Process

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First, I will send you a questionnaire to complete. Next, I will review the questionnaire and schedule a time to speak with you in person or over the phone about your goals for yourself and your family. After we talk, I will draft an estate plan, a set of usually 4-8 documents, each of which allows someone else to perform certain tasks for you on your behalf and tells that person how to perform those tasks.

 

The most significant documents in an estate plan are the will, trust, durable power of attorney, and advanced directive. A will allows someone else (a personal representative) to distribute your money, real estate, and possessions upon your death and tells him or her how to do so. A trust allows someone else (a trustee) to both manage and distribute your money, real estate, and possessions during your life and at your death and tells him or her how to do so. A durable power of attorney allows someone (an attorney-in-fact) to manage your money, real estate, and possessions during your life but does not tell him or her how to do so. An advanced directive allows someone else (a health care agent/health care power of attorney) to make your health care decisions for you and tells him or her and others how far you want others to go to preserve your life and maintain and improve your quality of life.

 

After I draft the right documents for your situation, I will send them to you for your review. Even though I will revise and proofread the documents before I send them to you for your review, while you are looking over the documents, I will revise and proofread the documents for a final time to make sure that they are ready to execute. After we have reviewed the documents, if you are satisfied with them, I will schedule a time for you to come to my home where you will sign documents and pay me. I will notarize any documents that must be notarized. After the documents are signed by the appropriate parties and notarized, you must complete any additional tasks that I ask you to complete to give your estate plan what it needs to control, manage, and distribute your money, real property, and possessions.