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My approach and area of focus
My practice is focused on preparing estate plans (wills and trusts)
for families living on the mid-peninsula. (Including search engine
friendly places like Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Woodside, San Carlos,
Redwood City, Palo Alto, San Mateo, Belmont, Burlingame, you get the
idea).
As a mom with young children, I understand the importance
of planning for the future of my family and I can appreciate the
challenges that get in the way of getting started with estate
planning. It is my goal to make the process personal, individualized
and convenient for my clients.
My approach is to provide
full-service solutions for my clients, from initial evening
consultations to discuss these important topics with you, all the way
to providing personalized notary services to execute and implement the
plan.
I focus not only on the legal and financial aspects of
estate planning but also on the social and family issues involved. I
assist my clients in thinking about a variety of issues which are
important for their children's future, such as:
• Choosing the right guardians for their minor children (and establishing conditional decisions, if, for example one guardian would be desired only under certain circumstances)
• Deciding at what age the children should get access to assets (and how)
• Ensuring that plans match the goals and values of my clients (for example, setting up language to fund education, or down payments on first homes, or other special requirements)
• Naming trustees who can provide judgment with respect to your trust when you are gone
If
my clients wish to provide more detailed instructions to the guardians
of their children, I can help them to prepare a letter to the
guardians, outlining issues that are important to them.
I
realize that no one looks forward to doing their estate planning (it
took my husband and I too long to do our own!), so my aim is to make
the process as transparent, straight-forward and painless as possible.
I rely solely on source of clients through referral, and my approach, I
feel, reinforces this.
How I work
In order to get
started, I typically will have a phone meeting with you, as a potential
client. I’ll explain the process and fees and confirm that you are
ready to go forward.
Next, I’ll send you a questionnaire that
you and your spouse will fill out together. Often these questions
stimulate considerable discussion between you, and can surface issues
that may not have come up before. If you want it, I can assist in
thinking through tough decisions and evaluating options.
After
the questionnaire is completed, we will meet in person and spend about
two hours going over the questionnaire and digging deeper into any
specific circumstances that are particularly important to you. I will
explain more about the estate planning process and answer any other
questions that you may have. To keep things convenient, I often meet with clients in their their home on a weeknight evening, after
the children are in bed.
I’ll then draft the documents. A
typical estate plan includes:
• A will for each person
• A living trust for each person
• An
advanced health care directive (living will) for each person
• A
durable power of attorney for each person
• A Deed of Trust
transferring ownership of a personal residence into the living trust.
After you have reviewed and approved your plan, I will arrange for it
to be notarized and the proper documents to be filed. I will provide
instruction and assistance on moving your assets into your trust, once
it is finalized.
My fees
Because every estate plan is different, it can be difficult to know in advance what the cost will be to create one.
To
reduce uncertainty about costs, I offer clients the choice of paying a
flat fee of $2,000 for a “basic” estate plan outlined above.
The process from beginning to end can take as little as a few weeks (if you are motivated) or as long as several months.
In order to keep the process moving forward (it's best for all parties), I'll often collect 50% of the fees after delivering the first draft of documents, and then collect the remainder upon completion of the project.
Additional
hourly charges may apply in circumstances requiring additional legal
instruments, legal research or assistance in funding a trust. Common
situations that require more than basic estate planning include blended
families, pre-nuptial agreements, multiple home/property ownership,
business ownership, foreign citizenship of one or both spouses. For
the additional time that is necessary to appropriately manage such
non-standard circumstances I charge an hourly fee of $200.
Questions or Concerns
If you would like to discuss any of this with me, I would welcome hearing from you. I can provide you with more information about the process, timing and costs.
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