How We Work

How can I get a free consultation?

I’ve now booked my initial consultation. What do I need to prepare for this meeting?

When and how do I pay?

I’m married. Does my spouse need to attend the meeting?

Can I bring my children, trustee and/or beneficiaries to the meeting?

When will my legal documents be done?

Can I see a draft of my documents before I sign them?

What if I need to change my signing appointment?

What if I have changes?

Q: How can I get a free consultation?

All attendees at our free Living Trust Seminar are offered an opportunity to schedule a free 90-minute consultation with an attorney. Typically, those consultations should be booked within 2-3 weeks of the seminar so that the information shared at the seminar is fresh in your mind. Depending on the circumstance, we may be able to offer free consultations with an attorney in our office without having attended a seminar.

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Q: I’ve now booked my initial consultation. What do I need to prepare for this meeting?

When you schedule an initial consultation with an attorney in our office, you will receive a Confidential Estate Planning Questionnaire (or Review Questionnaire if you already have a Living Trust). This questionnaire is lengthy, but is intended to provide us with all of the information that we need to properly advise and counsel you with respect to your estate planning. Your free consultation is for 90 minutes and if this Questionnaire is not completed prior to the meeting, your free meeting will be spent completing the Questionnaire. In addition to your Questionnaire, we ask that you bring your latest property tax bill, your last income tax return and, if you already have a Living Trust, a copy of your existing trust.

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Q: When and how do I pay?

If you decide to move forward and engage us to set up (or upgrade) your Living Trust, you will sign an engagement letter and we ask for a 50% retainer to begin work on your estate plan. We accept cash, check and credit card (Visa, MasterCard and American Express). The remaining balance will be due at your appointment to sign your documents.

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Q: I’m married. Does my spouse need to attend the meeting?

YES! If you are married and you have Community Property together, we cannot meet with one spouse while the other is not present. Similarly, we will never make changes or advise one spouse without the other spouse present. If you are married and you (or your spouse) have Separate Property, we may represent you individually and speak with you with respect to your Separate Property and an estate plan we may set up for your individually for your Separate Property.

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Q: Can I bring my children, trustee and/or beneficiaries to the meeting?

We understand that there are times when clients may wish to have their children, trustees and/or beneficiaries involved in the process of setting up their estate plan. We welcome you to bring them along, but please understand that our interest is in providing the best estate planning to our clients. As attorneys, it is our duty to make sure that your decisions are not being unduly influenced by any parties that may stand to benefit from the decisions that you make. So, while we welcome you to bring with you those that you wish to be involved in the process, they may be asked to leave a portion of the meeting so that we may speak directly with you, as our client, about your estate planning.

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Q: When will my legal documents be done?

Typically, the legal documents are prepared within 4-6 weeks of your initial consultation. Your signing meeting will be set up before you leave our offices, so you will know exactly when they will be prepared. Depending on the circumstances, we may be able to prepare your documents sooner (a rush fee may apply).

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Q: Can I see a draft of my documents before I sign them?

Most of our clients do not need to see a draft of the documents, but we occasionally get requests from clients to see a draft of their legal documents before they sign them. We can provide you a draft of your documents before you sign them, but require that (1) the remaining balance be paid and (2) you set up a time to come to our offices to review your documents.

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Q: What if I need to change my signing appointment?

We understand that things come up and you may need to reschedule your signing appointment. Your documents are dated, so the sooner you can let us know that you need to reschedule the better. If you reschedule within 72 hours of your signing appointment, you may be charged a $250 re-dating fee.

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Q: What if I have changes?

You may change your mind on a particular matter with respect to your estate plan or have changes that you want to make to your estate plan. If so, simply call our office and ask to speak with your attorney. Your attorney will get back to you within 24 hours and discuss what changes you wish to make. Your attorney will then quote you a fee to make such changes and if you wish to proceed, will send you a separate engagement letter to move forward with these changes.

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