That’s actually a trick question.  The truth is you already have one, even if you’ve never signed anything. State law tells us what to do with a person’s property if they haven’t expressed their wishes in the legally proper way. The government gives you a default estate plan. It’s called “intestacy.” The default estate plan rarely matches a person’s true wishes and often creates extra headaches for their loved ones when they have to handle the estate in court. Responsible adults try to do better than intestacy.
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Most of us don’t want to leave our family a big mess to deal with when they are trying to grieve. Estate planning allows you to minimize the hassle that your folks have to endure during their saddest days. It also allows you to reduce other costs like taxes and probate fees. Get your ducks in a row so your family doesn’t have to wrangle them for you later.

You can do it yourself—just like you can cut your own hair. People often regret both. An attorney helps you avoid mistakes that could cost your family time, money, and sanity later on.

A basic estate plan usually has:

1. A “Last Will and Testament” describing who will be given what and appointing someone to supervise the process.
2. A financial “Power of Attorney” that lets you pick someone to manage your money and business if you are alive but become medically unable to do so yourself.
3. An Advance Medical Directive that lets you pick someone to manage your health care decisions if you are alive but become medically unable to do so yourself. Your Advance Directive also includes instructions to your appointed Agent about those decisions.

Probate is a court process where a judge makes sure your will is real and your debts get paid. It’s basically the long line at the airport security of estate planning—slow, crowded, and nobody’s having fun. People try to avoid it because it takes time, costs money, and makes your financial business public.

I’ll be straight with you: I want to work with people who need help the most and I need to make enough income to take care of my own family.

This firm strikes that balance by charging market rate so that I can offer a sliding scale to those who need it. There is a limit. The scale cannot slide so far and so often that we cannot make a living. I’m confident that there are enough good people that are able and willing to pay market rate for high quality service, and indirectly help the families that struggle to pay that same rate.

Market rate for a basic estate plan is about what you would pay for a mid-range laptop. Unlike your laptop, your estate plan lasts longer and saves your family money and aggravation in the long run.