Q: What does it cost to establish a will and trust?
A: Cost depends on how simple or complex a person's situation is, what their goals are, the size of their estate, and what documents they need prepared, which can include a will, different kinds of trusts, health care and financial powers of attorney, living will, medicaid planning, etc. Costs can range from a few hundred, to many thousands, depending on what is necessary. Use the Find a Lawyer tab to talk with a local estate planning attorney who can find out what you need, and give a ball park estimate.
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A:
That's like saying to a doctor, "I have a stomach ache. How much will it cost to fix it?" If a doctor quotes you a price over the phone, run as fast as you can!
A proper answer would be, "I have no idea until I examine you, take a complete medical history, and maybe run some tests. It could be just the fee for an office visit and some over-the-counter remedies. Or you might need a remedy that requires a prescription. But sometimes these things require surgery and/or radiation and/or chemotherapy. It just depends. Why not come in and let's take a look?"
Sound more reasonable, right?
It's the same with attorneys. An attorney CAN quote you a fee for a full consultation (this is like the doctor's office visit), but a good attorney will not quote you a fee for the ultimate remedy over the phone. It depends.
It depends on whether you are single or married, in a relationship or not in a relationship if you are single, whether or not you have children, whether those children have all the same parents, the circumstances of those children or, if you don't have children, your ultimate beneficiaries, your plan of distribution, whether you care about asset protection for yourself, whether you care about asset protection for your children/beneficiaries, whether you care about probate avoidance, how often you think you might want to change your estate plan in the future, the tax bases of your various holdings, whether you have a taxable estate, your asset mix, whether I need to stop everything I am doing and put a rush on your planning, and much, much more.
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