Our Process & Fee Structure

The Fact-Finding Phase

We know that when you first come in to meet with us, you want to know what to expect and feel prepared. At Dana Whiting Law, “we believe that Estate Planning is a process, not a document”, said Matt. “You are not paying for a stack of papers, you are paying for our experience, advice, and guidance in making key decisions”. We have two ways we could proceed, depending on the client and the level of service the client wants.

In either case, the first step is to do a sufficient amount of fact gathering from the client. We will provide the client with a “Fact Finder” to complete and bring with them to the first meeting. We will also provide the client with a list of existing documents to bring in. Our relationship will begin with a thorough understanding of each other. Before we enter into an official legal engagement, we want to understand the needs and desires of the client, their financial picture, the structure and the makeup of the family with specific discussion of each family member. We will also ask the client to bring in copies of any existing estate planning documents, Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, etc. We never charge the client for this first “fact-finding meeting”. “We don’t believe in charging the client a legal fee for them to come in and verify that we have the appropriate experience to help them create or modify their estate plan, and to make sure we understand their goals and objectives and ultimately to make sure that our personalities will work well together”, said Matt.

The Design Phase

If the client wants to proceed to the Design Phase, then we give the client a choice of two different options. The first option, “the simple design option”, we schedule one design meeting where we will illustrate two or three versions of a Trust, in flowchart form and review those flowcharts with the client. These flowcharts have been designed to fit the needs of most clients. Perhaps 80% of all of our clients would fit within these several options with some minor modifications. These flowcharts have been developed over 30 years of practicing estate planning, and have been successful in serving the clients’ needs and desires very well. This “simple design option” seems to work the best for “Tier 1 clients”, clients with less than $10 million. For these clients, the assets are relatively simple, and the family dynamics are relatively simple. At the end of this design session, we will present the client with a fee agreement that lists various flat fees for each of the different trust designs that were illustrated.

The second option, “the custom design option” we recommend that the client participates in at least two design sessions (maybe 3 or 4 depending on the complexity of the client’s situation) instead of the one design session in the “simple design option” above. The number of design sessions needed is determined by our Attorneys and the client. Under the “custom design option”, the client wants to see more options then the 2 or 3 designs in the “simple design option”. This client will perhaps have a net worth in excess of $5m, will have more complex tax issues, perhaps a large IRA or other tax-deferred assets. This client could be a Tier 1 client, but has more complexities in the dynamics of the family (i.e. Children from a prior marriage, children of a current marriage, and step-children of the existing spouse – maybe this client has a “special needs” child) that may require more time and expertise in designing the estate plan. If the client chooses this option, we will agree on a flat fee for each design session, usually between $500 and $750, depending on the experience and skill set of the Attorney. Each design session will last between an hour and an hour and a half. If after the client completes the design sessions, the client does not want to proceed to the next step of implementing the estate plan, they can terminate the engagement and simply pay for the number of design sessions that they had.

At each design session, the client is welcome to bring their CPA, Financial Advisor, or any other advisor or family member they choose. We will prepare custom flowcharts before each session, and present them at the session. These flowcharts will be specific to the client’s situation, goals, and desires. In addition to the flowcharts, we will prepare excel spreadsheets and projections that will help the client understand the tax savings that can be achieved by embracing certain specific estate planning strategies. “We believe that a client should thoroughly understand an estate planning strategy and its benefits before the client embraces that strategy”, says Matt.

We will conclude these design sessions by providing the client and their advisors with a detailed “Estate Planning Proposal” summarizing each strategy that we discussed, the tax savings associated with each strategy, and the flat fees it would take to implement each Trust or strategy. The client can then review this memo with their CPA or other financial advisors. Once we agree on the design of the estate plan and the number of Trusts that we want to implement, the client will be asked to sign the “Estate Planning Proposal” which will also serve as the fee agreement for the flat fees described for each strategy. The client can choose to implement all of the strategies at once, resulting in a lower fee, or implement each strategy one at a time over a period of time. (Once again, estate planning is a process.)

The Implementation Phase

Using the flowcharts as the “blueprints” for the estate plan, we provide the client with a draft of the Will, Trust and other estate planning documents, usually within 7 to 10 days of completing the design session. The client will have another 7 to 10 days to review the documents before they come in and review the documents with us to make sure that the client thoroughly understands key provisions in the estate plan. We compare the provisions in the documents to the flowchart. After the client thoroughly understands the document and the flowcharts, a meeting to sign the documents will be scheduled.

The “execution of the documents” is also handled by the attorney and a paralegal. The attorney answers any further questions the client may have before signing. And, in order to keep fees down, a paralegal, who is also a notary, then finishes the “execution of the documents”. The client is given the option to provide his or her own witnesses (usually, two are required) or using some of our law clerks or paralegals as witnesses.

The “Funding Phase”

After the documents have been executed, we are not finished until all assets have been properly retitled. We assist the client with the re-titling process to make sure that the Trusts that were created are properly “funded” (a Trust only can control assets that it owns, and it can only “own” assets that have been retitled). We sit down with the client, review all of their assets, and make a list of the assets that need to be retitled. We also list the assets that we are responsible for retitling and provide the client with a list of assets that they are responsible for retitling. We then provide the client with very specific “Funding Instructions” that walk them through, step by step, the process of changing the title of those assets.

After the “Funding Phase” is complete, we work with the client to complete “Schedule A to the Trust,” which is a list of all assets that were retitled. This Schedule A will be in the form of an Excel spreadsheet, making it easy in the future to update as the client’s assets change and need to be titled into the Trust. Once again, we work out a flat fee with the client for any assets that we are responsible for retitling. “One of the biggest mistakes in estate planning is the failure of the attorney and the client to properly fund the Trust,” says Matt. “We want to make sure that every Trust that we create is properly funded.”

Future Meetings after Completion

All clients are kept informed by us, free of charge, (usually through email or a newsletter) of any future changes in the law. Clients will also be invited to frequent seminars to keep them informed and updated in changes in the law, free of charge. All Tier 1 clients are also invited to join Trust Shield to ensure their Estate Plan remains properly funded and to provide the benefits of special events and seminars, and receive an annual free review of their Estate Plan.

We also offer a free review of their Estate Plan with the client at least every three years. The client is advised on how changes in the law impact them specifically only if they schedule a meeting to come in and see us.

With Tier 2 clients, we encourage them to meet with us at least annually to make sure that the estate plan is properly funded, inform the client of changes in the law that specifically impact their estate plan and to see what circumstances may have changed in their lives. This annual meeting is charged at our normal hourly rates. We will review the estate plan and flowcharts with them and we will review their assets to make sure they are properly titled.

And with Tier 3 clients, we may encourage them to meet with us twice a year, and sometimes quarterly, to make sure their plans are most tax efficient and that the client is providing the maintenance and formalities that the IRS would require.

When signing the initial fee agreement, every client will be given the option for a “maintenance program”, where the client receives certain benefits each year, including a review meeting with their attorney, at a flat maintenance fee agreed upon in advance.

In either case, if the client wants to amend their estate plan, a flat fee will be quoted and agreed upon before any changes are made. “An estate plan is most efficient to eliminate probate, make administration simple and easy and save taxes when it is reviewed regularly”