Knowing What’s Important
When my daughter was born, I started giving more serious consideration to things we’d all rather not think about. Chief among them was what happens to my family if something happens to me?
That underlying question turned out to be the root of a much bigger decision tree than I anticipated. If you’re reading this, you probably have had some of the same intrusive thoughts: What if my spouse and I have another child? How can we do right by our child or children if something happens to both of us? How does life insurance factor into all this? What if I start a business or my current business expands? What problems are presented if I want particular assets to go to specific legatees if those assets are secured by a third party, like gifting a family home that is subject to a mortgage? Do I have to worry about estate tax?
Beyond just planning for what happens when you’re gone, there are documents that can spare your loved ones the responsibility of guessing what to do in the event you are too injured or disabled to make the decision. Most people have heard of living wills and health care powers of attorney, but may not know which is right for their family. Perhaps there is a benefit to having both - or does that only confuse the issue?
Alles Law estate planning services are designed to be comprehensive enough to meet the needs of the vast majority of people, without sacrificing affordability.
The reason for disclosing my own personal experience was to create a foundation for sharing what happened next. Some family members, for whom I’m named an executor, shared copies of their own documents with me, and they did not meet my expectations for documents prepared by an experienced attorney. On the other end of the spectrum, there are estate planning firms that do incredible work, but often their services are very expensive because they’re meant for clients whose estate planning needs are particularly complex. Alles Law estate planning services exist so that professional level work is available to families and individuals who want to protect their assets without spending all of them to make it happen.
What does this estate planning service cost?
Alles Law strives to provide transparency in pricing and, wherever possible, operate on a fixed fee arrangement rather than an hourly rate. This allows our clients to make informed value judgments and avoid worrying about the total fee being much higher than had been anticipated. The exact fee depends somewhat on the complexity of the documents, but the amount will always be fully disclosed once we have had a chance to discuss your needs. In essence, you’ll be handed a menu of potential estate planning instruments, and you can choose the ones that matter to you.
Here is an example, to give you an idea ahead of time. You can expect most wills to cost between $300 and $750, depending on complexity and specificity, with most people skewing toward the less expensive end. A health care power of attorney and living will with detailed contingency provisions would be $250 each. Many people only want one or the other, but both can be drafted to coexist as part of a cohesive plan. A living trust might cost $600-$1200 for a revocable trust and significantly more for an irrevocable living trust.
Here’s one last very important note: many couples execute mirror estate planning instruments. In any such case, the mirror set will be priced at half the normal fee.