Can you put a price on peace of mind?

I recently finished helping two separate clients with their estate planning. After we signed all of their documents, they both expressed the same sentiment—”We feel so much peace knowing that when something happens, we have everything in place.”

Providing my clients with that peace of mind is my primary goal when creating estate plans. If you’ve been putting your planning off and it keeps nagging at you, call me to set up a free estate planning consultation.

They have a law degree and passed the Bar. They must be good, right?

Several years ago, my son had some reconstructive surgery.  My wife spent hours researching doctors before choosing a doctor in Denver. This doctor had an impressive resume-- she had attended great schools, had lots experience and we liked her. The first surgery was an absolute failure. The doctor was surprised at the result and assured us that if she did it again, we'd get the result we expected.  The second surgery wasn't much better, and our frustration increased. We decided to give her one last shot, thinking the third time's a charm.  Same surgery with the same result. We were furious and confused. How could someone who seemed so qualified, do such an awful job? Not just once, but three times. 

My wife and I were talking about this experience the other day, which led to a discussion about the wide range of abilities among professionals. There are lots of estate planning attorneys in Colorado Springs. Some are really good and some are really bad. So, how does someone know which one to choose? Here are my tips for choosing your estate planning attorney:

• Ask for referrals from friends or family or coworkers. Do you have a CPA or financial adviser? These professionals regularly work with estate planning attorneys and should have some good insight.
• Google their name and see what you find. Do they have a website? Do they have any reviews on Google? Go to the website Avvo and see what it says about them. 
• Go meet them in person. Most attorneys offer a free 30-minute consultation. Ask lots of questions. After 30 minutes you should have a pretty good sense of whether you like the attorney or not, how experienced they are in estate planning and whether they're competent.
• Don't confuse price with value and remember that you usually get what you pay for. I'd be nervous about an attorney who says they'll prepare your trust-based plan for $1,000. I'd run from an attorney who says it will cost $10,000 to do the same thing.

If you're looking for an estate planning attorney, try this out on me. Look me up on the web. Schedule a free consultation and come meet with me. I'm confident you'll be happy with what you find out. 

"I thought a Will avoided probate"

I was asked to look over a Last Will and Testament that was recently drafted by an attorney in town. I asked her what she wanted her estate plan to accomplish.  Among other things, she wanted to avoid probate when she died. She was shocked when I explained that probate would be necessary with a Will.

I don't know the cause of her misunderstanding--maybe from her prior attorney or from bad information on the web. Whatever the source, she thought she had a good plan in place. 

If you have a plan that you're uncertain about, or questions about how it should work, I'm happy to look it over. Better to fix it now, than to leave your family with a mess. 

Call Justin Fish Legal today for a free consultation. 

Lessons Learned

I recently worked with a man whose situation illustrates how important it is to have an estate plan in place. "Bill" passed away in October and had an estate worth over 4 million dollars. He was single with no kids and had one one brother with whom he had little contact. 

The first time I met Bill was in the hospital, a day after he left the ICU.  His assistant contacted me because Bill didn't have an estate plan in place.  Luckily,  I was able to finish Bill's plan weeks before he passed away.  If he hadn't created a plan a few things would have happened:

1. If Bill had died without a Will or a Trust, his entire estate would have gone to his brother. That was exactly the outcome Bill didn't want. He ended up distributing his estate to 40 different friends and charities. When someone dies without a Will or a Trust, state law determines where one's estate goes. A Will or a Trust allows a person to decide exactly how they want their assets distributed
2. I always prepare a Living Will when I create an estate plan. A Living Will contains a person's instructions in the event they're in a vegetative state or have a terminal condition. Before Bill died, he fell into a vegetative state.  His healthcare agent relied on Bill's Living Will to make end-of-life decisions. I later spoke with Bill's healthcare agent and he expressed how grateful he was that Bill had a Living Will. He simply followed Bill's wishes and wasn't left with the difficulty of deciding when to end another person's life.

I've learned that estate planning is really meant to benefit the people we love. When we plan, we provide set of instructions wherein we describe what we want to happen during our incapacity and at our death. These instructions are invaluable when it comes time to make decisions. Taking care of our estate planning is a great gift to give our loved ones this holiday season.

What's The Value of an Estate Plan?

Most people agree that some type of life insurance is very important. I certainly believe it is, which is why I make monthly payments on my term-life policy . If something where to happen to me, life insurance will ensure that my wife and kids are financially taken care of.

Consider this: Depending on which study you read or expert you ask, less than 1-2% of term-life policies will actually pay out. Why? Because 98-99% of people will outlive their term policy.

Now think about estate planning. Do we consider an estate plan as important as life insurance? We should, because 100% of people will actually use their will or trust.