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Why
work with us?
I have wanted to be a lawyer all of my life. The
allure was that the practice of law combined several
occupations, all of which appealed to me, both as a
child and as an adult. Counselor, quasi-minister,
skilled technician who could improve some aspect of
another’s life, gunslinger defending others in
some fashion. Originally I was a trial lawyer ( I
suppose that “gunslinger” image stuck with me
for quite awhile). Over time I came to conclude that
a “counseling” practice better suited my
personality, once I had grown up.
Regardless of area of practice, however, my image of
a lawyer always embodied the concept of a trusted
family advisor, the person to whom a family could
resort when they needed sage advice on any number of
issues that from time to time confront a
family.
As I shifted the focus of my practice from that of
litigation to counseling, I gravitated to the
practice of estate planning and administration. I
liked that image of trusted family advisor and
concluded that estate planning law would best enable
me to help people in an area of substantial personal
need, protecting their children and loved ones in
trying circumstances and preserving family wealth
(be it large or small in amount) for their benefit.
As I learned the technical requirements of this area
of law, I also learned the “business” of estate
planning. Unfortunately, I didn’t like the
business model I found because it seemed to negate
the very aspects of the practice that drew me to it.
Far too many “estate planning” attorneys treated
their practices as “document mills”; fitting
people into preconceived forms that, through the
magic of computerization, could be pumped out
quickly , with little thought at great profit to the
attorney.
I decided, however, that an estate planning practice
could fulfill my desired goals and still be a
business that would support my family.
The key to success is
staying true to the goal.
So, if you seek a trusted advisor, well
skilled in his craft, who can provide you with peace
of mind know that your advisor will be there:
to listen to your particular family situation, hear
your concerns understand your desires for your
family members over time;
to develop a plan to best protect your assets,
income and loved ones from the particular challenges
confronting you and your family;
to inform you of issues that might affect your and
your family’s security as they arise and meet with
you on a recurring basis throughout your life to
insure that your estate plan continues to meet your
needs and goals as they evolve over time in response
to changes in the law or family circumstances;
To provide a trusted advisor to whom your family
members can turn for guidance and care in the event
of your disability or death.
Yes, we still prepare documents, after all that is
the method our society employs to protect the
persons and things about which you care most. But
the documents prepared are the result of the
relationship we create with our clients. They are
hand crafted to fit your particular circumstances
and meet your specific needs.
Thus, the fees we charge are not for “form”
documents into which we squeeze your assets. We are
paid for our guidance, counsel and advice, all based
upon learning about you, your family, your goals and
desires as to how to best protect your loved ones
and best promote your goals and aspirations for
them.
In order to accomplish my goal; to become your
trusted family advisor; I have adopted certain
practice guidelines to which I and my staff adhere.
These include:
1. All fees are flat fees, quoted before work
begins.
We don’t bill at hourly rates because we know
clients do not like unpleasant billing surprises,
because some task took longer than expected. We have
been at this for over 25 years and if there is a
mistake in the expected length of time it takes to
accomplish your stated goals, the risk of loss
should fall on me and my staff, not on you the
client.
2. We attend to the details.
We know that planning affects every area of your
family’s long term well being and that, as the
saying goes, “the devil is in the details”. It
is our job, not yours, to attend to those details at
every point of the process, in order to assure that
you estate plan works when you and your family needs
it most.
3. It is our job to keep you informed as the law
changes.
We constantly educate ourselves to the changes in
state and federal law and the latest innovations in
application of those laws to you and your family. As
important, we maintain communication over time to
make certain that you are aware at all times of new
developments and how they may better protect your
family over time.
4. Life is change. It is our job to remind you that
as the circumstances of your life change, your plan
may need to change, as well.
We suggest that you plan be reviewed at least every
three years and will remind you when that benchmark
of time comes around. We have membership programs
for clients who desire a greater degree of service,
so that it can be obtained at a reasonable cost.
5. As a Trusted Family Advisor, we are concerned
about your entire family.
We are happy to provide estate check-ups and plan
amendments for your parents and basic estate
planning services for you adult children at
reasonable cost.
6. We make the planning process anxiety free for you
and your spouse or partner.
You may even come to look forward to talking to us
about issues confronting you beyond
“traditional” estate planning. The friendly
atmosphere created by people whose primary
professional goal is to help you and your family,
whatever the problem, will immediately put you at
ease; knowing that you have found a place where well
skilled people really do care about you.
7. We are here for the long haul.
I have been practicing estate planning law for more
than 25 years and intend to continue to do so for
the balance of my life. One of the benefits of
engaging in a career that you truly enjoy is that
you don’t work for a living. We truly enjoy
helping people and are committed to be there for
your family, not only today, but for years to
come.
If you are ready to experience the absolute value of
knowing you and your family members have a Trusted
Family Advisor to whom
you can turn for skilled professional advice and
excellent, well informed counsel in time of crisis
or personal need. Click
here to get started.
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How we are
different.
In order to understand how we are different
from other offices, let me describe the “estate
planning experience” to which many of our clients
tell us they been subjected in the past.
If you have engaged in estate planning in the past,
some of this may sound familiar.
Have you ever met with an attorney who barely
listens to your “story”; tells you what ‘your
problem’ is in words you cannot understand? Or,
worse, doesn’t explain anything at all, but
instead tells you “what you need” . He then
tells you to come back in a few weeks. Then either
(a) you don’t hear from him again until you call
asking whatever happened to your plan, or (b) you
return in a few weeks; the lawyer says, in effect,
“sign here, here and here”; gives you a fancy
book of documents, tells you to tell your kids where
the book is and not to touch it until you die;
warmly shakes your hand as you are lead out the
door, and tells you not to forget to put your assets
in your trust. After you encounter a problem
(because the bank says you shouldn’t do that with
some account) and you finally get hold of your
attorney, who dismisses it as “no problem”, you
get a bill in the mail for $50.00 for a 15 minute
phone call that you remember as less than 5.
Over time, the people you named as guardians for
your kids have moved out of state, tax laws have
changed, your assets have totally changed and more
assets are not properly integrated in your estate
plan than are; but you don’t call the lawyer
either because you don’t remember who he/she is ro
where they are now located; or more likely, because
you remember that phone call bill and don’t want
to start that up all over again.
And now the natural consequence of this planning
experience:
You become incapacitated or die and your family
finally pulls out that old estate plan. The
lawyer’s name is prominently displayed and so the
kids call him. After all, who else do they know to
call? Upon meeting he determines that the plan is
out of date, that there has to be a probate to
transfer all of the assets that were never properly
placed in the plan, as drafted; and that changes in
the law subsequent to the execution of the plan have
rendered most of the tax planning ineffective.
How do I know this has happened to many
people?
Many clients have related the experience to me,
concerning other members of the family.
But also, because it happened in my family when my
spinster aunt’s died, each having assured me for
years that they had everything taken care of by
their own attorney of long standing.
The truth is that many people, including lawyers,
think that estate planning is an older person’s
game. For many, the goal of the estate planning
attorney is to prepare documents for old people to
help them prepare for death.
Our Office’s goal is to help you prepare for
life!
What distinguishes my office from many others is
that our goal is to meet the needs of growing
families over time as their life situation changes,
regardless of age.
I understand that you are busy with your own life,
raising children, building a career, moving up some
ladder, or, alternatively, transitioning to a new
and different stage of life. You appreciate ease,
convenience, and efficiency. You want to feel secure
that the choices you make for yourself and your
family are the best possible and that you decisions
and goals will be performed and accomplished when
your loved ones need them most. You want to be as
certain as possible that you children, regardless of
their age, will be prepared to receive as much of
your wealth as possible, should anything ill befall
you.
This is my goal as well. Over time I have developed
a system for the practice of estate planning law
that provides you with access to an attorney to the
extent previously available only to the truly
wealthy, so that you can obtain the guidance needed
to help build and maintain a life of prosperity and
wealth.
I encourage communication with my clients. I have
thrown away the time clock so you never have to be
afraid you will receive a bill for a quick call or
even a not so quick call to solve a problem you have
encountered. All billings in my office are flat fee
quoted in advance of the undertaking of the
assignment. You never have to be worried about
unpleasant billing surprises.
Most important, we ensure that the most important
details of your plan are accomplished and that your
plan continues to accomplish your goals throughout
your lifetime. Our goal is to ensure that neither
you nor your assets ever enter probate court, that
long, frustrating, expensive and, with proper
planning and implementation, needless process.
I have created unique client benefits programs you
can join, to help keep your plan up to date annually
and provide you reasonable access to a trustworthy
source of legal advice for any legal or financial
matter. When the day comes that you need the advice
of a good lawyer, you will be grateful you can call
onb me and I will be there for you to help you
resolve the legal problem.
Finally, but most importantly, I believe that your
financial wealth is only a fraction of your loved
ones’ inheritance. The true wealth in any family
is its intellectual, spiritual, and human assets,
the life experiences each generation desires to
impart to the next so as to make life easier and
more meaningful, in essence, the ideas, attitudes
and life experiences that make you who you
are.
Most estate plans are only meant to transfer
financial assets to the next generation.
The intangible nature of your true wealth makes it
difficult to capture and is often lost upon the
death of an individual. Think a minute. How much do
you know about your grandparents’ values? What
they learned from their life’s experiences? Who
they really were? If you are like most people in
this day and age, you actually know very little and
probably wished that you knew much more. The truly
wealthy understand that these assets worth far more
than cash or financial wealth and they pass them on
to their children along with their assets.
I’ve developed, along with others, a tool to help
you pass on your whole family wealth, including your
intellectual, spiritual and human assets. This
process will allow you to share the true value of
the life you have lived with your descendants for
years to come.
Make sure to ask me about my priceless conversations
project when you come in. After I explain the
process, I think you will agree that it may actually
be as important as the transfer of financial assets.
One final thought, if all of the above sounds
expensive to you, in one sense it is but in a more
important sense it is not. I guaranty that if we
agree that we are a good fit for a client/trusted
advisor relationship, the planning in which you
engage will be substantially less expensive than it
would be if you had not engaged in planning or
written a plan once in your life, put it on the
shelf. I can honestly say that I have never had a
prospective client, who believed with the statements
I have made here, leave my office without planning
because of price.
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Our Estate
Planning Process:
Our Estate Planning process is designed to ensure
your confidence every step of the way.
First we ask you to prepare for your conference by
accumulating certain information and considering
certain decisions in advance of our first meeting so
that first meeting can be as fruitful as possible.
At our first meeting I will review your asset
information and discuss with your planning goals. I
want to learn about what concerns you most and any
special situations or considerations you consider
important to your planning. I will then review with
you exactly what would happen should you die or
become disabled while still in your present
situation (whether with planning of the past or no
planning at all). In this way you can see whether
your current situation will accomplish your desires.
I also find that in discussing planning goals, it is
often the case that a client will become much
clearer about those desires and begin to “fine
tune” them as planning options directed toward
attainment of those goals are presented.
Assuming that we all agree that we make a good
planning team, we will firm up the details of your
plan and I will quote you a binding fee for the
completion of your plan. I say binding because once
my fee is quoted it will not change (unless, of
course, you later desire to change the plan we have
designed together.) I usually request payment of a
retainer of 1/3 of the total fee at that time. At
that time we will also set your return appointment
for about two (2) weeks in the future.
At your second appointment we will review the
documents I have drafted in order to implement your
estate plan. Should minor revision be required, we
can usually complete it at that time, while you
wait. At that time we will also review the necessary
tasks to complete the integration of your various
assets into your plan. Depending upon the level of
planning you have chosen in your first meeting, my
firm will either handle the funding for you or I
will provide you with comprehensive instructions and
applicable forms to help you complete your funding
yourself. If you choose to complete your own
funding, we will be happy to meet with you again to
insure that you have successfully accomplished your
funding tasks.
In most law firms this is where the attorney/client
relationship ends.
This is where my firm differs from most others.
I see the signing of your estate planning documents
as the beginning of a longterm relationship with you
and your family. Why? Because if your plan is not
updated from time to time, as your family
circumstances and wealth changes, your estate
planning documents become worth no more than the
paper on which they are written.
As your family circumstances, degree of wealth
and/or the law change, your plan may need to be
amended to accommodate such change. I believe that
the best way to insure the continued viability of
your plan is to maintain regular contact with you.
By reviewing your plan every three years (at no
additional charge); keeping you informed of changes
in the law or newly devised tax or planning
techniques; and welcoming your periodic questions,
you will be able, at the pace you choose, to keep
yourself fully informed and thereby make the best
possible planning decisions for your family
throughout your life. You will be able to assure
yourself from time to time that we will be there for
the people you most love in the event of your
incapacity or death.
If this sounds like the type of attorney/client
relationship you seek, contact us so we can schedule
a mutually convenient time to meet and begin the
process of providing you peace of mind that comes
from knowing that you and your family are fully
protected in the event the unthinkable should occur.
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How to get
started!
If you are ready to provide yourself peace of mind
and your family the protection that only a well
developed estate plan can provide, just follow these
simple steps:
1. Schedule your initial Personal Consultation
Call Melissa at our main office at 314-863-7493 to
schedule your initial conference.
Melissa, or another member of our staff will be
happy to schedule a convenient appointment time to
meet with me at one of my three offices (located in
Clayton, St. Charles or St. Clair, Missouri.)
2. Complete the Estate Planning Worksheet
You can do this by completing the form online, here,
or by downloading the form and completing by hand.
We appreciate your forwarding the completed
worksheet online, by fax (314-863-7494) or snail
mail at least a day before your appointment. Feel
free to call our office if questions arise as you
complete the worksheet, we will be happy to help. If
you have existing estate planning documents, please
bring them to your initial consultation, along with
the following documents:
All deeds to real estate;
Life insurance and annuity policies;
Recent bank and brokerage statements;
3. What to expect at your Initial conference.
Please plan to spend approximately 1 ½ to 2 hours
with me for your initial conference.
In this initial conference we will:
Review you financial information to insure that we
have properly determined the nature and extent of
your wealth (for estate tax planning purposes);
Discuss your specific family circumstances and
particular concerns about those circumstances and
your family members (so we can determine the extent
and nature of any special planning to accommodate
such situations);
Educate you as to the law and what will happen under
your existing plan or lack of plan (so that you can
determine if/how you desire to better protect your
loved ones;
Mutually determine if we make a good planning team;
Determine the best way to protect your family in the
future.
Assuming we agree that we do make a good team, and
we agree on the plan design that best accomplishes
your goals to protect your family, I will quote you
a flat fee for the preparation of the chosen plan. I
will request a retainer of approximately one third
(1/3) of the total cost of the plan at that time.
4. What happens at our second conference
At the conclusion of our first conference we will
schedule a mutually convenient time to meet again to
review the documents that comprise your plan. Under
most circumstances this meeting can occur with about
two weeks of our first conference.
At this second meeting I will review with each
document that comprises your plan. We do this to
assure that I have properly understood your planning
goals and so that I can explain to you in specific
terms exactly how your plan will operate upon
execution and in the future to protect your family.
I will also review with you the specific technical
requirements that your successor financial manager
will need to undertake in order to properly operate
your plan for the benefit of your family members.
After we have reviewed your plan in detail and are
in agreement that it encompasses your planning
goals, I will request you to sign all of the plan
documents.
After all required signatures have been obtained, we
will review the steps necessary to fund your plan.
Depending upon the funding option you have chosen at
our first meeting, we will review the tasks our firm
has agreed to undertake and review the steps you
need to do yourself to insure that all of your
assets are properly integrated in your plan. If you
choose to complete funding yourself, we will provide
necessary transmittal letters to make this task as
easy as possible. We are always happy to meet again,
at no additional charge, to review your financial
documents to insure that you have properly funded
you plan.
At the close of our second meeting I will instruct
you to review your planning documents at your
leisure once you are home and note any questions you
may have about the documents as written. If, within
30 days, upon review, you believe that we have not
properly embodied your wishes, or, if upon further
contemplation after seeing the finished documents,
you wish to make changes, we will be happy to make
necessary revisions to the plan documents at no
additional charge.
With your permission, after your second conference,
we will contact in writing the individuals you have
chosen as executors, trustees, guardians,
attorneys-in-fact, and healthcare attorneys, to
inform them of their appointment and to explain what
they need to do should something ill befall you.
5. What, if anything, happens next?
After the initial planning and funding phases are
complete, the maintenance phase of your plan begins.
At no additional charge we will review your plan
every three years and keep you informed at least
monthly via e-newsletter of changes in the law and
other issues that can affect your family and your
wealth. If you choose to enroll in one of our client
member plans, you will have the opportunity to
review your plan annually and partake of other
valuable client services on a regular basis.
Ready to finally protect your family in the manner
your desire and they deserve?
Call us today, 314-863-7493 and click
here to get started.
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