As you can imagine, we get the question “how much should my estate plan cost” quite frequently.
And, it’s a good question that I want to answer for you as clearly as I can, given that there is not a “one-size fits all solution” for every family, and I would run quickly away from any lawyer who can tell you exactly what your plan would cost via email or over the phone, without a comprehensive discovery process to understand you, your family dynamics, and your assets.
One-size fits all solutions for estate planning result in failed plans. A failed plan means your family is going to pay, and it’s going to cost them the time and money you thought you were saving, but likely at least 2-4 times over. I know this from personal experience, and it makes sense that you haven’t learned it yet, unless you’ve already had a negative experience after the death or incapacity of a loved one.
Shopping around for an estate plan based on price (because you don’t know any other way to shop for an estate plan), or even using a “legal insurance” program, leaves your family with a set of documents that likely will not actually work when your family needs them.
If you’d like to read more about this, please read my article here on “how shopping around for an estate plan could leave your family with an unexpected, expensive, unintended mess.”
In the meantime, here’s what I can assure you:
Our estate planning services are priced at the intersection of affordability and effectiveness, and we have a whole process and system in place to help you to choose the right plan (and the right fee) for you, based on your unique circumstances.
We start all of our plans with a Comprehensive Planning Session, which is designed to get you more financially organized than you have ever been before, and ensure that no matter what happens, none of your hard-earned assets will be lost to the State Department of Unclaimed Property, when something happens to you.
Even if you never do any planning with us, the Comprehensive Planning Session alone is a hugely valuable process for you and your family, because you will create a full inventory of your assets and ensure your family knows what you have, where it is and how to find it when something happens to you.
Then, when we meet, we will review everything you own, and discuss everyone you love, and you will understand exactly what would happen to everything you own and everyone you love, in the event of your death or incapacity.
If you do not have a plan, we will cover the plan the State has for you. If you do have a plan, we will review your current plan with you. (We call this an estate plan review and check-up).
If you are not happy with your current plan (or the plan the State has for you), you will tell us what you would want to change, and we will look at the most effective, efficient and affordable way to achieve your goals.
Here’s the most important part for you to know about this: you will be making informed, educated, empowered decisions for the people you love, not just shopping around based on price.
And the best part is that as part of this process, you will actually choose your own fee based on your budget and the planning options that are most important to you and your family. There truly is no one size fits all choice.
We have created a unique process to educate you quickly and effectively so you can make empowered, informed choices about what you want for the people you love, so that you aren’t simply choosing the cheapest option because you don’t have any other basis for making your decisions. And, we are thorough yet efficient. We typically end up having 3-6 meetings by the time you have completed your planning.
Okay, now having said all that, you probably want to at least know a range of what your estate planning will cost.
With all of that background in mind:
A Comprehensive Planning Session process is $900. An Estate Plan Review and Checkup is $950. Those fees are applicable if you come in fully uneducated without doing any homework ahead of time.
If you’d like to do a little preparation ahead of time, and secure your appointment time with a credit card (though nothing is charged on your card so long as you keep your appointment and turn in your homework ahead of time), you can follow the instructions and schedule here and use the coupon code indicated to commit that you will complete your homework and submit it to me prior to our meeting, so I can prepare ahead of time.
That saves me time, and saves you money.
Our three levels of planning for a comprehensive plan (or update of your existing plan) range between $3,000 and $8,000, for a married couple, depending on the choices you make during the Comprehensive Planning Session. If you are single, planning is discounted from there, based on the specifics of your unique situation. The Comprehensive Planning Session is designed to get to the right plan, and the right fee, for you.
If after reading this, you are ready to make informed, empowered, educated decisions for the people you love (instead of just shopping around for the cheapest plan, which is unlikely to work when your family needs it), get started by booking your Comprehensive Planning Session (or Estate Plan Review and Check-up) here.
We hope this helps give you some perspective and information and look forward to talking with you. If you’re interested in creating an estate plan to protect your family and loved ones, and keep them out of court and conflict, we would love to speak with you. Reclaim Your Legacy!
Book your free 15 minute discovery call here.
In Your Service,
PS – In my mind, the real purpose of a properly executed Estate Plan is to take care of the people you love, protect your family for the future, maximize the assets you pass on to the people you love and cherish, and keep your family out of Court and Out of Conflict. This is a very important and noble part of LIVING! Lavelle Law Group, APC would be honored to help educate you and assist you and your family with this important part of life.
Let’s talk –
Joseph Lavelle (Lavelle Law Group)
1350 Columbia Street, Suite 500
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 515-1498