How Our Firm Prepares You for Life
The Typical Experience
Your typical estate planning experience probably went something like this: You met with an estate planning attorney years ago and during your initial meeting things seems very complicated and you were extremely confused. The attorney seemed to know what he or she was talking about so you nodded and smiled. Because you needed to get this done for some “reason”, you had the attorney draft your documents, you signed on the line, and breathed a sigh of relief that your estate plan was “taken care of.”
When you received your documents, you promptly shoved them into a drawer somewhere, never to be looked at again.
You slightly remember your attorney telling you something about transferring your assets into the name of a trust, but you have no idea why or whether that was properly done. You also remember being told to update your retirement and life insurance beneficiaries, but chances are you forgot to request the correct forms and cover that step.
Later on, you realize that the guardians that you’ve name dare no longer the best choice for your family at this time. However, you keep forgetting to figure out how to change “that” and the last thing you feel like doing is contacting that attorney.
Time passes, and with it, your children become adults. Your net worth grows, and the laws change. All around you, you hear bits and pieces about protecting your assets from probate, estate taxes, and nursing homes. That little voice in your head surfaces and says something like, “You probably should revisit your estate plan.” Of course something always gets in the way and you never get around to it.
Then one day something unexpected and tragic happens – which could be as temporary as a hospitalization, or as lasting as death. On top of dealing with the emotional effects of this event, your beloved family is left with picking up the pieces. To start, they probably contact the attorney who initially drafted your documents. They get the bad the news that some of your documents are not compliant with the current law. They also learn that you failed to do anything to protect your assets. They also learn the trust you had prepared was never properly funded while you were alive so the probate process is necessary.
How do we know this? Unfortunately, this is a common experience for many of our probate administration clients. Estate planning is a preventative/proactive form of law. Whereas, probate administration is a reactive form of the law. Based on our experiences, we have uncovered that estate planning firms focused only on protecting elderly clients who were nearing death. Simply put, these firms are not focused on protecting thriving and growing families throughout their lifetime.
What makes Family Legal Partners, P.C. different is that we want to ensure that your estate plan adjusts with your changing family. To accomplish this important objective, we do things a little differently here.
We understand that circumstances, families, relationships, and the laws are ever changing. As such, we want to ensure that your estate plan continuous to meet the needs of your family at any given moment. As such, we provide all of our clients with a complimentary review of their estate plan every three years.
FLP also values relationship building and constant contact with our clients. To demonstrate this commitment to you, we do not charge by the billable hour when it comes to estate planning. Every plan we design is “packaged based” so you know what to expect right from the beginning. As a result, you will never be afraid to pick up the phone and call us with questions or concerns. This allows us to stay in touch and invest the time to properly customize a plan that’s perfect for your family dynamic.
Lastly, it’s easy to forget that wealth means more than just money and finances. FLP’s definition of wealth is family wealth, which includes not only traditional financial assets, but also Intellectual, Spiritual, and Human assets.
Most “traditional” estate planning attorneys never inquire into such important topics as your parenting values, the most prized possessions of your family, or the personal messages or stories you want to pass on to your family. Through our unique process we focus on capturing as much of this information as possible giving you the gift of true family wealth that can be passed on from generation to generation.
At FLP, we acknowledge how important it is for you to protect your family, your assets, and even yourself. We also recognize the critical decisions that lie ahead to ensure your plan functions as you desire. As your trusted advisor in the estate planning process, we assume your mission as our own. If you’re looking for a firm that is interested in protecting you and your family for life, please be sure to schedule your Family Legacy Strategy Session today. We look forward to providing peace of mind for you and your family soon.
If we can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to call us at (508) 803-1333.