Do you want to get started on the estate planning process?
Contact us by phone or email to schedule an appointment to:
- create or update your estate plan
- discuss long-term care planning
- get assistance with estate or trust administration, including probate, or
- discuss other legal services you may need
Joanne Loetz will schedule an appointment. When you call or email us to set up an appointment (telephone call or video conference), Joanne will schedule an appointment for you, explain our process (including billing), and send you a secure link to our questionnaire.
For our Estate Planning Clients. We ask all of our estate planning clients to complete a Client Questionnaire before our initial meeting so that the meeting is informative and productive. The Questionnaire is completed through a secure portal (Decision Vault), and can be completed and submitted electronically on your computer or smart phone. Through this secure portal you may also upload and share any documents that may be requested by the attorney in preparation for your initial meeting.
If you would like to know more about our process before you contact us, below are some frequently asked questions.
Do you charge hourly or is there a flat fee for your services? Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC generally charges a fixed fee for preparation of an estate plan (Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, health care documents, etc.). Our fixed fees for estate plan documents range from about $3,000 to $8,000+ depending upon a client’s particular situation.
Estate and trust administration services may be billed on an hourly basis or a fixed fee basis.
Is there a fee for the first meeting? Yes, Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC charges a non-refundable fee of $400 for an initial estate planning meeting. This fee is then applied toward the fixed fee for the estate plan. For example, if the flat fee for your estate plan is $5,600, the $400 you pay at the initial meeting will be credited against the fixed fee leaving a balance of $5,200.
Is there anything I should do to prepare for my initial estate planning meeting? You may want to review our Fiduciaries Worksheet which explains the roles of the various fiduciaries who you will appoint in your estate plan. This includes for example, the Personal Representative under your Will (formerly called Executor), Guardians and Conservators for minor children, a Health Care Agent, and an Attorney-in-fact. Understanding a little bit about the duties and responsibilities of these positions may help you to decide who is best suited to serve in these roles. Some clients find it useful to print the Fiduciaries Worksheet and make notes about people they are considering naming for discussion with the attorney.