INVESTMENT IN YOUR FUTURE
Estate Planning
The decision to hire us is an investment in your future, but we understand that for most clients, their biggest concern is cost. We are 100% transparent with you about the cost of our services. It is difficult for us to price an estate plan for you upfront without knowing some details about your family, your assets, and your goals.
We allocate an hour for each consultation. This gives us time to get to know you, understand the dynamics of your family situation, and work with you to develop a plan to achieve your goals. This is also an educational process—you will leave with a wealth of knowledge about estate planning and advice specifically directed toward you and your personal situation.
At the end of your initial consultation, we will give you a price for what we propose. We usually give you several options that you can choose from, all of which will give you the results you desire, but with different levels of complexity—and cost—for each. At that point, you can decide whether you are ready to proceed and which option is most appropriate and affordable for you and your family.
While we do charge a minimal consultation fee, this fee is applied toward any work that you hire us to do related to the consultation.
Probate/Conservatorship
Before we schedule your consultation, we will collect as much information from you as possible to determine if we feel that our firm is a good fit for your case. If we feel that we are a good fit, we will schedule a consultation. If not, we will recommend to you several other attorneys who may be able to help you.
We allocate an hour for each consultation. During your consultation, we will discuss the specifics of your case to help you determine the best way to proceed. Sometimes you will need to open a probate estate or file for conservatorship for your loved one, but sometimes there are more efficient and/or economical means to achieve the same goal. We will advise you as to your options and help you to determine the best choice for your case.
During our consultation, we will also quote you either a flat fee or an hourly rate, depending on the type of case. We prefer to charge flat fees, but in some cases where our fees will need to be approved by the Court, we may be required to charge based on an hourly rate. We will discuss this with you and work with you to make a decision based on what is best for you and your case.
Fee Arrangements
We understand that not all cases are the same, and we do not have a one-size-fits-all approach to our fees. We work with you to determine the best fee arrangement for your estate plan. We usually can offer a flat fee style arrangement, where we charge one fee for everything we are doing for you. Most clients like this because there are no surprises. In some cases, however, there may be a specific reason that it makes more sense to charge by the hour. Click on the link below to learn more about our different fee arrangements and how they may apply to you.
Payment Methods
Regardless of the overall fee arrangement we settle on, there are several methods in which you can pay our fee. We accept cash, check, and credit cards for your convenience. Click on the link below to learn more about our payment methods.
Pro Bono and reduced feeS
Everyone needs an estate plan, regardless of the size of their estate or their income level. We partner with the Legal Aid Society to provide pro bono (free) estate planning to clients who meet their asset and income qualifications. There are also times when we consult with a potential client and feel that it is appropriate to discount our fee. Please click on the link below to learn more.