ESTATE PLANNING

The Family Estate & Legacy Program^®is our trademarked seven-step estate planning process personalized just for you.

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Click on each icon below to learn more about the seven steps in our customizable estate planning process.

Organizer

Goals & Responsibility
Conversation

Design

Document Builder

Advisor Coordinator

Asset
Alignment

Client Care
Program
Organizer

Goals & Responsibility
Conversation

Design

Document Builder

Advisor Coordinator

Asset
Alignment

Client
Care Program

BACK

It all starts with your Client Organizer that you complete and which gives us a starting point to analyze your current situation. It also provides us the facts that we need to ask you the right questions pertinent to you. The Client Organizer should be completed as thoroughly as possible. The information that you provide is confidential, and is important for us to provide the best legal advice during our initial conference.

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Organizer

Goals & Responsibility
Conversation

Design

Document Builder

Advisor Coordinator

Asset
Alignment

Client
Care Program

BACK

As we begin our initial conference, we will ask you what goals are most important to you and what concerns or obstacles may currently stand in the way of achieving those goals. This will form the basis of your estate planning strategies, and provide us valuable insight into your mindset. We will also review who should make decisions for you if you could no longer do so for yourself, which is an often neglected but vital element to your estate plan. Finally, we’ll discuss who might be the best party to handle all of the responsibilities necessary to carry out your final wishes and directions.

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Organizer

Goals & Responsibility
Conversation

Design

Document Builder

Advisor Coordinator

Asset
Alignment

Client
Care Program

BACK

We will work together to design a will or trust package that meets your needs, given your family and financial situation, and your goals and concerns. There is no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” estate plan. The Design element will consider the types of assets that you own, how you own them, and the relative tax consequences of your holdings, among other things, in fashioning your individualized plan. We will provide you a fixed fee quote so that you know the price for us to complete your planning.

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Organizer

Goals & Responsibility
Conversation

Design

Document Builder

Advisor Coordinator

Asset
Alignment

Client
Care Program

BACK

We will build your documents based upon the Design phase specifications, providing you easy to read and understand flowcharts and summaries. You will have as much time as you need to ask questions and consider revisions to the first draft. It is important to know that we want to answer any and all questions that you may have about this process.

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Organizer

Goals & Responsibility
Conversation

Design

Document Builder

Advisor Coordinator

Asset
Alignment

Client
Care Program

BACK

You may have a trusted attorney, CPA, or financial advisor that you would like involved in this process. We’re happy to do so. Just let us know and we will either invite them to your meetings, or conference call them in if they are not local.

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Organizer

Goals & Responsibility
Conversation

Design

Document Builder

Advisor Coordinator

Asset
Alignment

Client
Care Program

BACK

Unlike other firms who hand you a sheet of instructions how to align (transfer or “fund”) your assets into your revocable trust, we do it for you. This is another way that our unique process provides you confidence, comfort and clarity. You’ll rest assured knowing that your legal team includes well-trained professionals who work with your financial firms, banks and advisors to ensure that everything is titled correctly.

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Organizer

Goals & Responsibility
Conversation

Design

Document Builder

Advisor Coordinator

Asset
Alignment

Client
Care Program

BACK

Your estate plan includes one free year in our Client Care Program, which is a cost effective way to ensure that your documents do not fall out of date with the ever changing legal, tax and financial world. The Client Care Program also works to keep your plan up to date with your family and financial situation. When you open a new account or acquire a new asset, our team will work with you to make sure that it’s titled correctly.

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For us, estate planning is not about the documents. It’s about the process of learning and understanding each client’s unique needs and goals, and then creating a personalized estate plan to meet them. Working together with you to build your plan, we’ll delve into the most important issues affecting you and your loved ones, to make sure all your needs are covered with the best available tools.

As trusted advisors, our primary goal is to provide you with confidence, comfort and clarity—both in your initial planning and as you continue to face important decisions over the years. That’s why our client relationships don’t end when the documents are signed. Through our ongoing Client Care Program, we’ll help you navigate the ever-changing world of legal, tax and financial requirements, to keep your estate plan up to date and your assets protected. Our complete seven-step estate planning process takes you from where you are today to where you need to be, now and into the future.

It all starts with a conversation.

ESTATE PLANNING MINDSET QUIZ

Are we the right firm for you?

TRUSTEE MINDSET QUIZ

Ensure you have the best trustee.

ESTATE PLAN DEFICIENCIES

Get your free checklist now.

Our Team of Qualified Wills, Trusts & Estates Attorneys

Kenneth J. Simmons, Jr.

“Your Goals. Your Plan. I think these four words really capture the key principals that our practice is built on, which are: a) That every client has unique goals, dreams and concerns; b) That there is no such thing as a “one size fits all” solution when it comes to estate planning; c) that our most important job is to listen to and learn from our clients to understand what they want their estate plan to accomplish. It is through this learning process that we can then create a customized estate plan designed to meet the personalized goals of each and every client.”

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Marco A. Schiavo

“I believe that 95% of our job is listening. Our firm’s objective is to address all of our clients’ concerns and accomplish their goals by providing a personalized estate plan designed to fit their specific needs which includes preserving the wealth that they have accumulated throughout the years. We believe firmly that estate planning is not a one-time event. As life changes, the plan should change with it. We believe in developing lifelong relationships with our clients so that they see us as not just advisors, but also as trusted friends.”

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Our Team of Qualified Wills, Trusts & Estates Attorneys

Kenneth J. Simmons, Jr.

Learn More about Attorney Simmons