Explaining to you how we're different first requires a description of what the standard experience with a lawyer in a traditional law firm setting is like.  If you have ever had to work with a lawyer before, this will sound familiar. 

What A Traditional Lawyer Experience Is Like

During the traditional experience, you’ll go in and meet with a lawyer who will oftentimes make things seem very complicated and confusing, or they won’t really explain the process at all.

You'll have a good idea that the lawyer is smart seems to know what they are doing, so you’ll nod and move through the motions, answer some questions about what you think you want or need, and you will leave with just as many, if not more, questions than you came there with.  Because you have taken the time out of your day to make the trip and coordinate schedules, and because you want to cross this task off your ever-growing list, you agree to have the lawyer prepare your estate plan without really knowing what you got and how to use it, but probably feeling relieved that you got that taken care of. Estate planning with a traditional law firm usually entails one or two follow up visits to the lawyer’s office to finalize everything.

When you are finished with the process you will take your planning binder home, stick it on a shelf or in a drawer, mark estate planning off on your checklist as DONE and never think about it again.

Did you remember what your lawyer said about moving your bank accounts into the trust? Maybe. If so, you’ll go to the bank not really knowing what you are supposed to do or what documents you need when you go and you may or may not get the accounts transferred into the trust. You will play phone tag with the lawyer’s office trying to get clarification and by the time you get a call back you’ll have gotten busy with other things and never get around to moving that bank account. A few weeks later, you’ll get a bill in the mail for $90.00 for 15 minutes of your lawyer’s time for answering a couple of questions. You’ll make a mental note – don’t call the lawyer ever again.

Most People Don't Want To Talk To Their Traditional Lawyer Again

Several years later, you'll refinance your house or sell it and you'll buy a new home and forget that you were supposed to let your lawyer know about the change or make sure you kept the title in the name of the trust.

As your children get older and your family ages, your guardianship choices become outdated but you don’t want to call your lawyer because you know you’ll get a bill in the mail two weeks later.

You'll hear something about a change in the tax law, but you assumebut you figure you’d surely get a letter in the mail from your lawyer if it was something that affected you, so you don’t worry about it.

And, you'd have to dig through boxes to find your trust documents so you could remember your lawyer's name and find her contact information. Who has time for that?

It's not until you become incapacitated or die that your family finds the binder you stuck up on a shelf several years before and never looked at again. 

It is that moment when your family realizes your plan is so outdated that it has nothing to do with your life or your current assets and doesn’t even cover what happens to you in a temporary emergency. 

Your family is at a loss and has no idea what first steps to take so they contact the lawyer you used, who is more than happy to probate your assets, which never made it into the trust!

How do I know all this?

Because I spent the first 12 years of my career working for other attorneys at different sized firms and swore that when I finally opened my own practice that I would never operate like this or treat my clients this way. Unfortunately, what I discovered over the years is that the legal industry is not designed to serve its clients well - especially families who experience lots of change on their way to success!

 

Our Firm is Dedicated to Helping You Prepare For Life

What makes our firm different is that we were built with the needs of growing families in mind.

We understand you are BUSY, you are growing, you are planning for a life of prosperity and you value ease, convenience and efficiency.

You are raising children and caring for elderly parents while also working hard to build your own nest egg for a lifetime of support.

You want to know you have made the best decisions for your family and that your plan will work when your loved ones need it most. You want to make sure your minor children would be raised by the people you choose, and never by anyone you wouldn't want, and that your teens and adult children are properly prepared to care for you and what you leave behind. You want to feel confident that you've made the right choices, and handled everything so that you aren't leaving behind a mess, when something happens.

This is our focus as well.

We have developed unique systems to give you the same access to a Personal Family Lawyer® as was previously only available to the super-wealthy so you can have the guidance you need to build and maintain a life of prosperity and wealth. And, with your Personal Family Lawyer®, you can keep your family out of court and out of conflict, which is the greatest risk to the people you love and all you have created.

We can do all of this even if you have already worked with a traditional lawyer or created DIY documents online.

Our Team Is Here For You 

We encourage communication with our clients. In fact, we’ve thrown out the time clocks when it comes to estate planning so you never have to be afraid to call with a quick question.

When we create your estate plan, everything is billed on a flat-fee basis, agreed to in advance, so there are never any surprises.

If you need to schedule a more in-depth strategic call with your Personal Family Lawyer®, a call can be scheduled and you won’t waste your time leaving voicemail after voicemail waiting for a call back.

We ensure your plan continues to work throughout your lifetime.

We have a unique membership maintenance  program to keep your plan up to date year in and year out. We can update it as needed and you never have to be afraid to call and ask questions about anything.

Most lawyers only focus on transferring your financial wealth to the next generation; we focus on identifying and building your family wealth during your lifetime, and leaving a legacy of love that goes far beyond money.

When we meet we will talk about building a strategy that works for you. You will share your goals with me and we will develop a plan that is right for your family.

 

We Help You Transfer Your Family Wealth

Lastly, we know that your financial wealth is only a small part of your overall Family Wealth.

Most estate plans only focus on the transfer of your financial wealth to the next generation. Most people have such great intentions of passing on the intangible, but very few ever get around to it. It’s just not a priority, until it’s too late. How much do you know about your grandparents’ values? Their most prized personal possessions? How they felt about you? What they had learned during their lifetime? If you are like most people, you know very little.

That is why we design estate plans that capture and pass these most valuable assets to the people you love. Not only will we help you pass on your money, but also your values, your insights, your stories and your experience – the truly valuable assets your loved one’s care about the most.

I’ve developed a tool that allows us to capture and pass on your whole family wealth, including your Intellectual, Spiritual and Human assets through my Guardian Guide™.  I can’t go into all of the details here, but we’ll definitely talk about it when you come in for your Family Wealth Planning Session. Book Your Session here now. 

I look forward to seeing you and caring for your family soon!