Estate Planning
Planning for everyone you love, and everything you have.
Wills and trusts built for Alabama families, designed so the people you love never end up in front of a judge to sort out what you wanted.
Do you know what would legally happen to your family if something happened to you tomorrow?
Most people do not, and that is not a failure of character. Nobody teaches this. But if you cannot say exactly where your assets would go, who would raise your children, and who would make your medical decisions, then the honest first step is simply finding out, so you can decide whether the answer is acceptable to you.
If you already have a plan and it has not been touched in years, that is worth a look too. Out-of-date plans fail in expensive ways: assets go to people you would no longer choose, or land in an unnecessary court process on the way.
How this works
The Estate Planning Session
We start with a working session rather than a sales pitch. Beforehand you fill out an asset inventory, which does more than it sounds like: for most people it is the first time they have seen everything they own written down in one place, including the accounts and policies that pass by beneficiary form and never touch a will at all.
In the session we go through what you own, how each piece is titled, and what would actually happen to it. Then we design the plan together. If it turns out you do not need what you thought you needed, we will say so.
For most families the foundation is a revocable living trust, with your property transferred into it during your lifetime for your own benefit. Done correctly and kept current, it keeps your family out of probate and minimizes or eliminates estate tax exposure. Families with more complicated situations get advanced planning built on top of that foundation.
Why most plans fail
Most estate planning is word processing.
You are asked a handful of questions. Someone decides which template you fit. Your family’s name is dropped into the blanks, the print button gets hit, and you go home with a binder that looks impressive.
The documents are usually fine. What is missing is the work around them, which is where plans actually break: assets never retitled into the trust, beneficiary forms still naming an ex-spouse, a guardian named in a will that nobody can find. A plan is not a document. It is a document plus the work that makes the document true.
Common questions
The things people actually ask
Can I just use an online will kit?
You can, and for a genuinely simple situation it may even hold up. The problem is that most of what passes for estate planning, online or off, is word processing. You answer a few questions, a template gets picked for you, your name is dropped into the blanks, and the file prints. Nobody asks what you actually own, how it is titled, or who is named on your beneficiary forms, which is where almost every failed plan fails.
Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?
It depends on what you own and how it is titled, and any lawyer who answers that question before asking is selling rather than advising. A will alone still goes through probate in Alabama. A trust, funded properly, generally does not. We will tell you plainly which one your situation calls for, including when the answer is the cheaper one.
I am not wealthy. Is this really for me?
Estate planning is not about the size of the estate, it is about who decides. If you have children, own a home, or hold land, decisions will get made when you cannot make them. The only question is whether you made them in advance or a judge makes them later.
What does it cost?
You get a flat fee quoted before any work begins, so you are never watching a meter while you ask a question. Our pricing tiers and what sits in each of them are set out on the pricing page.
Ready to find out where you stand?
Fifteen minutes on the phone, no charge, and no obligation to book anything afterward.