What to expect from (and how to prepare for) an initial Estate Planning meeting

The decision to create an Estate Plan is among the most important a person can make. For many,  taking the first step in that process is also quite intimidating. At Simpson Law Firm, we believe it doesn’t have to be that way! 

An initial consultation with our office is quite different than a typical Estate Planning consultation. A typical “initial consultation” would be a meet-and-greet type of meeting in which the lawyer tells you which documents you need to put in place and quotes you a fee to provide those documents.

In such a meeting, it will likely be difficult for you to know exactly what you need for your unique family situation and how to make the right decision, outside of simply considering whether the cost of these documents fits within your budget or not. Unfortunately, deciding what you need based solely on the cost of documents will likely lead you to make choices that won’t actually serve and protect your family and assets.

In contrast, our initial meeting with you is a two-hour working session called an Estate Planning session. Prior to this, we’ll send you a personalized package of materials that will guide you in locating and listing each of your assets.

What we consistently see is that, surprisingly, many people do not have a clear awareness of what they own or where to find their assets. This is the reason there are more than $58 Billion (yes, Billion with a “B”) of lost and unclaimed assets held by state and federal agencies. Oftentimes, people become incapacitated or die, and their family simply overlooks these assets.

We know you haven’t devoted years of your precious time and energy to build your Estate Plan only for your heirs to lose track of it when something happens to you. That’s one reason Estate Planning is so beneficial. Whether you decide to create a full plan or just redesign the one you have, at the very least your family will know what you have and how to locate it should anything happen to you.

During your Estate Planning session, we’ll guide you to a complete understanding of what would happen to everyone you love and everything you own should something happen to you—whether it’s under your current plan or the plan the state has for you if you don’t have an Estate Plan yet. From there, you can decide if that plan is how you want things handled or if you’d want a different outcome, in which case we can design a plan to ensure things go exactly the way you want in your absence.

Finally, if you do decide to create a plan or redesign an existing one, you can select the type of plan you want based on the different packages we’ve created, which allow you to literally choose your fee based on what’s most important to you, what’s not important to you, and a clear understanding of the impact of your choices.

Estate Planning is a true educational opportunity for you to ensure you’re doing the right thing by your loved ones. This investment of your time now will save your family countless hours of heartache and work down the road while also keeping them out of conflict and out of court.

Unfortunately, death is unavoidable. You can, however, make it far easier on the people you love with the choices you make now. Facing the reality of this fact today allows you to make choices that will let you enjoy your life even more; our clients report a huge level of relief after meeting with us, and they frequently say they wished they’d done it sooner.

We’d love to meet with you for an Estate Planning session. Simply give us a call to get scheduled. Additionally, if you have a relative or friend who’d benefit by getting their affairs in order, pass this article along to them and tell them to call us. It’s our mission to keep the families in our community out of court and out of conflict, and it all starts with Estate Planning. Because, really, your family IS worth it.

This article is a service of Simpson Law Firm. We do not just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. We offer an Estate Planning session, during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before and we will assist you to make all the best choices for the people you love. You can begin by contacting us here, https://simpsonestatelaw.com/contact-us or calling us at 803-764-9555, and one of our friendly client service assistants will help you set up your consultation!