What to Expect from Your Initial Meeting with a Family Lawyer
Whether you’ve met with an estate planning lawyer before or it’s your first time, it’s important to understand how working with me is different.
Meeting with a Traditional Lawyer
An initial consultation with me is a bit different from a meeting with an estate planning attorney. In a typical consultation, the lawyer will describe the legal documents you need and will quote you a fee to provide those documents.
It might be difficult for you to know exactly what you need. There’s a lot to consider, and you’ll likely want someone to really walk you through — in detail — all of the things you’ll need to think about. Every family is unique and a will isn’t just about money or assets.
A thoughtful, customized and comprehensive family plan will encompass all of the things — and people — most important to you.
As a designated Personal Family Lawyer, I have been trained to help you think about your unique family situation wholistically. This will include assets, family members, guardianship, powers of attorney and more, outside of simply considering whether the cost of the typical documents fits your budget.
Deciding what you need based solely on the cost will likely lead you to make choices that won’t serve and protect your family, business, or assets in the best way possible.
Design Session
In contrast, my initial meeting with you is a two-hour working session, called a design session. During this meeting, you’ll educate me on everything you own and share a bit about your family dynamics. Then I’ll help you understand how the law would apply to you, your assets, and your family in the event of your incapacity or death. Together we’ll create a plan for how to structure your affairs, how you’d like to have your family supported, and how to keep track of your assets.
A design session is $750. But I waive this fee if you are willing to do some homework before we meet. This “homework” is a critical part of the planning process, and it will guide you through to find everything you own and document it. Just the act of completing this assessment will get you more financially organized than you've ever been.
Then, whether you create a full plan with me or not, you and your family will know what you have and how to locate it should anything happen to you. And, if you do create a plan with me, you can select the type of plan you want based on the different packages focused on what’s most important (and least important) to you, with a clear understanding of the impact of your choices.
Life & Legacy Planning
Estate planning is about far more than planning for your death and passing on your “estate” to your loved ones — it’s about planning for a life you love and a legacy worth leaving by the choices you make today.
My services go beyond simply creating documents and never seeing you again. I want to develop a relationship with you and your family that lasts not only for your lifetime, but for the lifetime of your children and their children if that’s your wish.
I Can Help.
If you are trying to decide whether the many benefits of using trust-based estate planning will work for you and your family, set up an appointment with me. Let’s work together to design a plan that will provide you with the right solutions and will work when you need it.
