Estate planning today has become more complex than it was in previous generations. It is becoming almost impossible to put together a plan for your estate without the help of a seasoned estate planning Salisbury professional. This is because the laws governing the planning of an estate vary from one state to another. In addition, the laws in any one state are so convoluted that it is easy to get tripped up in the jargon. You are more than likely going to get your plan invalidated because of a simple oversight. You should therefore ensure that you have a professional to assist you throughout.
Many of us do not want to hear that we need professional estate planning assistance. We would rather do it on our own because of the high cost of these professional services. However, the cost of not using a professional far outweighs the cost of the professional’s fees. If you want to save money and still benefit from a professional estate planning Salisbury lawyer’s advice, you will find the following tips useful.
The first thing you can do to cut down costs and save on time is to have you first appointment on the telephone. You can simply call the attorney to ask all the questions you would ask if you were to come into their office. This phone meeting will be a good way for you to find out if you want to work with the attorney or not.
Once you have settled on the attorney you want to work with, you can meet in person to settle the finer details. Once your estate planning is up and running, you can use the phone or email to address any questions to your attorney. This saves you both time and money. You will not be charged for asking a simple question online or by phone.
Be sure to have everything ready by the time you are meeting with your attorney. Make sure you know what all your assets are and their value. Decide what will go where when you are gone. This will help ensure that your attorney only has to go through the information you have prepared and advice you. This minimizes their work and also reduces the amount of money you will have to pay as attorney’s fees.
Keep your estate plan simple. Having a complex plan will only make it more difficult for the estate planning Salisbury attorney to draft an estate plan. This will make them charge a higher fee. More complex estate plans are also harder to maintain over the years. It is therefore vital to keep your plan as simple as possible.
These simple tips will help keep your estate planning fees as low as possible.
