open an estate for my deceased husband

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Rhode Island

My husband passed away in Rhode Island on 01/01/2010 suddenly from cardiac arrest. I am living in Missouri and he was supposed to come down here in the spring. I need to hire an attorney to open an estate and protect my rights. I need to know what the average retainer fee is and are there any attorneys who will do it on contingency and take the fees out of the money from the estate. I really need some help and don't know where to turn. Please give me some advice.

Thank you.

Rochelle Whitman

You'll need a Rhode Island lawyer. You can generally call some and will get an indication of the fees involved. To protect your interests, you'll probably need to pony up a small fee up front. As for the bulk of the work regarding dealing with the estate, that usually comes out of the estate before distribution. It's not a "contingency", the legal fees are just part of the estate rather than any of the heirs.

There are links here for finding lawyers. Since you apparently lived in Rhode Island in the past, you may be able to get a more personal referral from friends or relatives still residing there.