Our Estate Planning Process
Initial Free Consultation
Planning and Design Session
Drafting
And Review
Signing
Session
Ongoing
Services
1. Initial free consultation:
This is a free consultation with our attorney and is typically by phone or video conference. This is a good time to ask general questions about estate planning. If you feel we are a good fit to work together, we will move forward with scheduling your Planning Appointment. You will need to complete online worksheets that include your basic inventory and family circumstances at least one day prior to our meeting in preparation for it. Paper worksheets can be provided if you don’t have internet access.
2. Planning and Design Session:
The Planning and Design Session uses the worksheets you completed to give us an idea of what your current family situation and needs are. This session can be done virtually or in-person (within the Houston area). During the Planning and Design Session, you meet with our attorney to design an Estate Plan that specifically addresses your family needs. All Estate Plans are done on a flat-fee basis so you don’t have to worry about hidden fees coming up throughout the process.
If you choose to proceed, at this time we will provide you with our legal fee agreement. We charge 50% of the agreed-upon price upfront. That money will be placed in our trust account until completion of your services. We accept all forms of major credit cards, Zelle, Venmo, and cash or check. The remainder will be due at the signing session.
3. Drafting and Review
During this stage, your entire Estate Plan is drafted within 1 – 2 weeks of signing our legal fee agreement and paying your invoice. An Estate Planning summary is sent to you for your review and we send you any follow-up questions we have. During this stage we use our online secure client portal to share documents and communicate with each other. After you review the summary, you then send back any questions or revisions using our secure client portal. You will also meet with your attorney virtually or on the phone again during this stage to go through all your estate planning documents, answer any questions, make necessary changes, discuss trust funding, any necessary witnesses for signing and next steps.
4. Signing Session
At this stage, we have an in-person meeting where you sign your Estate Planning documents. If a will is prepared for you, two witnesses will need to be present. Our hope is at the end of the meeting, you will feel a tremendous weight lifted from you and a feeling of accomplishment for protecting your family.
5. Ongoing Service
All our estate packages come with unlimited lifetime modifications. If you have a change in circumstance or simply change your mind about how you want your assets to be distributed, let us know and we will help update your documents at no cost to you. We are always here for you if you have any questions and we do not charge you for follow up questions.
