Step 1: Prepare for Initial Meeting
If this is your first time making an estate plan, you’ll need to make some important decisions. I will send you an Estate Plan Questionnaire to gather the relevant information. Don’t worry if you don’t have all the answers in advance. I will be happy to answer your questions and provide tailored recommendations once I get to know you, your family, and your priorities. By the end of our conversation, we’ll have a roadmap to begin building your estate plan. I’ll provide you a quote for a flat rate comprehensive estate plan package, which calls for 50% due upon completion of drafts and the balance due at signing. If additional fees or costs apply, I will outline them for you in advance so that you aren’t unpleasantly surprised.
If you are reviewing and possibly updating your estate plan, kudos to you for getting organized and staying current as your life and the laws continue to change!
- If you’re already a client, I prepared a summary of your estate plan documents and a property worksheet outlining your assets and liabilities. You’re welcome to mark up the summary and worksheet and send them back to me in a secure manner, schedule a phone call review, or meet me in Alamo.
- If you’re a new client, I’ll ask you to send me a copy of your estate plan documents. I like to read through these often lengthy papers and prepare an outline so that I may engage in a meaningful conversation with you. I’ll also ask you to put together a current inventory of assets and liabilities, and provide copies of any deeds, so that we may verify proper asset titles and beneficiary designations.
- Either way, we’ll discuss the changes in your life that may require revision to your estate plan documents. I’ll point out any legal updates that warrant your consideration. From there, we can determine the scope of service, and I will provide a quote based on my hourly rate (currently $400/hour) plus any relevant costs. If you don’t like what I have to say, I will cap your invoice at $400 for the services rendered to this point (often 2+ hours of my time), and you’ll have no further obligation. I appreciate that you’d rather have the quote upfront. I wish I had that superpower. Particularly if I have never seen your estate plan or spoken with you, I have no way of predicting the time or costs that will be involved.
If you are administering a trust or estate, please accept my condolences on the loss of your loved one.
- If the incapacitated adult or decedent was my client, I have a summary of his or her estate plan documents and a property worksheet outlining his or her assets and liabilities. I will be prepared to walk you through your legal and fiduciary responsibilities.
- If I did not represent the incapacitated adult or decedent, I’ll ask you to send me a copy of the relevant estate plan documents, if any. I like to read through these often lengthy papers and prepare an outline so that I may engage in a meaningful conversation with you.
- Either way, I’ll ask you to provide: (1) a certified death certificate or evidence of incapacity; (2) the decedent’s original will, when available; (3) a list of beneficiaries and heirs including their full legal names, relationships, addresses, and telephone numbers; and (4) a current inventory of assets and liabilities, including copies of any relevant deeds that are not already in my file.
- Attorney’s fees are billed at my hourly rate ($400/hour), plus costs, for non-probate administrations. The range of services varies wildly from one administration to the next. Probates involve court-awarded ordinary compensation based on a sliding scale applied to the gross estate, plus gains and income receipts, less losses (i.e., $4,000 for a $100,000 estate; $7,0000 for a $200,000 estate; $9,000 for a $300,000 estate; $11,000 for a $400,000 estate; and so on). The court may also award extraordinary compensation in various circumstances. Thus, the legal system recognizes that the complexity of estate administration is not solely related to the size of the estate.
Step 2: Sign Legal Services Agreement
If we decide to work together, I will ask you to sign a Legal Services Agreement. This contract forms the attorney-client relationship. It sets forth the services I will perform, details any excluded services, and outlines your rights and responsibilities.
Step 3: Draft Documents
Unless we agree to a quicker turnaround, please allow me 14 days to draft your estate plan documents or administrative paperwork. Upon receipt, you should carefully review the drafts. Let me know if you have any questions, concerns, or changes.
Step 4: Implement Estate Plan / Initiate Trust or Estate Administration
Either way:
- We will schedule a meeting or I will send you independent signing instructions.
- Notarized documents generally require a valid ID (i.e., driver’s license, senior ID card, or passport). If you don’t have any unexpired forms of identification, you’ll need to resolve this first or locate 1-2 “credible witnesses” who can confirm your identity.
- Medallion-stamp guarantees are not the same as notarization, The medallion may be provided by most banks and brokerage firms.
If you are signing estate plan documents:
- Wills require two disinterested adult witnesses. If you sign at my office, I will provide the witnesses. If you sign independently, you will need to arrange two friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc., to serve as witnesses. Witnesses should not be family members or other persons named in your estate plan documents.
- I may keep your original documents for a brief time, to process them and make my file copy. I will always return the originals to you. I recommend that you keep important documents in a fire- and water-resistant home safe. If you prefer a bank safe, please be sure that you designate a joint depositor. In all cases, someone should know where you are keeping the originals and how they can be accessed.
- Upon receipt of your original estate plan binder, don’t forget to review any remaining action items, which will be outlined in the cover letter. If you created a trust, remember that you must take affirmative steps to fund the trust. While privacy laws prevent me from completing most of these tasks for you, I am always available to assist you with this process.
If you are initiating trust or estate administration:
- This is the beginning of the process. Ask the beneficiaries to be patient. Find ways to involve them and keep them apprised.
- While some trust administrations can be completed in a matter of weeks, most will average 6-9 months. Trust administration may be slower if assets are hard to value, sales are pending, beneficiaries are uncooperative, or estate tax returns are required. Furthermore, some trusts will continue for an extended duration, perhaps for the life of one or more beneficiaries.
- Probate administration involves considerable delays. It will take 4-5 months, on average, before you are appointed to serve as personal representative for the estate. Then you must allow at least 4 months for creditors to file claims. If the estate is in a condition to be closed, you’ll wait another 4-5 months, on average, before the court hears your petition for distribution. The quickest, simplest probate, with the most diligent attorney and personal representative will take 12+ months. It is not uncommon for probate to last a year and a half or more.