Estate Planning

Estate Planning is about more than Money

In our estate planning practice, the most tangible result is often a set of documents: a will, a living trust, powers of attorney, living will, and others. But the documents are just the beginning.. Counseling with the client helps us to prepare estate planning documents that customized to meet the client’s true objectives. Then, we provide a formal updating program so that our clients’ have plans that are always the best that we can produce, taking advantage of modifications in the law, changes in our clients’ lives, and improvements in the way we practice law.

An important component of our services is the educational approach we take. We understand that our clients can only feel comfortable with their estate planning if they have been educated on how it works. Beginning with our Winning The Estate Planning Game Workshop, we educate our clients on important concepts about estate planning. These concepts involve a great deal more than estate taxes. We discuss asset protection, divorce protection, disability planning, and more. We believe that teaching our clients about these concepts is only the first step.

We also have to teach their “helpers”, the people who will carry out the estate plan. That’s why we hold our successor trustee training. We also realize that people don’t learn everything the first time they hear it. That’s why we reinforce the important concepts at our successor trustee training and client update programs. Because these steps greatly increase the chances that our clients’ estate plans will actually work, we are able to then make our own commitments on the cost of settling the estate. We fully disclose how attorney’s fees will be calculated and the maximum amount of attorney’s fees we will charge.

Of course, we help clients who need more than the foundation of a living trust. When the client’s needs indicate a need for advanced tax planning, we can integrate irrevocable life insurance trusts, family limited partnerships, and other advanced techniques.