Common questions.

Personal injury cases are handled on a contingency fee basis. There is no upfront cost, no hourly billing, and no fee unless we recover for you. The fee is a percentage of the recovery, set in writing at the start. The initial consultation is always free.

Five practice areas: personal injury, wrongful death, property damage and insurance disputes, tax controversy, and business legal matters. We serve clients across metro Atlanta, including Buckhead, Marietta, Decatur, Sandy Springs, Smyrna, Roswell, and Alpharetta. We do not handle estate planning matters; we are happy to refer you to qualified estate counsel.

Hope Pereira and William Pereira. Hope Pereira is a Georgia attorney with nearly three decades of legal experience, including service as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Georgia; she now centers her practice on personal injury trial work. William Pereira began his career representing Florida homeowners and businesses in property damage and insurance claims, then practiced insurance defense for major carriers, then represented Fortune 500 clients in state and local tax controversies at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He holds an LLM in Taxation and is licensed in Georgia and Florida.

1640 Powers Ferry Rd, Bldg 3, Ste 150, Marietta, GA 30067. We serve metro Atlanta and the surrounding counties. Office hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

We are working to expand our bilingual services. For now, our representation is conducted primarily in English. If you need a Spanish-speaking attorney, we can refer you to colleagues who can help.

We are a family firm with two founding partners, both Pereiras. You will get direct access to a partner on your case, not a paralegal handing your call to whoever is on the rotation. Hope's three decades of state-government litigation experience and William's PwC tax background mean you get analytical and courtroom rigor in every consultation, applied to your specific facts.

Personal injury cases involve future medical care, lost earning capacity, and structured-settlement options — all of which require real financial modeling and tax-aware analysis. Most personal injury firms estimate. We model. The tax treatment of a settlement can change the actual recovery by tens of thousands of dollars; we account for that from day one.

We listen. You tell us what happened — by phone or in person, whichever you prefer. We ask questions, identify the deadlines that apply, and give you an honest read on whether you have a case and what to expect. There is no pressure to retain us, and no fee for the conversation.

During business hours (Monday–Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) we aim to respond within one business hour. Outside business hours, we respond by the next business day. For genuine emergencies — statute of limitations about to run, evidence about to disappear — voicemail is monitored.

Personal injury and wrongful death cases are handled on contingency: no fee unless we recover, and case costs are advanced by the firm and reimbursed from the recovery. Tax controversy and business legal matters are quoted at the consultation in flat fees or hourly arrangements — and the consultation itself is always free, regardless of practice area.

Most negligence-based personal injury claims have a two-year statute of limitations from the date of injury (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). Claims against government entities have ante-litem notice requirements that can be much shorter — often six months. The deadline that matters depends on the specific facts of your case.

No. The at-fault party's insurance adjuster is paid to minimize the value of your claim. Anything you say can be used to reduce or deny your recovery. Decline to give a recorded statement, refer them to your attorney, and call us first.

Get medical care even if you think you can wait. Photograph the scene if it is safe. Save any documents and messages. Do not give a recorded statement to the other party's insurance company. Do not sign a medical authorization without showing it to a lawyer first. Call us — the consultation is free.

Georgia follows modified comparative negligence (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33). Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault for the incident. If you are found 50% or more at fault, you recover nothing. This rule shapes how cases are investigated and argued.

Most cases resolve in 6 to 18 months. Cases that settle pre-suit can resolve in 3 to 6 months once medical treatment has plateaued. Cases that go through litigation typically take 12 to 24 months. Cases involving complex damages, contested liability, or trial are longer. We give you an honest read on timeline at the start.

Two main categories: special damages (past and future medical care, lost wages, lost earning capacity, property damage — anything with a number on it) and general damages (pain, loss of enjoyment of life, the way an injury changes how you live). Where applicable, punitive damages may also be available. The case is built around proving each category with the evidence the law actually requires.

If your injury was caused by a government entity — a city, county, or state agency — Georgia requires you to send a formal ante-litem notice before filing suit. For municipalities, the deadline is typically six months from the date of injury (O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5). For the state, twelve months (O.C.G.A. § 50-21-26). Missing this deadline forfeits the entire claim, even if the underlying statute of limitations has not yet run.

Special damages have a receipt or a number — past medical bills, lost wages, vehicle repair, future medical care models. General damages are non-economic — pain, suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life. Both are recoverable. Insurance companies tend to underweight general damages because there is no receipt to argue about; that is where case construction matters most.

Georgia follows the eggshell plaintiff rule: the at-fault party takes the plaintiff as they find them. If a pre-existing condition (degenerative disc, prior injury, fragile health) means a relatively minor impact caused a major injury, the at-fault party is responsible for the full extent of the harm — not just what would have happened to a hypothetical healthy person. This protects clients with existing medical conditions from having their cases discounted.

Most personal injury cases settle before trial — typically through negotiation with the insurance carrier or through mediation after suit is filed. Cases that do go to trial are the exception, not the rule. Whether your case is one of them depends on the strength of liability, the gap between the offer and the case's value, and the carrier's litigation posture. We prepare every case as if it will go to trial, which is what makes settlement negotiations work.

Then your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage becomes the source of recovery. Georgia drivers can stack UM coverage in some configurations; the policy language matters. We review your policy at the consultation and identify every coverage layer that can apply, including UM, MedPay, health insurance with subrogation rights, and any umbrella policies.

Yes. As a passenger, you generally have no fault in a typical motor-vehicle collision, so comparative negligence is not a barrier. Your claim is against the at-fault driver's insurance — which may include the vehicle you were riding in. There can be policy-stacking issues if you and the driver are in the same household; we walk through them at the consultation.

Often yes, through a process called subrogation. Health insurers, ERISA plans, Medicare, and Medicaid each have different rules and different rights. A settlement that does not account for these liens can leave the client owing money out of pocket after distribution. Resolving liens correctly is a significant part of the work; we negotiate them down where possible and account for the net recovery in any settlement decision.

Georgia largely abolished joint-and-several liability through O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33. Each at-fault defendant pays only their assigned percentage of fault — even if a co-defendant cannot pay. That changes the practical recoverability of a verdict in multi-defendant cases. Identifying defendants who can actually pay is therefore part of case strategy, not an afterthought.

Georgia's wrongful death statute (O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2) sets a strict order: the surviving spouse first; if no spouse, then the children; if no spouse or children, then the parents. The estate brings a separate claim under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-5 for pre-death damages such as final medical expenses and conscious pain and suffering before death. Standing matters; getting it right at the start avoids months of unnecessary litigation later.

Georgia uses a 'full value of the life' standard, one of the broader measures in American law. It includes both economic value (lost income, services, benefits the decedent would have provided) and intangible value (the relationships, experiences, and trajectory of the life as it was being lived). Building this number well is part legal, part forensic, and part listening to the family.

The standard statute of limitations is two years from the date of death (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). Tolling rules can apply — for example, while a related criminal case is pending under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-99, or while the estate is being formally administered under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-92 (up to five years). Government-entity claims have ante-litem notice deadlines that are much shorter and deserve attention immediately.

Yes. Children from any marriage have standing under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2 — the statute does not distinguish based on which marriage produced them. If the surviving spouse is also the parent, both share the recovery. If the children are from a prior marriage and the current spouse is not their parent, the recovery is divided according to the statute and the court's allocation rules.

Three clear triggers: (1) the insurer's first offer is 60% or less of a contractor's written estimate; (2) the insurer takes more than 30 days without movement after you have provided everything they asked for; (3) you are being pressured to sign a release for a partial payment while damages are still being assessed. Any of these is a signal that the documentation needs to be revisited and the policy re-read.

Under O.C.G.A. § 33-4-6, an insurer that refuses in bad faith to pay a covered loss can be liable for the full amount of the loss plus a 50% statutory penalty plus reasonable attorney fees. The procedure requires a 60-day written demand to the insurer that meets specific content requirements. Bad-faith litigation is fact-intensive — most underpayment is not bad faith — but where it applies, the financial consequences are significant.

Storm damage (wind, hail), fire, smoke, water and flood, vandalism, and business interruption claims. We represent both homeowners and small business owners against carriers that have underpaid, denied, or delayed legitimate claims. Cases involve close reading of the policy, scope-of-loss disputes, and where appropriate, the bad-faith demand procedure under O.C.G.A. § 33-4-6.

Two layers of timing apply. First, your policy will have its own notice-of-loss and proof-of-loss deadlines — often 30 to 60 days from the date of damage; missing these can void coverage. Second, the legal statute of limitations on a contract claim against the insurer is six years in Georgia. Practically, get the claim opened immediately, keep written records of every adjuster contact, and engage counsel if any of the bad-faith triggers above start firing.

IRS examinations (audits), Tax Court petitions, Collection Due Process hearings, installment agreements, Offers in Compromise, innocent spouse relief (IRC § 6015), Trust Fund Recovery Penalty defense (IRC § 6672), penalty abatement requests, Currently Not Collectible status, and worker classification disputes. We also handle Georgia Department of Revenue audits and notices.

First, identify the letter type — a CP2000 is different from a Letter 525, which is different from a Letter 3219 (a 90-day Notice of Deficiency with hard statutory deadlines). Read it, do not respond off the cuff, and if the matter is anything more than a single 1099 mismatch, engage representation under Form 2848 before responding. Most damage in IRS audits comes from off-the-cuff responses in the first 30 days, not from the audit itself.

Under IRC § 6015, a spouse who signed a joint tax return can be relieved from liability for additional tax, penalties, and interest attributable to the other spouse's items if certain conditions are met. There are three forms of relief: traditional, separation of liability, and equitable. The request is made on Form 8857 and must generally be filed within two years of the IRS's first collection action — though the equitable form has a longer window. Documentation matters; the request is not pro-forma.

An Offer in Compromise (OIC) is an IRS program that lets taxpayers settle tax debt for less than the full balance owed, when the IRS determines that collection of the full amount is unlikely. Eligibility is based on a Reasonable Collection Potential calculation that looks at assets, income, and basic living expenses. The OIC is paperwork-intensive (Form 656 plus a 433-A or 433-B), and the IRS rejects most submissions that are not properly prepared.

The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) under IRC § 6672 makes individuals personally liable for the trust-fund portion of unpaid employment taxes — federal income tax withholding plus the employee share of FICA. The penalty applies to 'responsible persons' who 'willfully' failed to remit the trust-fund taxes. It pierces the corporate veil and is one of the most aggressive collection tools the IRS uses against small-business owners. Defense requires careful analysis of responsibility and willfulness elements.

It depends on the matter. CPAs are well-suited for return preparation, basic audit response, and routine controversy work. A tax attorney is the right answer when the matter involves Tax Court litigation, complex penalty defense, criminal exposure, evidentiary privilege (attorney-client privilege is broader than the limited Section 7525 privilege CPAs have), or significant interaction with state-government collection authorities. Many cases benefit from both — a CPA on the math and a tax attorney on the strategy.

Routine examinations: 6 to 18 months. Offers in Compromise: 6 to 12 months for the IRS to decide. Tax Court litigation: 12 to 36 months from petition filing. Collection actions and installment agreements can move faster — sometimes in 60 to 90 days. The tax matter has its own clock, often longer than civil litigation, and the calendar shapes case strategy.

Yes. We handle Georgia Department of Revenue audits, assessments, and appeals — including individual income tax, sales and use tax, and withholding tax. The Georgia procedure differs from the IRS's; deadlines are shorter and the appeals process is less forgiving. Engage counsel as soon as a Georgia notice arrives.

Each entity has different tax treatment, different liability protection, different administrative burden, and different exit characteristics. The right answer depends on your projected income, your number of owners, whether you plan to take distributions or salary, and your medium-term plans. We do the entity-formation analysis with the actual tax math — including the self-employment-tax savings of an S-Corp election versus the additional payroll-compliance burden — at the consultation.

An S-Corporation owner who works in the business must pay themselves reasonable compensation through payroll before taking the rest as distributions. Reasonable compensation is the salary that an unrelated employer would pay for the same work. For most active owner-operators in service businesses, reasonable compensation is rarely below 40 to 60% of net profit. Lowballing this triggers IRS reclassification of distributions as wages, with back payroll tax, penalties, and interest.

Even single-member LLCs benefit from a formal operating agreement. Without one, your LLC is governed by Georgia's default rules, which may not match how you want the business to operate, allocate profits, or handle changes in membership. Single-member LLCs without operating agreements lose meaningful liability protection in some Georgia courts. The cost of a properly drafted operating agreement at formation is small compared to the cost of resolving the issues without one later.

It depends on the practice area. William Pereira is admitted to both the Georgia State Bar and the Florida State Bar, so he handles tax controversy and business legal matters for clients in both states. Personal injury and wrongful death cases are Georgia-only — Hope Pereira is licensed in Georgia. If you need Florida personal injury representation, we will tell you that honestly in the consultation and help you find appropriate Florida counsel.

Tax controversy and business legal matters often cross state lines. A Florida business owner with a federal IRS issue benefits from one attorney handling the matter rather than coordinating between separate counsel in each state. William's dual admission removes the need to coordinate two firms on what is often one underlying problem.

Yes. IRS controversy matters are federal — the procedural rules are the same in Atlanta and Miami — but representation before the IRS, U.S. Tax Court, and federal courts requires bar admission in a relevant state. William is admitted in Georgia and Florida, and Tax Court admission is a separate national credential. We represent Florida residents on IRS audits, Tax Court petitions, Offers in Compromise, and collection matters.

No. Estate planning, wills, trusts, and probate administration are outside our practice. We are happy to refer you to qualified Georgia or Florida estate counsel who handle these matters routinely. Ask us during the free consultation and we will point you in the right direction.

If it is a personal injury matter: police report, photos of the scene and injuries, medical records or bills already received, and any insurance correspondence. If it is a tax matter: the IRS letter, any prior correspondence, and last two years of returns if available. If it is business: existing documents (operating agreement, contracts, prior correspondence) and a summary of the issue. If you do not have everything, that is fine — bring what you have.

Small property-damage-only matters with clear liability often resolve fine without counsel. Anything involving meaningful injury, contested fault, multiple insurance layers, future medical care, or government entities is materially harder to handle correctly without representation. Insurance adjusters know what they are doing; the value gap between a well-prepared claim and an unrepresented one usually exceeds the contingency fee. The free consultation is the cheapest way to find out which category your matter falls into.

Mediation is a settlement conference led by a neutral third party (typically a retired judge or experienced attorney) who shuttles between the parties to find a number both can accept. Most Georgia personal injury cases that settle do so at or shortly after mediation — usually after suit has been filed but before trial. Mediation is non-binding; either party can walk away. Preparation is everything; we treat mediation like a small trial.

A structured settlement converts part of a lump-sum recovery into a stream of periodic payments funded by an annuity. The payments are tax-free under IRC § 130 if structured at the time of settlement. Structures make sense for catastrophic-injury cases with long-term medical needs, for clients who would otherwise face creditor pressure, and where the after-tax math favors the structured option. William Pereira's tax background means we run the actual after-tax comparison, not a rule of thumb.

Yes. Communications during a consultation seeking legal services are protected by attorney-client privilege under Georgia law, even if you ultimately decide not to hire us. We will not share what you tell us with third parties. The privilege protects you whether or not the firm ends up representing you.