Every estate plan we create with our clients consists of at least three meetings: an Initial Interview, a Design Meeting and a Delivery Meeting. Depending on your personal situation, we may have additional meetings and phone calls. When you call our office to set an appointment, we will send you a Welcome Packet that includes a Confidential Estate Design Worksheet. You will complete the Personal Information Form and return it to the office at least three days prior to your meeting. If it is not returned by then, we will call you to reschedule your appointment.
The Initial Consultation
At your initial meeting, we will spend an hour or so discussing your planning goals, your family, your finances and the most important relationships in your life. Only after educating ourselves about you are we in a position to educate you about the best options and strategies for the implementation of your estate plan. We compare your existing plan and start designing the framework for your new plan. We also discuss your time and financial commitments to design and implement your plan. With few exceptions, there is no charge for this meeting. All we ask is that you complete the Estate Design Worksheet accurately, discuss your goals, hopes, fears and dreams openly and that at the end of the meeting, you reach a ''yes'' or "no" decision on whether you want us to help you plan your estate.
The Design Meeting
Once you decide to proceed with the design of your plan, we will give you some homework to complete and bring to the Design Meeting a couple of weeks later. This meeting is the core of your planning and will last approximately two to three hours. Half of your planning fee is due at this meeting. If a living trust is part of your estate plan, asset retitling is part of our commitment to the success of your plan. Accordingly, the next step is an Asset Identification Meeting where you meet with one of our paralegals a week or so after the Design Meeting to identify all of your assets. This meeting lasts approximately an hour. If a living trust is not part of your plan, asset retitling is your responsibility, although we will be as involved as you want us to be for an additional fee.
The Delivery Meeting
At this meeting, we go through an in-depth review of each document we prepare for you to make sure you understand what we've done, the purpose of each document and how they all work together. We do not send you drafts of documents. Any changes to your documents will be made at your Delivery Meeting. After our review, you will sign the documents and we will witness and notarize them as required. You will also sign any asset transfer documents. The balance of your planning fee is due at this meeting. If we need to discuss any additional funding issues or financial strategies, we will schedule a followup meeting with you and any of your financial advisors you wish to attend.
Click Here to see a graphic of our process.