Why Work With Me? Before Hiring an Estate Planning Lawyer Understand The Difference...

 

Many estate planning attorneys take a “one-size fits all” approach with their clients; they do this so that they can work with as many people as possible in a short period of time. The problem is that the client has an impersonal experience; but worse than that, this way of planning can lead to unintended results in the long run for the family.

 

When lawyers do not take the time to listen and consider a family’s personal circumstances, the result is that your Will & Trust Documents do not end up reflecting what your family really wants to happen. And usually there is no review or updating, so the plan quickly becomes outdated and does not work when your family needs it most.

 

Seven though you may pay less up front to get a standard set of documents (or even documents that are customized for your family), things end up much more expensive in the long run. Plus, you leave your family at risk of having to deal with an expensive, unnecessary court process during a time of tremendous grief.

 

Wright Law is right for you if you want to know that your plan will actually work when you and your loved ones need it most. If all you want is a set of legal documents, there are plenty of online resources you can use to create them. Or you can go to a traditional estate planning lawyer.

 

If what you want is to know you’ve got a plan in place that will work when your family needs it, and keep the people you love out of court, and out of conflict, and your assets out of the hands of the government, then I might be the right fit for you.

 

Here are Some of the Ways I Am  Different From Most Other Estate Planning Lawyers:

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1. All of my fees for estate planning are fixed fees agreed to in advance, so there are no surprises. At our initial meeting you will choose the level of planning and fee that works best for your family, so there will never be any surprises.
    

2. I keep you informed and make sure your plan works.  I don’t just prepare a set of legal documents for you and send you on your way.  I make sure your assets are owned in the right way, I make sure your kids’ well-being is properly planned for, I ensure everyone you’ve named in your plan knows what to do if anything happens to you. And, I make sure that none of your assets become part of the $58 Billion of unclaimed assets across the United States.
    

3. I review your plan every 3 years through - I foster a lifetime, ongoing relationship with my clients.  Throughout your life, things change.  You change; your assets change; your family changes; the law will definitely change. When planning with me, your plan will keep up with those changes.
    

4. When you work with me, you work with ME. No paralegals or legal assistants to filter what they think is important information to the attorney. You have access to me, directly, and I make the planning process incredibly easy and painless for you and your family. I also have a process for helping you make sure that your assets are titled in the right way, both now and over your lifetime.
    

5. I help you get your legal and financial house in order by helping you make smart choices about things like buying insurance, saving for college, and retirement planning so you never spend more than you have to or get taken advantage of by unscrupulous sales people.

 

I’ve been specifically trained as a Personal Family Lawyer® to plan for your life and death, and to ensure that if you have minor children, they are never raised by anyone you wouldn’t want or taken into the care of strangers. And, if your children are adults, I help you weave them into your estate plan with care and forethought that most other lawyers simply do not have the training to do.

 

Legacy Planning.  I believe that planning is about much more than just the transfer of your financial wealth. With all of my plans, I include a process to help you transfer your most important personal wealth to your loved ones, including your intellectual, spiritual and human assets - who you are and what’s important to you.

 

Before you engage an estate planning lawyer to help you plan for the well‐being of your money, your family and your life, there are questions you need to ask.  You need to ensure that the estate plan you put in place will really work when your family needs it and won’t end up just a pile of worthless paper after you are gone.

 

Don’t let a set of legal documents become false security that keeps you from doing what’s best for your loved ones.

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By now you've seen that Wright Law is something special, and because you love your family, and want to keep them out of Court and out of conflict, when something happens to you, you are ready to take the first steps to get a plan in place. I think that’s a great idea. You know your family deserves the kind of protection, guidance and love I provide for a lifetime. It's important that you know how my firm works because I do things a bit differently here than at other law firms. That's why my clients enjoy working with me so much.

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When you schedule your personal Family Wealth Planning Session, I block 2 hours on my calendar so we can focus entirely on you and your family during this time.  I will send you a package of information to complete before our time together, which will help you begin the process of getting your legal and financial life in order.  During our meeting together, I will guide you to gently look at what would happen for your loved ones and with your assets if something were to happen to you.  And then, we’ll look at what you want to happen and help you create a road map to get that plan in place as easily as possible.  Clients routinely say “Wow, if we had known how easy this would be, we would have done it years ago!”

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A Family Wealth Planning Session is $300 and if I create a comprehensive plan for you, that planning fee is applied to your legal fees for your lifetime estate plan.  In some circumstances, I will waive the planning session fee.

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Before scheduling your appointment, you will receive your Family Wealth Inventory & Assessment and other important information that you will want to review prior to your personal Family Wealth Planning Session. I must have your Family Wealth Inventory & Assessment returned to my office prior to scheduling your Session with me. Feel free to call me any time if you need assistance completing your Assessment or have any questions at all.

 

If you have existing estate planning documents, please make sure that I have your existing documents in my office at least a week before your meeting so that I can review them prior to meeting with you.

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On the day of your meeting, please expect to spend up to 2 hours with me. Our initial meeting has two purposes:

 

1. To identify whether there is a good fit between us, and...

 

2. To educate you about the law and what would happen if you died with your current (or no) plan in place.

 

By looking at what would happen under your current plan, you can identify what you would want to happen differently and then with my guidance you can make the decisions that are necessary (including choosing your own fee) to give you the peace of mind of knowing your family would stay out of Court, and out of conflict, when something happens to you.

 

Assuming that you and I determine that there is a good fit between your family and myself, AND that you identify specific ways you would want things to happen that are different than what would currently happen if something happened to you, you and I can design a plan for your family right away.

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Once we have completed the design of your plan, we will schedule a meeting for you to sign your planning documents approximately 4 weeks later.

 

I have a process of reviewing your documents with you that makes your plan so easy to understand that you will know for certain that I understood exactly the way you want things to happen when something happens to you and that your loved ones will be in excellent hands with my firm. Once you sign your planning documents, your assets and your family are protected as discussed during your design meeting.

 

I see this as only the beginning of our relationship. You may make changes to your planning documents at no charge for up to 90 days after you sign your documents.

 

At our final meeting during the planning stage of our relationship, we verify that all of your asset transfers are moving forward on track whether I am taking the lead or you are taking the lead with my guidance. I review your asset spreadsheet with you and ensure all of your questions are answered. Of course, if they aren't or they become cloudy later on, I am always available to answer your questions at any time in the future. And, there's no charge for that.

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After the planning phase is complete, the maintenance phase of your plan will begin. At no additional charge, I review your plan at least every three years and keep you informed about changes in the law and about other issues that affect your family and your wealth.

 

Finally, I am always here for you and I don't charge you for phone calls, faxes, or emails related to estate planning. I welcome your communications!

 

You'll be amazed at how easy and painless the entire planning process will be for your family.

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