Every person has an estate. Few of us have an estate the size and scope of Bill Gates, Andrew Carnegie, or Henry Ford, but nearly every person we know owns some type of property: a residence, farm, business, automobile(s), bank accounts, stocks and mutual funds, rights to life insurance proceeds, tools, hobby collections, valued or worthless heirlooms, household belongings, and probably a few other items of junk that no one really wants to inherit from you.
Estate planning is, simply stated, the means by which you make plans that express your personal preferences for the transfer of the ownership of your assets upon your death. For some people, that sounds like a rather morbid activity. Maybe it is. But, like the payment of taxes, death is inevitable; so get used to it. Either you make the plans or the government makes the arrangements for you.
An attorney is the professional to utilize for competent, knowledgeable, legally correct estate planning. Only an attorney has the training, the education, and the experience to understand how to prepare a legally sufficient estate plan for you. No one should attempt a root canal in his or her own mouth. Likewise, no one should attempt to prepare his or her estate plan, or use the services of an unqualified advisor. Use an attorney.
Legal Fees For Professional Services
Of course, there is a cost to you for having an attorney prepare your estate plan. Doing this type of work is the lawyer's way to support his family, and earn a living at his or her trade. It is reasonable to expect that you will be charged and you will be expected to pay a reasonable sum for the attorney's services. A lawyer's time and advice are his stock in trade.
The lawyer's role is to obtain directly from you the information necessary to prepare the estate plan documents -- Last Will and Testament, Living or Testamentary Trust, Durable Power of Attorney for Medical Health Care -- that assure your preferences for the transfer of ownership of your property are accomplished following your death. Also, if necessary, the lawyer willl arrange an estate plan that achieves reduction or elimination of estate taxes, if applicable due to the value of your estate.
Understandably, fees may vary from attorney to attorney, depending upon the attorney's level of expertise, experience, and dedication to client matters pertaining to probate and estate planning.
If you would like a list of the fees charged by my law office for preparation of an estate plan, just call and request a copy of my fee schedule. Or, you can attend an introductory conference to discuss an estate plan for you, receive a specific fee quote, and incur no obligation to proceed with my law office unless you make that choice after you have been given the information you need.
Simplifying Probate Administration
Probate is not the horrific nightmare and ordeal it may have been for your ancestors fifty (50) years ago. Today, probate has become a streamlined process that rarely requires the estate's administrator to appear at the courthouse for any type of formal hearing or proceeding. Usually, probate is administered under the guidance of an experienced attorney as an uncomplicated process, without direct supervision of court personnel. It is possible to maintain privacy and complete the process in a brief period of time, independent of outside influences and controls.
Property does not have to be "held or tied up" in extended probate proceedings. The process does not have to be lengthy, time consuming, or unreasonably expensive. The key is to select an experienced, reputable attorney to guide the surviving family members through the pathway of the probate process.
