Our Vision of Estate Planning
We take a compassionate and transparent approach to estate planning.
Traditionally, estate planning focuses on what happens to your hard-earned money and assets when you die. This approach leads to one-size-fits-all, bare bones living trusts that ignore important matters like planning for incapacity, your healthcare choices, family heirlooms, sentimental memorabilia, and your legacy – how will you be remembered?
Instead of engaging in what should be comprehensive, dynamic, planning sessions, people meet briefly with attorneys to fill in the blanks of ‘fast food’ documents designed to avoid probate court for as little money as possible.
I am all for avoiding court – it is unpredictable, expensive, and open to the public – but it is not the most important part of planning. What is most important to you, to each unique individual and one-of-a-kind family, is what really matters.
In our consultations, we delve into what’s really important to you, so we can create a holistic, comprehensive plan that will allow you to:
- Maintain control of your assets while you are alive and well,
- Take care of you and the people you love should you become incapacitated or seriously ill, and
- Pass on everything you worked your whole life to build to:
- Whom you want,
- When you want, and
- How you want so that your loved ones will be taken care of and protected.
Our plans go beyond just locking in your important decisions in legally-binding documents. We work hard to build flexibility into your plan because while we don’t have a crystal ball, we know there will be changes in the law and changes in your family dynamics. So, we draft sophisticated plans, complete with inheritance protection and Trust Protector powers, to make seemingly static ink-on-paper into adaptive, forward-thinking instruments.
While we take pride in our forward-thinking documents, we are first and foremost a people-focused firm. Our clients are what are most important to us, and to make sure we provide them with exceptional service, we begin our journey with them with a crash course in estate planning.
To be able to engage in a comprehensive planning session, you need to be able to make informed decisions, and that can’t happen until you learn the basics. We offer both live and on-demand webinars to make it as convenient as possible to empower you with the knowledge you’ll need to finally address your concerns before it’s too late.
We are devoted to learning about you and your family and what is important to you so we can craft an individualized plan to fit your unique situation. We use a 5-step system that not only keeps us on track to get your plan completed within about 6 weeks, but also shows you the entire roadmap we will take on this journey so that you will know what is happening every step of the way. There will never be any surprises.
After watching our webinar, you’ll know all about our 5-step system, and you’ll be ready for Step 1, your Personal Consultation with me, Seth. I conduct all of our planning sessions because to me, my clients are family.
We are a small, boutique firm, but unlike most solo and small firms, we are able to provide you with all of the benefits of a large, nation-wide firm because we are proud members of the prestigious American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.
About The American Academy
History of the Academy
The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys was established in 1992 by Armstrong & Fisch, one of the most successful estate planning law firms in the country. After providing two decades of superior estate planning guidance and advice to thousands of legal clients, the firm decided to share their methods and practices with attorneys nationwide.
The Academy is a national organization dedicated to promoting excellence in estate planning by providing its exclusive membership of attorneys with up-to-date research on estate and tax planning, educational materials, and other important resources to empower them to provide superior estate planning services. The Academy expects members to have at least 36 hours of legal education each year specifically in estate, tax, probate and/or elder law subjects. To ensure this goal is met, the Academy provides over 40 hours of continuing legal education each year. The Academy has also been recognized as a consumer legal source by Money Magazine and Suze Orman in her book, 9 Steps to Financial Freedom.
For over 20 years, the Academy has been a highly-regarded and sought-after resource for attorneys and consumers alike, and has been recognized by Consumer Reports, Suze Orman in her book, 9 Steps to Financial Freedom and numerous times by Money Magazine.
Why Academy Members Are Unique
Focusing in Estate and Legacy Planning.
Members of the Academy concentrate their law practices in the area of estate planning and reinforce their expertise daily by dedicating their efforts to clients concerned with preserving what they have accumulated for future generations.
Professional Legal Training.
Academy members receive on-going training specific to the field of estate planning to ensure that their legal knowledge and techniques are based on the latest information and resources.
Nationwide Membership.
Members of the Academy are available throughout the U.S. and in most metro areas.
Superior client care.
Most Academy members offer expanded client care services such as in-home consultations, in order to meet the needs of each particular client.
Work with attorneys who focus on estate and legacy planning.
The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys encourages consumers to refer to the member listing located at (www.aaepa.com) to see if an Academy member has completed this continuing education.
Have your estate plan, legacy plan, and your financial plans coordinated.
Academy members recognize the importance in coordinating your estate, legacy, and financial goals together. Members can work as a team with your existing financial advisors.
Attend seminars on estate and legacy planning topics.
As educators in the field of estate planning, most Academy members regularly conduct seminars in their local areas to inform and educate consumers and financial advisors on estate planning issues.
Receive special reports on late-breaking estate and legacy planning news.
Regularly published consumer alerts provide timely, accurate hot topics in estate planning such as the latest changes to our estate tax laws.
Preserving Your Wealth With Estate and Legacy Planning
Academy members offer guidance and advice to their clients in every area of estate planning. This list offers a sampling of these services:
- Advanced planning: Get assistance with matters such as Family Limited Partnerships, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, and Charitable Remainder Trusts.
- Asset protection: Receive guidance on protecting your legacy.
- Creditor protection: Find out how you can protect your estate and your heirs.
- Divorce protection: Protect loved ones and get informed advice on these important estate planning issues.
- Estate planning: Receive consultation and planning to ensure that your estate is distributed according to your wishes.
- Legacy Wealth Planning: Create a Legacy Wealth Plan customized to leave the legacy you want.
- Living Trusts: Create a Living Trust customized to address all of your family’s unique needs.
- Long-term health care: Make sure you have properly outlined necessary health care instructions.
- Probate assistance: Get the assistance you need when someone with or without a Will passes away.
- Remarriage protection: Protect heirs and their special interest in the event the surviving spouse remarries.
- Retirement planning: Ensure that your tax-deferred accounts are properly structured to give your family the greatest tax advantages possible.
- Special needs planning: Tailored plans to protect family members with special needs.
- Structured buy-out plans: The plan you create for your children to sell land and assets.
- Tax planning: Preserve your wealth and reduce taxes with proper planning.
- Trust administration: Create a Living Trust customized to address all of your family’s unique needs, and receive guidance when a family member passes away.
- Updating documents: Ensure that your affairs are in order with regular estate reviews. Amend or restate your existing estate plan to ensure its effectiveness.
- Wills: Prepare a Will or other document to outline your wishes.
Disclaimer: The Academy is a membership organization of estate planning attorneys and provides educational and practice management resources to members. The Academy is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. An Academy member is not an employee nor an agent of the Academy. The Academy does not certify or test the competency of any attorney who is a member of the Academy.
