FAQ's

Estate planning is essential because the State will decide the division of your assets at your death if you do not have one. Therefore, if you want to decide what happens with what you have worked for your entire life upon your death, you need to put the time into estate planning.

While a will dictates where your assets will go upon your death, an estate plan is a broader plan of action for your assets that may apply during your life and upon your death. An estate plan includes documents that detail what happens in the unfortunate scenario where you cannot make your own decisions and may also include Medicaid planning should you need long-term care in the future.

Yes. There are no guarantees in life. That includes living to old age. Ideally, it is best to establish an estate plan once you become a legal adult. It is not about how much money you have today; it’s about planning for your future and beyond. It’s empowering to make those decisions yourself. But equally important, if something happens to you, your loved ones will be grieving. Estate planning will remove the burden of what to do from them.

Incapacity planning falls under the umbrella of estate planning. It is a precautionary measure to prepare in case an unfortunate situation occurs leaving you unable to make your own decisions about finances and healthcare. Incapacity could occur due to a variety of tragic circumstances, including dementia, a car accident, or a stroke.

We recommend updating when there has been a significant life change. Major life changes include a marriage, a divorce, the birth of a child, and a child becoming disabled. You may also wish to update your estate plan when you’ve acquired new assets such as residential property or a business and as your investments grow. We often meet with clients to review what we have in place as their assets grow to ensure their plans continue to align with their goals.

Estate planning isn’t one-size-fits-all, so we cannot give an exact figure without determining what strategies will work best for you. Ultimately, the cost will depend on the strategies you choose for your estate plan. We offer flat fee pricing, so you’ll know upfront what the costs will be for each strategy.

You hear us talk about how one plan does not fit everyone. Because of that, we need to get to know you prior to presenting you with options. The initial meeting is just a conversation so that we can find out more about you, your family, and your goals. Before our first meeting, you will fill out a questionnaire to help gather information that will be needed. Please plan to spend around an hour with us.