Whether you have scheduled a consultation about preparing your Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney, a Trust, or Medicaid planning, or whether you are considering scheduling an appointment to discuss any of those topics, here is some helpful information you can expect when you come in for the initial meeting.
Is the consultation free?
Planning an estate involves some time, and it involves considering a number of factors. As an experienced estate and elder planning firm, we can provide many possible solutions to preserve your assets, provide you with help and protect your future. Because this requires offering opinions and strategies, we cannot offer a free consultation. Instead, what we offer is a comprehensive preliminary analysis of you current estate, your planning goals, and provide you with multiple planning options. The initial investment is a non-refundable $500. After the review, we will offer you multiple choices as to how to proceed, with no obligation. If you choose to accept any of our services, the initial investment will be accepted as a deposit on the ultimate fee of our services.
What if I don't want to do anything that you recommend to me at the initial strategy meeting?
That is fine. There are no additional fees, and the recommendations that we have made are yours to keep.
Do you offer a flat fee for your services?
Generally, our estate and elder planning services are offered as a flat fee service. There are never any hidden costs and the fees are spelled out in our straightforward one page fee agreement.
What should I do to prepare for the initial meeting?
We recommend that, at a minimum, you have a substantial understanding of what your assets are, where they are located (what banks, institutions, etc.) and in whose name they are held (individually, joint with your spouse, with kids, in trust for someone, etc.). We also recommend you come in with a general intent of how you want your estate to be administered - basically, you should know where you want everything to go. Finally, you should also know who you want to control things when you are gone - your executor, trustee, or guardian. Don't worry about how to do it, that's our job, and we can help you with that.
You will be asked to fill out a confidential questionnaire. This will help us put your estate into perspective and make the initial strategy meeting most effective. To download the questionnaire, you can click this link and print it out to bring to the meeting, or, if you like, you can also fill this form out on our secure server by clicking this link. Don't worry, the information will be confidential.
What types of services do you provide?
Our firm has been providing services in the area of estate and elder planning for nearly three decades. We prepare Wills, Living Wills, Health Care Proxies, Durable Powers of Attorney, Living and Irrevocable Trusts, as well as other services. It is our mission to make sure that you, not the government or the Court, get to decide you benefits from the lifetime of hardwork you have put together. Nobody should leave their estate to chance, and nobody should die intestate.
How much does an estate plan cost?
Well, that depends on a lot of things, the most important of which is what we are doing for you. Some people come in looking for a "simple" will, and, after the initial strategy session come away with an understanding that a "simple" will isn't enough for them. Others come in looking for an "irrevocable trust" without knowing why, or whether they really need it. The initial strategy session is an invaluable way to figure out what is the best option for you, and why. During the session, we will explain what we believe makes the most sense for you, and you can decide for yourself.
We look at estate planning as an investment in preserving your assets, providing you help and protecting your future, as well as the future of your family. You've worked a lifetime to build you savings, why not spend an hour learning how to protect it?
An investment in any of our estate or elder planning services is reasonably calculated to reflect the time and energy we put into helping you and your family.
