Overview of Our Estate Planning Process
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Our firm’s philosophy is that planning your estate should be a process, not a single event or transaction. We strive to develop a long-term relationship with all of our clients and their families and encourage them to engage in periodic (every 2 – 3 years) reviews of their documents. Our complementary annual review service helps to ensure that your goals and wishes will be honored as they evolve over time.
The Process
Our process begins when a prospective client or advisor calls our office. During the first call, we try to gain a basic understanding of your situation and concerns. We provide some information about our firm and schedule a time for you and your advisor, if desired, to meet with us. We send you a package that will assist you in gathering the information and documents that we need to evaluate your situation and legal options. The plan confirms your initial visit date, provides driving directions and more information about our firm. All engagements follow our firm’s standard process of Consult, Design, and Implementation. To make the most of our time together, we ask you to complete and return an Estate Planning Questionnaire 48 hour in advance of your initial appointment.
CONSULT – GAIN CLARITY
During your initial consultation, we get to know each other. We discuss your concerns and attempt to learn more about your personal goals and wishes. We also review the results of our evaluation and your planning options and how we can help. Fees, timelines, and expectations will be confirmed in writing at this time.
DESIGN
We review your specific planning goals in detail taking into account your family dynamics. We guide and assist you in designing a complete plan to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your assets. You set standards for your own care during a possible incapacity and make a plan for the transfer of your assets at death. The design phase often occurs during your initial consult, but may also require an additional meeting. We confirm your main decisions in writing and ask you to approve these before creating the final legal documents
IMPLEMENTATION
We then meet with you to answer any remaining questions and present you with a completed plan for signing. The last step of implementing your plan is making title and beneficiary changes as appropriate.