estate planning
Customized estate planning is more than preparing legal documents. It takes a thoughtful, tailored approach that accounts for your family, tax, and retirement considerations to create a plan that reflects your wishes and unique circumstances.
Whether you are putting a plan in place for the first time or revisiting an existing one, thoughtful planning can help you feel more confident about the future and more prepared for what lies ahead.
A thoughtful approach to planning
Estate planning gives you the opportunity to make thoughtful decisions about the future for yourself, for the people you love, and the legacy you want to leave behind. A well-designed plan can help protect loved ones, name trusted decision-makers, reduce uncertainty, and create a clear path for carrying out your wishes.
For many individuals and families, estate planning involves much more than signing a set of documents. It often includes thinking carefully about family dynamics, long-term goals, incapacity planning, beneficiary designations, retirement assets, tax considerations, and the legacy you want to leave behind.
Planning for what matters most
Estate planning is deeply personal, and the right plan depends on what matters most to you. For some clients, that means creating security for family members. For others, it means planning thoughtfully around complex assets, reducing potential tax burdens, supporting philanthropic goals, or making sure their wishes are carried out with clarity and care.
Whatever your priorities may be, the goal is the same: to put a plan in place that gives you confidence now and helps protect the people, values, and legacy that matter most in the years ahead.
That is why my approach is tailored to each client. Estate planning should feel clear and manageable, not overwhelming. The goal is to create a plan that fits your life, supports your goals, and helps protect the people who matter most.
Estate Planning Services I Offer
Depending on your needs, estate planning services may include:
- Wills
- Trust planning
- Durable powers of attorney
- Health care proxies and related incapacity planning documents
- Beneficiary designation review and coordination
- Planning with retirement assets
- Estate and gift tax planning
- Charitable planning
- Review and updating of existing estate plans
My 7-Step Planning Process
Estate planning is a process, not just a set of documents. I use a structured approach so clients know what to expect at each stage and can make decisions with confidence.
1. Goal Planning Session
Your first meeting with me is complimentary. During that meeting, we will discuss your goals, your family and other beneficiaries, any charitable objectives, and your assets. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions about the planning process. To make the meeting as productive as possible, you will need to complete a questionnaire at least 48 hours in advance. If you are planning with a spouse or partner, both of you should attend. During this meeting, we will also discuss which estate planning documents may be appropriate and review the fees for completing your plan.
2. Design Session
Once you decide to move forward, we will have a second meeting to discuss the details of your estate plan. We will determine who should receive your assets and how those assets should pass. We will also identify the individuals or institutions you wish to name as your personal representative, agent, and trustee, and we will finalize your planning decisions.
3. Approval
After the Design Session, I will provide you with a summary of the key decisions reflected in your estate plan. This gives you an opportunity to confirm that your decisions and information are accurate. Once you approve the summary, I will draft your estate planning documents.
4. Review
Once the drafts are complete, I will send them to you along with a summary. This gives you an opportunity to review the documents and make sure you understand them. If you would like to, we can schedule a meeting to review them together.
5. Signing
The next step is for you to sign your documents. Once signed, your estate plan is legally in place.
6. FUNDNG
Signing your documents is not the end of the process. In most you will need to retitle assets or update beneficiary designations. You may handle this on your own, or I can assist you.
7. Future updates
Life changes and your estate plan should be reviewed as your circumstances change. Family relationships, financial circumstances, and the law may all evolve over time. Regular review helps ensure that your plan continues to reflect your goals, and I am happy to assist when updates are needed.
Whether you are starting from scratch or updating an existing plan, thoughtful estate planning begins with a conversation.