HOW DO I CREATE A PLAN AND WHAT ARE THE TYPICAL COSTS INVOLVED?
Since each attorney's charges can be different, we cannot tell you what every attorney would charge for creating an estate plan. The most common method used by qualified attorneys is to charge for the work on a reasonable hourly basis. Before making any written commitment to have an attorney prepare estate planning documents for you, it is important that you be aware of the typical hourly rate charged for these services in your general geographic area. For example, if the typical hourly attorney fee for preparing correct and effective estate planning documents is in the range of $200 to $300, it would be illogical to pay $500 per hour for exactly the same work. It is also important to know what total charges are typically made by attorneys in your area to prepare a complete estate planning portfolio. How can you do this? There are several ways. For example, you could ask friends and acquaintances who have trust portfolios to tell you what they paid or you can simply call 2 or 3 estate planning attorneys to get an estimate of their fees for this work. If you find the typical fee range to be between $1,500 and $2,500, depending on the complexity of the work, that is an excellent guideline in deciding which attorney to use. It is extremely important to remember that the use of a fancy fake leather binder to house the estate planning documents or the use of documents with extreme length and complexity are NOT accurate indicators of the quality of the estate planning work. For example, assuming that you name an individual as the Successor Trustee to settle your trust affairs after your death, will he or she have the ability to understand complex legal language describing what he or she is required to do? If the language is too complex for a lay person to understand, your trustee will be forced to hire the services of an attorney in order to complete the settlement of the trust. In that case, your attempt to reduce/eliminate adminstrative settlement fees has actually "backfired". Also, does the language in the documents apply directly to your particularly financial and personal situation?
Having verbiage in documents that supposedly protects you from situations that DO NOT CURRENTLY AND NEVER WILL apply to your personal situation could be viewed as a waste of time, money, REMEMBER, the fee range you are quoted by an attorney should include the creation of a trust agreement AND 3 executed copies each of Powers of Attorney, Health Care Representative Appointments (or Patient Advocate Statements), Living Will, "Pour-Over" Will, any required deeds, an Assignment of Interest in Personal Property, a Summary Letter describing the operation of the plan documents and easy to understand instruction sheets for the transfer of asset ownership to the trust name PLUS continuing, no additional fee, assistance in the asset re-registration process. If you solicit fee quotations from other attorneys, make sure that the fee quoted includes the preparation of all of these documents and the work associated with giving you a complete finished product.
The legal fees charged by the Riley Legal Group for creating a trust portfolio for a single person range from $1,550 to $1,650. The fees for creating a "Non-Federal Estate Tax Saving" trust plan for a married couple range from $1,550 to $1,800. The fees for creating an "A/B" (Credit Shelter) trust arrangement for a married couple (including an Irrevocable Trust for holding life insurance policies) range from $1,950 to $2,500.
In order to put these costs in the proper perspective, compare them to the true cost of creating a Will portfolio. The initial cost of preparing a Will portfolio is usually quite nominal (less than $500, for example). However, if the estate covered by the Will has a value of $300,000 and the attorney fee charged to handle the probate of the estate is 5%, the TRUE COST of the plan (preparation cost AND probate fees) is actually $15,500.
The fee estimates for plan costs by other attorneys is only a generalization. It is always important to receive a specific fee quotation before authorizing the preparation of planning documents by a licensed attorney.
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Since each attorney's charges can be different, we cannot tell you what every attorney would charge for creating an estate plan. The most common method used by qualified attorneys is to charge for the work on a reasonable hourly basis. Before making any written commitment to have an attorney prepare estate planning documents for you, it is important that you be aware of the typical hourly rate charged for these services in your general geographic area. For example, if the typical hourly attorney fee for preparing correct and effective estate planning documents is in the range of $200 to $300, it would be illogical to pay $500 per hour for exactly the same work. It is also important to know what total charges are typically made by attorneys in your area to prepare a complete estate planning portfolio. How can you do this? There are several ways. For example, you could ask friends and acquaintances who have trust portfolios to tell you what they paid or you can simply call 2 or 3 estate planning attorneys to get an estimate of their fees for this work. If you find the typical fee range to be between $1,500 and $2,500, depending on the complexity of the work, that is an excellent guideline in deciding which attorney to use. It is extremely important to remember that the use of a fancy fake leather binder to house the estate planning documents or the use of documents with extreme length and complexity are NOT accurate indicators of the quality of the estate planning work. For example, assuming that you name an individual as the Successor Trustee to settle your trust affairs after your death, will he or she have the ability to understand complex legal language describing what he or she is required to do? If the language is too complex for a lay person to understand, your trustee will be forced to hire the services of an attorney in order to complete the settlement of the trust. In that case, your attempt to reduce/eliminate adminstrative settlement fees has actually "backfired". Also, does the language in the documents apply directly to your particularly financial and personal situation?
Having verbiage in documents that supposedly protects you from situations that DO NOT CURRENTLY AND NEVER WILL apply to your personal situation could be viewed as a waste of time, money, REMEMBER, the fee range you are quoted by an attorney should include the creation of a trust agreement AND 3 executed copies each of Powers of Attorney, Health Care Representative Appointments (or Patient Advocate Statements), Living Will, "Pour-Over" Will, any required deeds, an Assignment of Interest in Personal Property, a Summary Letter describing the operation of the plan documents and easy to understand instruction sheets for the transfer of asset ownership to the trust name PLUS continuing, no additional fee, assistance in the asset re-registration process. If you solicit fee quotations from other attorneys, make sure that the fee quoted includes the preparation of all of these documents and the work associated with giving you a complete finished product.
The legal fees charged by the Riley Legal Group for creating a trust portfolio for a single person range from $1,550 to $1,650. The fees for creating a "Non-Federal Estate Tax Saving" trust plan for a married couple range from $1,550 to $1,800. The fees for creating an "A/B" (Credit Shelter) trust arrangement for a married couple (including an Irrevocable Trust for holding life insurance policies) range from $1,950 to $2,500.
In order to put these costs in the proper perspective, compare them to the true cost of creating a Will portfolio. The initial cost of preparing a Will portfolio is usually quite nominal (less than $500, for example). However, if the estate covered by the Will has a value of $300,000 and the attorney fee charged to handle the probate of the estate is 5%, the TRUE COST of the plan (preparation cost AND probate fees) is actually $15,500.
The fee estimates for plan costs by other attorneys is only a generalization. It is always important to receive a specific fee quotation before authorizing the preparation of planning documents by a licensed attorney.
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