How we work - what to expect

We've been doing wills and trusts for 29 years. One thing, more or less.

So we created a comfortable place to deliver wills and trusts in Plain English. We aim to:

work in a timely
cost-effective, and
focused way.

Note: COVID-19: The following describes the process we followed until Covid 19. We hope to get back to that someday soon. For now, we do the first meeting via Zoom, then review the documents with you over Zoom, and then sign the documents in person, about 3-4 weeks after our first Zoom meeting.

When you arrive at the office, we relax in the conference room, and we talk. About you, families, assets, and goals. Don't worry, I'll keep us moving forward.
I'll ask you a basic set of questions, easy to answer.

Then I'll explain my thinking about your estate planning situation, using the perspective I have developed over 28+ years in the field.

After you say 'let's move forward' I'll prepare new or amend existing wills and trust to improve your estate planning picture.
In addition to wills and trusts, I also prepare MA health care proxy and durable power of attorney, as well as real estate or a nominee trust, as needed.

At the heart of this process is communication

We need both (1) uninterrupted time and (2) applied focus between you and me.

During this 1 hour or so, we touch on several topics. This discussion is central to estate planning. 

I aim for a clear discussion: a personal, one-to-one, common-sense approach. And mostly achieve that goal.

All meetings are with an experienced estate attorney. And, it is:

quiet
uninterrupted
without a telephone or computer in the conference room

Conference room: No phones or computers

We intentionally put NO telephones or computers in the conference room.
Similarly, we ask that you do not place a cell phone on the conference room table. Studies show that a visible cell phone contributes to a 20% decrease in attention. Instead, we want all your attention because this is important and is a life event.

The initial meeting has two primary purposes

To briefly educate you about estate-planning, including what would happen to your assets if you pass away with your current (or no) estate plan in place; and
To see if we both decide to work together to complete an estate plan. We decide after we review the goals, approach, and entire engagement.

We charge $150 for this session. We charge for three reasons.

We'll discuss your situation in detail. This is not 'a meet and greet' to exchange pleasantries, although it will be comfortable. It's a working meeting.
My time is limited, and I want to use it with those who are generally serious about their estate planning.
It is valuable. I have not yet met a person who did not feel the session was by far the most useful estate planning discussion they've had in their lives.

[We credit this amount against the total charge if you decide to work with us within a week of the session.]

In summary, I'll assess your personal and financial situation and outline your estate planning choices.

Our approach to ongoing communication

If we decide to work together, you'll sign documents about 3-4 weeks after the meeting. But we continue to communicate with clients after that.

For many years, we’ve updated our clients twice a year by a reminder letter. That letter/memo mentions significant law changes and also reminds people of life events that can affect their estate planning.

Clients appreciate this approach, and we are proud of it. There is no charge for it.

When was the last time your estate planning attorney communicated with you? For almost all clients, it is a new experience.

Post-Death Administration

When a person passes, and there's a will involved, it goes through the probate court process. If a trust is involved, we call it post-death administration.

We call it all post-death administration. This is because most post-death engagements involve dealing with several different types of assets, including real estate, retirement accounts, life insurance, pensions, and other property.

We do this type of work also. And have handled over 190 post-death matters.

Summary of our work

Some Massachusetts law firms claim to help you with all your legal needs, no matter what they are. But not us.

For 28+ years, I’ve focused on one legal area: wills and trusts. I want to know this subject well. And not try to master several different legal areas.

You can turn to us for help with estate planning, including:

Getting an estate plan, including a comprehensive will or living trust with a health care proxy and durable power of attorney
Dealing with the Massachusetts estate tax for estates over $1 million
Protecting beneficiaries with issues such as overspending, alcohol and other addictions, or a bad marriage
Expediting post-death administration of trusts and avoiding probate
Naming a child’s guardian—just in case
Taking the needed legal steps after a family member's death
Probating a will or administering a trust
Handling unique concerns for non-U.S. citizens/green cardholders