What to Expect
What to Expect
Regardless of the type of legal assistance you need, we want you to feel comfortable with our team, confident in our work, and informed about your case and the options available to you. Our goal is to develop solutions that align with your personal wishes. From the time we meet until your matter is complete, we are dedicated to you.
When our clients initially contact us, we set up an in-person meeting we call the initial consultation. The purpose of the meeting is to talk through your situation and needs and determine if we’re a good fit for each other. We’ll talk through your situation, answer any questions you have, discuss your options along with the pros and cons of those options, and the long-term outlook for each route. Finally, we’ll offer our professional recommendations from a legal perspective and explain the next steps and the path forward. Many clients only visit our office twice: once for the initial consultation and once for the final signing. Communication between the visits is usually via email or over the phone. However, for more complicated matters or for clients who prefer in-person communication, we can schedule additional meetings at our office.
Estate Planning Process
After you schedule an appointment with us, we’ll send you a questionnaire to complete and email back or bring with you to your initial consultation. The purpose of the questionnaire is to get you thinking about some of the bigger pieces of your estate plan, such as people you may designate to care for your children and make medical and financial decisions for you should you become incapacitated or pass away, as well as provide us with the basic information needed to help you plan effectively and efficiently.
After we get to know you and the specifics of your situation, we’ll present a variety of ways your estate plan can be customized to fit your scenario and wishes. We’ll also provide a flat fee quote so that you know the cost of services before moving forward.
Next, we’ll create a draft of your estate plan and email it to you for your review. This is your chance to make changes and corrections to your estate plan, as well as ask any additional questions you may have. Once you’re comfortable with your documents, we’ll set up a time for you to return and sign your estate planning documents.
Consultation for Probate and Estate Settlement
If you’re meeting with us because you’ve recently lost a loved one, we are here to help alleviate your stress so that you can focus on your family. When you contact us, we’ll schedule an appointment for your initial consultation and email you a questionnaire to complete. You’ll answer questions about yourself, your family member, his or her assets and liabilities, and other “interested persons”. You can either return the questionnaire before your consultation or bring it with you to your appointment.
At your consultation, we’ll discuss how probate or trust administration works, your specific situation and challenges, costs, and answer all your questions. From this meeting, we often have enough information to successfully open probate within a few days.
After probate is opened, we will manage the entire process and make it as easy as possible for you. Typically, a second meeting is set up to sign the documents and on occasion, clients come a third time to pick up the documents once they are accepted by the court.
