Cameron Fathauer · Attorney at Law · Injury & Estate Planning

Two practices, one story

Both sides of the unexpected.

People are often surprised that one attorney does both of these things. To me, they were never two things. One practice serves families after the worst day; the other prepares families before it.

Because of what happened to me

Personal Injury

A driver’s carelessness nearly took my life when I was seventeen. I know the hospital bills, the insurance calls, and the long road back from the inside. Today I represent injured people through Schad Law, P.C.: car and truck crashes, brain injuries, wrongful death, and serious harm of every kind. The case review is free, and no fee is owed unless we recover for you.

How I handle injury cases

Because of what could happen to you

Estate Planning

My family faced my coma with none of the documents that would have made their decisions clear. Today I prepare wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, and when it is time to sign, we come to your kitchen table with witnesses and a notary. So the people you love are never left guessing.

How estate planning works

Cameron Fathauer holding a model of a skull, a reminder of his own brain injury

Why I do this

You never know what can happen. I know that firsthand.

I was a seminary graduate headed toward ministry when a traumatic brain injury nearly took my life. No warning. No time to prepare. My family had to make hard decisions without any of the documents that would have made those decisions clear.

I recovered, went to law school at Indiana University, and wrote a book about what those years taught me: Saving the Subject. The skull in these photographs is a model of mine. I keep it as a reminder of what my family faced, and of what every family I serve is really preparing for.

That crash was a personal injury case before it was anything else. And my family’s scramble, hard decisions with no documents to guide them, is the estate planning story. Both of my practices come from the same hospital room. In injury cases I stand with families in the years after the unexpected; in estate planning I help families get ready before it. I believe someone who harms you should be made to make it right, and I believe putting your house in order is one of the most loving things you can do for the people who depend on you. My job is to make both clear, careful, and done.

Personal injury · with Schad Law, P.C.

When someone else’s negligence changes your life.

I practice personal injury law with Schad Law, P.C. in New Albany, the firm where I trained and the courtroom side of my work: car and truck crashes, motorcycle and pedestrian collisions, traumatic brain injuries, wrongful death, and the serious harms in between, across Indiana and Kentucky.

I bring something to these cases that cannot be taught: I have been the client. I know what it is to wake up in a hospital with a changed body, a stack of bills, and an insurance company on the phone. That is why my clients hear from me directly, understand every step, and never feel like a file number.

Injury cases are handled on a contingency fee. The case review is free, you pay nothing up front, and no fee is owed unless we recover for you.

Start a free case review Visit Schad Law, P.C.

“Cameron was able to settle the case in a way that we felt was fair and equitable. We received a larger settlement than we could have ever received on our own. Through the whole process we felt treated both professionally, yet with care and relationship.”

Michael · Personal injury client

“Going through a car wreck is not an enjoyable experience, but Cameron did a fantastic job of making sure that I was compensated for my medical bills, my totaled car, and my time off work.”

Kayla · Personal injury client

“This was my first experience hiring a lawyer. He listened to me and made sure I felt heard throughout the whole process. I always felt at ease that he would take good care of my situation and represent me well.”

Maddie · Personal injury client

Estate planning · How it works

Three steps. One promise kept.

Talk with me

A free conversation by video or phone, as short as fifteen minutes or as long as you need. You tell me about your people and your property. I tell you plainly what you need and what you do not. No pressure. No scare tactics.

I prepare your plan

Every document is drafted for your family and reviewed by me personally, under Indiana or Kentucky law. Attorney judgment is what you are getting, and it is in every page.

Signing Day

We come to you. A notary and two trained witnesses meet you at home and walk through the signing step by step, so every document is executed exactly the way the law requires. You keep a complete, organized set.

And afterward: life changes. Marriages, babies, houses, diagnoses. When it does, we update the plan. You are not buying a PDF. You are gaining a lawyer.

Schad Law holds a 4.8-star rating across nearly 300 Google reviews, and more than 100 of the five-star reviews name Cameron personally. A few of them:

“Cameron gave me peace of mind knowing my family will have nothing to worry about.”

Doug · Estate planning client

“He covered many more details than I even knew needed talked about. He was easy to talk with and patient with our questions.”

Geneva · Estate planning client

“Setting up a trust at the time was very emotional for me. Cameron went above and beyond in a very calming manner to advise me and explain it all.”

Tracey · Estate planning client

Book a free consultation By Zoom or phone, whichever suits you.

What you get

The documents that carry a family through.

Every plan is built for your situation. Most include some combination of these.

Last Will & Testament

Who receives what, who administers your estate, and who raises your children if the unthinkable happens.

Revocable Living Trust

Keeps your home and accounts out of probate and your affairs private, with you in full control while you live.

Financial Power of Attorney

Names someone you trust to handle money and property if you cannot, and keeps your family out of guardianship court.

Health Care Directive

Your medical wishes in writing, and the person you choose to speak for you when you cannot speak for yourself.

Deeds & Trust Funding

A trust only works if your property is actually in it. We prepare and record the deed and walk you through the rest.

Guardianship Nominations

For parents, the most important paragraph in the whole plan. We make sure it is there, in the right documents.

The part everybody else skips

Your documents are only as good as the day you sign them.

Online will services end with a download and a checklist: print this, find two witnesses, hope you got it right. Courts regularly refuse documents that were signed wrong, and the family finds out when it is too late to fix.

That is why every plan we prepare ends with Signing Day.

Two trained witnesses, and a notary whenever your documents call for one, come to your home at your convenience.

They conduct the signing carefully, step by step, in the order the law requires.

If any question comes up at the table, I am on the phone with you, on the spot.

You finish with a complete, properly executed, organized estate plan in hand.

It takes about an hour. And families tell us it feels less like paperwork and more like a milestone. It should. You are keeping a promise to the people you love.

About your attorney

Cameron M. Fathauer

Cameron practices personal injury law with Schad Law, P.C. in New Albany, Indiana, and prepares estate plans for families across Indiana and Kentucky. He came to the law through the hardest classroom there is: his own traumatic brain injury, and everything his family learned in the years that followed.

J.D., Indiana University Maurer School of Law B.S., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville Licensed in Indiana and Kentucky Author, Saving the Subject (2024) President, Voice of TBI, serving brain injury survivors and their families Regular estate planning speaker at hospitals, churches, and community organizations, including caregiver workshops with the Norton Neuroscience Institute Husband to Chelsea. Father of four.

Cameron Fathauer seated at a table, smiling

Speaking

Invite Cameron to speak.

Cameron gives free, plain-English estate planning presentations for churches, hospitals, patient and caregiver groups, senior communities, and civic organizations across Indiana and Kentucky. No selling from the stage. Just an honest hour on what these documents do, from someone whose own family lived the reason they matter.

“He did a great job with a will and estate planning seminar at our church that was very insightful for all who attended.”

Bryan · Estate planning client

Request a presentation

Plain answers

Questions families actually ask.

Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?

It depends on what you own and what you want your family to deal with. A will works, but it works through probate: a court process that takes months, costs money, and puts your affairs on the public record. A revocable living trust moves your home and accounts to your family privately, usually in weeks, with no court involved.

As a rule of thumb: if you own a home and want to spare your family the court process, a trust is worth a serious look. If your situation is simpler, a will package may be all you need, and I will tell you so. Recommending the cheaper option when it is the right one is how I intend to keep your trust.

What happens if I lose capacity and have no power of attorney?

Someone who loves you has to go to court and ask a judge to declare you legally incapacitated, in a public proceeding, with evaluations, attorney fees, and ongoing court supervision. It is called guardianship, and nearly all of it is avoidable with two documents signed while you are well: a financial power of attorney and a health care directive.

This is the part of the plan that protects you while you are alive, and it is the part my own family needed and did not have.

What is probate, and why do people plan around it?

Probate is the court process for transferring what you own after you die. It is public, it takes months at best, and between court costs and fees it usually consumes a real percentage of the estate. Kentucky requires it for most estates over a modest threshold; Indiana has a simplified path for smaller estates.

Good planning either streamlines probate or avoids it entirely. Which answer fits you depends on your property, and that is a fifteen minute conversation.

“I don’t have enough assets to need an estate plan.”

Most people who say this are picturing wealthy families and tax lawyers. But estate planning is mostly about people, not money: who can talk to your doctors, who handles your bank account if you are in a coma, who raises your kids, who keeps the peace when you are gone.

If there is anyone who depends on you, you have an estate plan question. The size of the account is the least interesting part.

When should I update my plan?

When life changes: marriage or divorce, a birth, a death, a new home or business, a diagnosis, a move to a new state, or a falling out with someone your documents name. As a floor, pull the plan out every three to five years and read it. If anything makes you wince, call me.

Free consultation

Start with a conversation.

The consultation is free, and it is with me, not a call center. Fifteen minutes is usually enough to know where you stand and what your options are. There is no obligation, and you will never get a hard sell. That is a promise.

Tell me a little below and I will get back to you, usually the same day. Prefer to talk right now? Call my direct line at (812) 590‑1727.

Request your free consultation

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Zoom or phone — your choice.

Zoom video call. I send a link, you click it. No account, no download, nothing to install. Good if you would rather see who you are talking to.
Phone call. Call the direct line, or tell me a good time and I will call you. Evenings and weekends are usually workable.
In person, at your table. If you would rather meet face to face, we can, and when it is time to sign, we come to your home either way.

Direct line(812) 590‑1727

Emailcfathauer@schadlaw.com

ServingIndiana and Kentucky