How to get started

After your planning session, we will send you a complete list of all of the choices and decisions you made about your estate plan. This includes a list of your key people named as guardians, executors, powers of attorney, and trustees, along with other important decisions we discussed together. You will have the opportunity to do a review and then finalize everything so that we can start drafting your plan.

During your signing “ceremony” (yes it is official-feeling!), we will review all of your legal documents together and we will point out exactly where we personalized important legal language specific to your family and decisions. We will arrange the notary and witnesses for you.

The most important step of any estate planning process is to make sure you have updated ownership and beneficiaries of your assets in alignment with your Last Will or Living Trust. We go over exactly how you do this, both for your existing assets as well as new assets you acquire over time. Once you fund your Living Trust, you can rest assured knowing everything will pass to your family just how you intend.

The hallmark of an estate plan created with your neighborhood Personal Family Lawyer is our Legacy Interview process. We will give you ideas on things you want to record in a loving video for posterity, including important values for your children or loved ones, what matters most to you, words of wisdom, and anything you want your family to know about your final wishes.

And after your plan is complete, you want to make sure the key people named in your plan have exactly what they need to act in both an emergency and also for any ongoing administration of your estate. We help you inform the key people with the right information at the right time so that they are not caught off guard if and when anything happens to you.

Finally, what matters most to us is that we maintain a lifelong relationship with you over time. We know your life will change and the law will change. Your estate plan is not a “one and done” task – it is an evolving responsibility to your family and loved ones. We help make sure that you know exactly when your plan might be disrupted based on life events and the law by staying in touch with you over time and being here for you to update your plan when you need it.