Life and Legacy Planning is our approach to traditional estate planning.  

Life and Legacy Planning is more than putting a Will in place for your family to read after your death. Rather, it is our comprehensive and thoughtful approach to helping you identify and take care of the things that matter most to you when it comes to love, family, assets, life, and death.

Life and Legacy Planning:

• Helps you get clear on and care for what matters most to you and your loved ones;
• Ensures that your wishes are known in the case of your incapacity;
• Provides protection and clear instructions for the care of your children and pets in case of the unexpected; and
• Provides peace of mind in knowing that your loved ones will be as prepared as possible when they need it most.

The  basic estate planning legal documents – a will, trust, durable power of attorney, healthcare directive, health power of attorney, and other related documents – are of course part of the package. But Life and Legacy Planning is about more than documents. It’s the development of a customized plan and the guidance to make sure that the plan works: that your assets are identified and titled in the right way, periodic reviews to ensure that the plan stays up-to-date with changes in the law and your needs, and that you and your family know where to turn for help.

A Will is a legal document through which you can distribute some of your assets upon death. Other assets may be distributed not based on your Last Will but on your beneficiary designations, if you have those set up. Over two-thirds of U.S. adults do not have a last Will, and for those who do, most Wills do not fully take care of their assets and their loves ones. Upon death, the only way to make a Last Will effective is to file it in the probate court, which is a public and normally lengthy process that delays your family’s access to what you have left behind.

Think of a Trust as a “Will substitute,” with more flexibility and privacy built in. Just as a Last Will distributes your assets upon death, a Revocable Living Trust does the same. One of the upsides of a Trust over a Will is that a Trust need not be filed with the probate court to be effective.  As a result, a Trust remains a private document pertaining to your private affairs, whereas a Last Will becomes a public document after you pass away no matter how private you were during your lifetime. In addition to guiding the distribution of assets after your death, a Trust allows you to control how your assets are used and distributed during your life in the event of your incapacity. Of course, there are additional types of trusts that serve different purposes, and each family’s unique situation must be taken into account to design the right overall estate plan, which may include one or more Trusts.

In the world of estate planning, the best outcome for you, your family, and your loved ones will be achieved only by working with a lawyer who encounters estate planning situations daily. You have worked your whole life for what you have and the relationships you have created. Unfortunately, some families collapse after the death of a loved one because they either did no planning at all, or if they did, it was through an online platform that knew nothing about their family or circumstances and that ultimately failed them when their family needed help the most. We encourage a lifelong relationship between you and your estate planning attorney so that you have a lawyer for life to be there for your family when you cannot be.

This is the most frequently asked question in estate planning (and car repair, and home renovation…). And we get it. Cost is a sensitive topic when it comes to choosing a professional to guide you.

We offer three flat-fee planning levels so that you know exactly what you are committing to and there are no surprises. After our comprehensive Life and Legacy Planning Session, you will feel empowered to pick your own price based on whether you need enhanced protections or decide that they aren’t appropriate for your circumstances. We designed each planning level at the intersection of affordability and effectiveness, and you will get to pick your fee based on your goals, needs, and budget. While we cannot quote fees online or over the phone, we invite you to check out our upcoming educational events where we teach you things about estate planning you would not even know to ask. We will also cover our unique meeting process and fee schedule so that you know exactly how to take the next steps at the best time for you and your family.

Your estate plan works no matter where in the U.S. you might physically be (such as on vacation) or might move to. This said, we always recommend finding your neighborhood Personal Family Lawyer to review your out-of-state plan to help you ensure you make any necessary updates based on differences in state law.

A Last Will is limited in how it can protect your children. First, a Last Will is effective only once you pass away and once the document is filed with and accepted by the probate court. You may need a trusted guardian for your children long before the moment you pass away. Second, a Will can identify the person or people who you would choose to raise your children, but does not appoint short-term temporary guardians in case of a short-lived emergency or to step in while your chosen long-term guardian travels to your kids. Your Kids Protection Plan will leave no stone uncovered or contingency unplanned for. You name both short-term and long-term guardians and ensure that everyone you trust has exactly the information they need on-hand at any moment to care for your children.

A Kids Protection Plan is one piece (a very important piece) of your overall estate plan, and an estate plan is not simply a Last Will, as many believe. Parents with minor children need both the traditional estate plan that every adult needs as well as a kids protection plan.

In the world of kids protection, the best outcome for you and your children will be achieved only by working with a lawyer who encounters kids protection planning situations daily. You are here in this world to raise your children the best way you know how, but unfortunately, some families collapse after the death of a parent because they either did no planning at all, or if they did, it was through an online platform that knew nothing about the most comprehensive way to protect children. We encourage a lifelong relationship between you and your estate planning attorney so that you have a lawyer for life to be there for your children when you cannot be.

This is the most often asked question in estate planning, and that is okay – we know the topic of cost is a sensitive one when it comes to choosing a professional to guide you. We have designed our fees on a flat-fee basis only so that you know exactly what you are committing to and there are no surprises. While we cannot quote fees online or over the phone, we invite you to check out our upcoming kids protection planning events where we teach you about our unique meeting process and fee schedule so that you know exactly how to take the next steps at the best time for you and your children.