WHAT DOES A TRUST LAWYER COST?
If you are considering creating an estate plan that includes a trust, you may be asking yourself what does a trust lawyer cost?
As with all goods and services, the cost can vary widely. However, a few things are standard when it comes to the question of what does a trust lawyer cost.
First, almost all trust lawyers, Creve Coeur, Missouri charge clients a flat fee to put together an estate plan which includes a revocable living trust.
So flat fees are the most common. Flat fees for complete estate plans which include a living trust, wills, durable financial powers of attorney, durable healthcare powers of attorney and livings wills should usually be a flat fee of between $1,250.00 and $2,000.00, at least in the St. Charles County / St. Louis County area.
Estate planning is not a commodity, however, since the scope of services provided can also vary widely. For example, if you go the cheap route and pay $1,250.00 for your plan, you may not get a lot of solid instruction on how to fund your trust, your plan may not include the creation of a deed for your property, which is of tremendous importance.
Our firm is in the middle ground between $1,250.00 and $2,000.00, but we are very thorough in not only the creation of documents, but explaining how the documents work, what they do and what needs to be done by the client to fund the trust after they have completed their plan.
As an estate planning attorney, St. Charles, Missouri, I can tell you that the difference between a good estate plan and a great one is that the great one leaves the client knowing what’s going on, what needs to be done right away, what they need to do in the future and should leave the client feeling confident that they have a plan they understand.
Many times over the course of my career I’ve met with people with a three inch binder of documents that you can tell has never been opened. All of that paper should leave the client feeling confident they are taking care of…yet that’s not what I see. I seen clients who are intimidated by that large binder, which explains why the never opened it.
So my job as a trust lawyer is not just to create the physical plan and have the clients sign it. The most important job I have is to instill understanding of the plans in my clients. That leaves them secure and confident and knowing that if they have any concerns down the road, I can meet with them and solve those concerns.
One last thing: With estate planning, you should always get a free consultation. That way, the attorney can meet with you, go over some of your goals with your estate plan and you can make sure they are a good fit for what you’re trying to accomplish. Our firm never charges a meeting fee for an estate planning client.
Legacy Law Center is an Estate Planning, Probate, and Elder Law Firm in St. Charles County Missouri. Our firm can assist you with setting up a consultation to discuss your situation at our office. Call us today at 636-486-2669.
