Getting Started if You Don't Have an Estate Plan Now

To get started with your estate plan, download the Getting Started/Getting Finished Packet. (Please fill out and submit the requested information, and then the site will provide you with a link to download the packet.) It includes comprehensive estate planning information, an outline of my fees and how the process works, and a questionnaire that you should try and fill out before our first meeting. AN UNFINISHED ESTATE PLAN DOESN'T ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOALS. I WILL ASK YOU TO COMMIT TO FINISHING THE PLAN WITHIN SIX MONTHS AT OUR FIRST APPOINTMENT, AND WE WILL SCHEDULE YOUR SIGNING APPOINTMENT AT THAT TIME. If you don't finish in 6 months, I will bill you on an hourly basis for the remaining work in addition to the Flat Fee. I know this sounds daunting, but 3 months is plenty of time to get your plan done if you focus on it, so six months is more than enough.

Flat Fee Portfolios include the following:

• All of the essential estate planning documents.
• Flat Fee pricing.
• The transfer of your residence into your trust. (I do bill you for third party costs, such as recording your deeds with the county.) Each additional piece of California property transferred into the trust will be billed at $500/deed, this covers the cost of preparing the deed and the cost of recording that deed.

I do my best to do all of my drafting on a Flat Fee basis. It makes for transparency, and lets you ask the questions you need to ask to understand the plan. For certain, complex matters, though, when you need her help to draft customized plans for complicated family situations or for sophisticated business assets, I have found that hourly rates are the fairest, and most transparent way to offer excellent service for more complex matters. After your first meeting, and before you sign my engagement letter, I will discuss the proper pricing for your plan and we will agree, together, on the Flat Fee for your plan.

Flat Fee Portfolios include the following:

• All the documents you need for a comprehensive plan: a Living Trust, Wills, Durable Powers of Attorney, an Advance Health Care Directive, a Certification of Trust, and an Authorization for the Release of Confidential Health Care Information.
• Flat Fees: My Flat Fee process has been developed over many years to ensure the efficient completion of your documents, and the work to be done is reflected in the fee. Additional fees, billed on an hourly bais, will apply if your needs exceed the scope of services covered by the Flat Fee.  The Flat Fee process consists primarily of two meetings and one phone call:
• An initial planning meeting (at which we design your estate plan)
• A decision confirmation phone call (during which you'll finalize any open decisions and confirm your nominations and plan structure); and
• A signing meeting.
• Transfer of your residence into your trust.

To get your free copy of Getting Started Packet please fill out the form below.

If you, like many others, have been putting this off for ages, don't worry! My entire focus, from beginning to end, is to get your plan done efficiently and effectively. Getting Started is important, but Getting Finished is what matters.