The 9-Step Personal Family Lawyer® Process to an Estate Plan That Works (And Won’t Fail)
When Your Family Needs It Most.
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Our Estate Planning Process
- The first step to protecting the people you love is understanding your options. With the right education, you can make informed, empowered choices that ensure your family is taken care of—no surprises, no unnecessary court proceedings, and no lost assets.
- Meet with a Personal Family Lawyer® who will guide you through the process of creating a plan that truly works for you and your loved ones—one that protects what matters most and keeps your family out of court and conflict.
- We make this part simple, and you’ll be so glad you did it! Your Personal Family Lawyer® will provide you with a structured yet simple process to gather key information. Unlike traditional estate planning, this “homework” ensures your plan works—not just in theory, but in real life.
- In this 2-hour working session (or two meetings of one hour each), we’ll:
- Review the impact of your current plan (or lack of one) on your family.
- Identify gaps that could cause conflict, court proceedings, or unnecessary costs.
- Design a plan that gives you true peace of mind.
- Choose the right fee that works for you, based on your unique family dynamics, your specific assets, and your personal goals and objectives.
- This is where we go beyond the documents and create a comprehensive strategy that covers:
- Who should make decisions on your behalf (and when and how).
- How to keep your assets and loved ones out of court and conflict.
- A step-by-step roadmap that ensures everything is handled the way you want.
- Who should make decisions on your behalf (and when and how).
- When you sign your documents, you won’t just be checking a box—you’ll understand every choice you’ve made and why. With our support, you’ll:
- Review your asset inventory and ensure alignment of your assets.
- Confirm that your will, trust, and other documents will work exactly as you intend.
- Walk away with confidence—not just in us, but in yourself.
- Most estate plans fail because assets are not correctly titled. That leads to lost assets, unnecessary taxes, expensive court processes, and even the loss of intangible assets like your values, insights, and stories.
- We dedicate an entire meeting to ensuring your assets are properly aligned—so nothing is lost, and your plan actually works when your family needs it.
- Even better, we have a process to ensure your assets remain aligned throughout your life —so nothing you acquire in the future is lost, and your plan doesn’t fail when your family needs it.
- Your plan is only as good as how well it keeps up with your life.
- Laws change.
- Your assets change.
- Your family dynamics change.
- The estate tax landscape changes.
- That’s why we provide ongoing reviews and updates to ensure your plan continues to work—so you never have to worry about outdated documents or unintended consequences. We’ll discuss review and updating options when we meet.
- When you become incapacitated or pass away, your loved ones won’t be left to figure things out on their own.
- They’ll call us, and we’ll be here to guide them every step of the way.
Your Personal Family Lawyer® will be a trusted resource for your family, ensuring everything happens smoothly—just as you intended.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why is education the first step in estate planning?
Because you can’t make the best choices for the people you love if you don’t know what your choices are. I start by showing you exactly what would happen right now if something were to happen to you. Once you see that clearly, I walk you through what’s possible—always in plain English—so you can make decisions that feel good in your heart and right for your family.
2. What happens during the Life & Legacy Planning Session?
This session is all about you, your people, and what matters most. We’ll sit down together, look at everything you own and everyone you love, and talk about exactly how you’d want things handled if you couldn’t be here. You’ll leave with total clarity on where things stand now and a clear path to creating a plan that takes care of your family the way you want.
3. Why is asset alignment critical in estate planning?
Here’s the thing: even the best-written plan can fall apart if your assets aren’t set up to match it. That’s why we don’t just hand you documents and call it a day. We make sure every account, every property, and every investment is connected to your plan so when the time comes, everything flows exactly the way you intended—with no extra stress or court drama for the people you love.
4. How often should I update my estate plan?
Life changes, the law changes, and your assets change — and your estate plan needs to keep up. Major life events like marriage, divorce, having children, buying a home, or starting a business all impact your plan. Our Personal Family Lawyer® firm leaders will review your plan every three years, and offer you options for more frequent and regular review.5. What role does a Personal Family Lawyer® play after I pass away or become incapacitated?
We're not here just to draft documents; we're here to be a guide for your family when they need it most. When the time comes, we step in to make sure everything you put in place actually works, and we help your loved ones navigate the legal and financial stuff so they can focus on what matters: loving and supporting each other.
6. What makes this estate planning process different from traditional approaches?
Most lawyers stop serving you the day you sign your papers. That’s exactly why so many plans fail. My process is different because it’s built on a relationship, not a transaction. We don’t just create documents; we help you build a plan that evolves as your life does, keep your assets aligned, and stay connected so your family is protected when it really matters.
7. What are the most common mistakes people make in estate planning, and how does this process help prevent them?
Here are the big ones we see all the time:
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Thinking a will alone will cover everything.
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Letting years go by without updating their plan.
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Forgetting to align their assets with their plan.
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Treating estate planning like a one-and-done project instead of a living process.
The way we work fixes all of that. We guide you through a deep planning session, make sure your assets are properly aligned, and keep an ongoing relationship with you and your family so your plan actually works—not just on paper, but in real life.
8. How does your firm ensure long-term support for families after a client passes away?
We don’t disappear after the ink dries. We stay in touch, keep your plan updated as life changes, and when the time comes, we're right there with your family. Our role is to make sure your plan works exactly as you intended and to walk your loved ones through everything, step by step, so they feel cared for and supported—not left on their own.
Ready to Get Started?
Your first step is to schedule a Life & Legacy Planning Session with a Personal Family Lawyer® today.
Your family’s future depends on it.