The expense of consulting with an Estate Planning will certainly be more than do-it-yourself online document preparation services. No question that is true. For Estate Planning, the problems come later; and those problems will inevitably be much more expensive for your loved ones. Families are different, circumstances are unique, and life events change. All of these can be perilous for Estate/Trust Administration and engaging an excellent attorney in the preparation of your Estate Plan will minimize the risk of your plans going awry after you have passed. The central goal of basic estate planning is to avoid the need for a court-supervised probate administration.
Time-consuming, expensive, and complicated, the probate court process is entirely unnecessary if you are proactive. This means avoiding all of the related filing fees, executor fees, attorney fees, and year or longer administration required to simply distribute your estate to your loved ones or charities (the “beneficiaries” of your estate).
Like any legal representation, the main purchase is advice. For an Estate Planning attorney, that advice is crucial to ensure your wishes are followed and to avoid the probate process. Even simple estates can save thousands of dollars later by ensuring their documents are correct and current.
Take home as an example. For even a modest estate, where the only asset is a home valued at $500,000 (below the median home value in San Diego County), passes through probate, the executor and attorney fees set statute by the California legislature would be $13,000 each under the current probate code. That is a total of $26,000 of fees that directly reduce what your beneficiaries will receive, and that does not include court costs and expenses than can be in the thousands. And errors in your estate planning documents can lead to litigation that may cost tens of thousands of dollars on top of the statutory costs.
Low-cost options such as websites or quick turnaround firms may have been created by attorneys or overseen by attorneys, but it is unlikely an attorney actually sitting down with you to discuss your family, assets, and wishes. This is the weakness in their mode, and the only ones harmed will be you and your loved ones, which is why meeting with an experienced estate planning attorney is always the best policy.
Tresp Law, APC offers free consultations for all Estate Planning clients. We can let you know what plan works best for you and address any particular concerns you may have about the process and what it entails. We also handle Trust Administrations, Probate Administrations, and Trust and Probate Litigation. This is advantageous to clients because our experience litigating issues after someone passes away enables us to plan better to avoid litigation. We know how well-drafted documents stand up to court challenges.
Set up a consultation today to speak with a real attorney about your real situation. Leave the online business to those who think of estate planning as only an expense, and not an investment.
