Wondering what to expect at your estate planning appointment? The total turn-around for most people is approximately two weeks. The overall process can be longer or shorter depending on your needs.
Here’s how it works:
Getting your estate planning appointment started
First, give us a call, or email us and we’ll send you a very short form to get your contact information and a bit of information to start our file. We’ll want to know what kinds of questions you have, which documents you might like to make, and a few basics about how we can help you.
Click here if you’d just like to skip straight to the intake form.
Information gathering and instructions
We’ll set up an “introductory” appointment for you to meet with the Notary to:
- learn about these documents
- ask all of your questions
- give us information about your family and your situation and
- tell us how we can help you
Note: you’ll need two pieces of current, government-issued ID for this initial estate planning appointment, one with a photo. This is to make sure you are making your own documents, and not pretending to be someone else!
We’ll ask for a deposit of $400 plus disbursements and taxes at the end of this first meeting – this amount is deducted off the final cost of any documents we make for you.
Your signing appointment
Next, we’ll set up one last estate planning appointment about two weeks after your initial meeting with us, to come back and review the documents.
If you’re happy with the documents, you sign them!
If you want changes made, we do that. If the changes are relatively simple or quick, we can often do that in that same meeting. If the changes are bigger or more complex, we may set another appointment for about a week later so we aren’t all rushing. We want to make sure you are happy with your documents.
Once the documents are signed, we give you an invoice for the rest of the work, which you pay at the end of our signing meeting.
Then we make you a little “goody package” to take home with you. This package will include:
- the original documents
- copies of the documents
- some reading material about what you have made
- a few forms which might help you track your information and documents (these are optional for you to use)
- a report letter
Final review
We give everyone 30 days after they sign their documents to review their documents in peace and quiet at home. If you find a mistake, or you are not happy with the documents, we fix them for free within that 30 day time frame.
Miscellaneous notes for your estate planning appointment
Trusted people helping
If you want a trusted person (maybe a friend or a family member) to make your estate planning appointment for you, that’s fine. Just let us know that so we can make sure we get your permission to speak with them.
If you want family members to sit in on the initial information only part of the introductory estate planning appointment, that’s fine, but we will kick them out when it comes time for you to give us your instructions. This sounds odd, we know, but we always want to be able to say to a judge that you were giving us your instructions without any undue influence or suspicious circumstances.
Questions only
If you’re not sure whether you want to actually make any documents, you can simply pay the fee for the initial meeting, and you don’t have to proceed any further! There is no pressure for you to do anything you don’t want to do.
Going away, or having surgery?
If you are travelling or need your documents faster than our usual two week turn-around, please let us know that right away, so we can sort out everyone’s schedule. There may be rush fees for preparing your documents sooner than our usual time-frame.
Estimates
We are happy to give you standard, “ball-park” prices for our work. Please remember that these prices are for “standard” matters, which means you:
- are a single person or a couple on their first marriage
- are not cutting anyone out of your estate
- do not have children (adult or otherwise) with significant disabilities or a person with disabilities designation
- do not require trusts for vulnerable or addicted adult children
- are giving your estate to the “obvious suspects”
- do not have any issues around capacity, undue influence or suspicious circumstances.
These other scenarios are more complicated. We are happy to help with almost all of these scenarios, but you should be prepared to pay more for more complicated instructions.
Out of office appointments
We sometimes travel to clients for these appointments if there are extraordinary circumstances and we have the time available. There is an extra cost for these “out of office” visits, due to the additional time involved (and sometimes we need to bring an extra witness).
Virtual Appointments
Our notary Vicky Helmink would be happy to meet with you virtually for these appointments if you cannot come in to see us in person.
What we can’t do
We cannot help you with:
- trusts for adult children over the age of 25
- spousal trusts or life estates in a Will
These trusts require special training and you will need a specialty estate planning lawyer for this work. While lawyers are great, please do not use just any old lawyer for this work! It is very important work that requires specialized tax training and knowledge. We are happy to provide you referrals to an appropriate estate planning specialist.