The “Legacy Estate Program” is our unique process that walks you along the seven stages of the estate planning journey.
Stage 1 is the Client Organizer which starts the process. It allows you to organize your thoughts and important information and share them with us before the initial consultation. This gives us an initial insight into your unique situation.
The next stage is to learn about your Goals & Concerns. This is our focus at the start of the initial consultation. We want to know what is motivating you to start the estate planning process and understand the problems you want to solve.
We require a $250 initial consultation fee which will demonstrate your seriousness of purpose about the planning process and our time together. This fee will be applied toward an eligible estate plan you choose to move forward with our planning recommendations at the end of the consultation. You will be asked at the end of the consultation to decide whether you want to move forward. Once making a commitment, you will sign our Terms of Service Agreement and pay one-half of the agreed fee in advance. We will also schedule a Signing Ceremony which typically is set 5-6 weeks out.
Stage 3 is called Positions of Responsibility. We reach this stage if you choose to retain our services. Here, we help you decide who to appoint to important positions of responsibility to help you manage your affairs while you are alive and after your death. Appointing trusted people to important decision-making roles is an often neglected but vital element of any good estate plan.
Next, we turn to the Legal Drafting. By this stage, we have all the information we need to start preparing the important legal documents that comprise your estate plan. During the drafting stage, we make sure you understand the main elements of your estate plan. After you have an opportunity to ask questions and request changes, we turn our attention to the all-important Signing Ceremony.
While we are drafting the legal documents, we seek to involve your Financial Team. Whether it is your financial advisor, CPA or other financial professional, we encourage you to get your financial team involved in the planning process if you are comfortable doing so. We believe clients are best served by a team approach where multiple people bring different viewpoints and skill sets. If you are not working with a financial advisor, we can refer one.
Then we come to Asset Alignment. This is a critical stage for an effective and workable estate plan, especially a trust. Think of it as the second phase after the legal documents are signed. Although your trust is legally in effect, the assets still need to be properly aligned with your trust.
Whether it is best to retitle an asset into your trust or keep an asset outside of your trust but use a beneficiary designation to have the asset payable to your trust, our Asset Alignment Coordinator will guide you on the best approach for each asset. This is another way that our unique “Legacy Estate Program” goes above and beyond and gives you confidence knowing your estate plan will be complete and buttoned up.
Finally, we get to Stage 7 called the Client Care Program. This is a unique program intended for clients who want to stay in relationship with us so their estate plan can adapt as life circumstances change. Your estate plan needs to work at that unknown time in the future when you die or become incapacitated. Between now and then, things may change such as your family situation, the law, and even your assets that need to be continuously aligned with your trust.
Having an estate plan that can account for these unknowns can be challenging. The solution is for us to stay close so your plan can change if it needs to. The Client Care Program is our platform for that solution. You can learn more about the Client Care Program at https://www.legacyplanninglawgroup.com/client-care-program/
If you are committed to solving your planning needs and want to work with our skilled and experienced team, the first step to get started is booking your 15 minute phone call.
During the call, we will find out what your planning needs are so we can see if we can help you. We will also figure out if we would be a good fit for each other.
At the end of the call, we will set up a time to meet with the team and create a plan that will protect your family and preserve your legacy.
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