FAQs

I need estate planning and want your help, what does the process entail?

1.       You click “Contact” and say that you want to schedule your “free 15-minute estate planning consultation.”

2.       We schedule a 15-minute phone call to discuss your circumstances.

3.       I will ask you questions about your family, your assets, your goals, and your concerns (if any). After this call, I will give you an estimate of what I think the fee would be based on what you’ve told me.

4.       If you want to proceed, I will ask you to sign an engagement agreement and complete a questionnaire about your family, assets, and liabilities. If you don’t want to proceed, that’s fine, you don’t owe anything.

5.       Once you have signed the engagement agreement and provided me with the completed questionnaire then we’ll schedule a meeting to discuss your unique circumstances in depth, the various options you have, and what my recommendations are.

6.       After this meeting, I will prepare draft estate planning documents based on what we have discussed and send them to you.

7.       You review the draft documents and we schedule a time to go over them. It’s not set in stone yet. We discuss questions, clarifications, or revisions that you may have.

8.       Once the documents are in final form, we schedule our signing meeting. (I understand that for some clients, mobility may be an issue, in which case with prior notice we can arrange for off-site signings for an additional fee).

9.       After the documents are signed, I scan them to keep an electronic version for my file. The electronic version will be provided to you along with the original documents, which you’ll want to store in a safe place.

My relative (parent, friend, etc.) passed away, and I’m named Executor/Personal Representative/Trustee. I want your help, what do I do next?

1.       Click “Contact” and say that you want assistance with “estate administration.”

2.       I will email you a short questionnaire with some basic information that should only take about five minutes to fill out.

3.       Once you return the completed questionnaire, I will schedule a phone call with you to discuss the matter.

4.       After the phone call, if the matter is one which I can help with and you still want my assistance with it, I will send you an engagement agreement to review and sign.

5.       Once the signed engagement agreement is returned along with an advanced fee deposit (if required), work on the matter can begin.

How much does it cost to prepare my income tax return?

The minimum fee is $800. Increased complexity of the return increases the fee. If your documents are voluminous, disorganized or incomplete, the fee will also increase because the fee is based on the amount of time it takes to prepare the return.

Why should I hire you?

I have many years of experience in my practice areas. I also have a Master of Laws in Taxation (LLM) in addition to my JD, which along with my experience preparing and filing tax returns, gives me a well-rounded, holistic approach to planning. For instance, nowadays the proliferation of retirement accounts (401k, IRA, 403b) means that estate planning even for estates under the estate tax threshold inherently involves at least some tax planning. My understanding of these issues allows me to provide you with better advice than someone who doesn’t understand the tax part of planning.