Initial Estate Planning Consultation
The information below is designed to explain what you should expect from your initial consultation with our law firm.
Typically, a client, their financial advisor or CPA will contact our office to set the initial consultation with one of our attorneys. Our staff will work with you in establishing a date
and time for your meeting. We will provide you with a Client Questionnaire that we ask you to return to our office prior to the initial consultation. This will allow us to make the best
use of your meeting time, by allowing us to better prepare for your specific needs.
In general, our office will schedule your meeting as follows: If your estate is less than $3,500,000 for a single person or $7,000,000 for a married couple, your consultation will be
scheduled for you to meet with Chip Morrison. If you have a federal taxable estate (your assets exceed $3,500,000 per spouse), then your consultation will be scheduled for you to meet with
Todd Villarrubia. We ask our new clients and their advisors to save any discussions they wish to have with the attorneys until the initial meeting takes place. Our attorneys can best
answer your questions in an environment that allows our attorneys to fully see all of the issues that are unique to your particular family.
Preparing for Your Initial Estate Planning Consultation
Our primary goal in establishing your estate plan is to shelter, conserve and manage your estate if you die or become disabled. By its very nature, the estate planning process will require
a client to give substantial consideration to many important and difficult questions. It is significant to understand the necessity of obtaining a client’s commitment to this process. If a
client is fully committed to this process, then we can properly meet all of the estate planning objectives. In order to do this in the most effective manner, we ask all prospective clients
to complete our Client Questionnaire. This will assist in directing your thoughts on the planning process and to aid our attorneys in being able to better understand your unique personal
circumstances. We ask our clients, and not their advisors, to complete this questionnaire so that it is accurate reflection of all of your information.
There is no need to go on a “treasure hunt” to find specific financial and legal documents, stock certificates or insurance policies. Instead, spend the time prior to your appointment
completing the questionnaire and considering the “who, what, where, when and why” of your plan.
First, consider who the important people in your life are. This may include a spouse, loved one, children, grandchildren, parents, and other friends. This may also include charities,
special causes, educational institutions or other groups which are significant to you. Prior to our initial meeting, it is important for you (and your spouse if applicable), to consider
which of these people might be recipients of your assets upon your passing.
The “what” part of this equation involves your completing a comprehensive listing of your assets as set forth on the second page of our client questionnaire. You will not need to list
exact dollar amounts, but rather approximate values of your assets. You should indicate any of the assets that are your separate property. You may also wish to include any potential
inheritance that may be received in the future. A detailed personal financial statement may be substituted for the asset section of our questionnaire.
After identifying the important people in your life and the assets you own, the next step will be to consider your objectives for those people and that property in the event of your
incapacity or death.
For example, if you have minor children, you will want to specify who will care for them if you become unable. Additionally, you need to consider whether your children are responsible
enough to handle an inheritance of your assets if you die today. If they are not mentally or emotionally competent to handle an immediate inheritance, then you should consider creating a
testamentary trust and naming a trustee. A testamentary trust is established in your will and the trustee could distribute assets to your family members as appropriate based on their
individual circumstances and the trust provisions. The naming of a trustee can be one of the most important decisions that you will make in this process. You should also name successor
trustees so that you have alternate people in case the initial person cannot serve.
In addition to naming a guardian for your minor children and trustee of your testamentary trust, it is also important to name an executor to handle your succession. Furthermore, you will
want to name an agent for a living will and power of attorney in case you became incapacitated. Your representative will help you manage your affairs, pay your bills, and sign tax returns
on your behalf should you become unable. Again, it is a good idea to have successors for each of these positions.
Typically, the initial consultation will take approximately an hour and a half. We will review the information provided to us in the client questionnaire and discuss the design for your
estate plan. The primary goal in our first meeting is to protect, preserve and manage your estate if you should die or become disabled. At the end of this meeting, we are often able to
provide a flat fee quote for the work that we will perform. Upon your decision to hire us, as over 95% of the people we meet with choose to do, we will normally ask for half of the flat
fee to begin work on your behalf, and the balance is due when the subsequent meeting is set to execute the documents. At the follow up meeting, we will want to make sure that all of the
assets that are governed by these documents (life insurance, retirement accounts and annuities) are appropriately structured. We will ask you to bring in the necessary forms to complete
any change requests at this time. Your financial advisor or insurance agent will be able to assist you with these forms. For your follow up meeting, we will typically have the document
drafts ready for you to review. We will make any needed amendments and sign the documents so that your base planning is in place. Usually, the primary phase of your estate planning can be
completed within three to four weeks after your initial consultation. As a courtesy, our office will customarily contact you the week of your appointment to remind you of the date and time
that we will be meeting.
If further planning is required (whether due to the fact that you have out-of-state real estate, federal estate tax problems, or similar issues), we can then address those issues in a
systematic way. Again, we will attempt to quote you a flat fee to handle any other work that you may require. Finally, we recommend periodic meetings every few years so that we can update
your planning as your family goals evolve and as the law changes so that your estate planning documents remain current.
Summary of the Client Profile Form
Use this Checklist before your visit to our office. Collecting the following information ahead of time will enable us to focus our time together addressing your
particular needs:
- Names and addresses of your immediate family members and people you would like to serve as executors, trustees and guardians for your children.
- Bank account information, such as balances, account numbers, locations of accounts and safe deposit boxes.
- Pension and retirement account information, including IRAs, 401(k)s, Roths, Keoghs, profit sharing plans, stock options and government benefits.
- Detailed description of any stocks and bonds owned, insurance policy information, including policy location and beneficiaries, as well as a copy of the actual policy.
- Copies of community property agreements, prenuptial or postnuptial agreements, divorce decrees and any previous wills or will codicils.
- An overall description of your income sources and assets, including real estate.
- A list of debts owed, including amounts outstanding and to whom they are owed.
- A list of specific “bequests” you want to make in your will, such as “$5,000 to my niece, Tipper.”
For your convenience, we have prepared this checklist in downloadable and printable PDF format.
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