Wills, Trusts, Estate Planning & Tax Planning

How It Works

Our Estate Planning Process

Below is a summary of our estate planning process. We have tried to make the process easy to understand and convenient for our clients.

You may download a fillable questionnaire to give us important information about the factors that influence your estate plan. We do not need every single detail, but the more you provide, the better we can help. Please return this to us three days prior to our meeting.

1. General

Fournier Legal Services™ is a modern, client-centric law firm that is focused on customer service and that maximizes the use of technology to service our clients efficiently and securely.

2. Initial Consultation — Discuss Goals and Objectives

We charge a $300 fee for the initial consultation and education session, due on the day of the initial meeting. If you decide to work with our firm, we waive the fee by crediting it against the document drafting fee. At the meeting, we explain the personal, tax, and legal implications of estate planning and discuss with you the factors that influence your estate plan, such as family dynamics, finances, and future goals. If you have any existing estate planning documents, we will review those as part of the consult fee to see if any changes are actually required. This meeting typically takes less than one hour.

3. Plan Design

Soon after the initial meeting, we will provide you with a letter summarizing our recommendations and the associated costs. If, after reading the letter, you do not wish to proceed, then the only cost to you is the initial consultation fee.

4. Draft Documents and Advisor Coordination

Once you decide to proceed, we will draft your documents and securely share them with you for your review and approval. We are available at any time to discuss questions you have on the documents themselves. We will also coordinate our plan with your financial advisor and accountant to the extent necessary.

5. Signing — Plan Execution

You may come back to our office to sign the final documents. Our staff will serve as the notary and two witnesses. We typically send you the original signed copies in an organized closing binder. We will also securely send you an electronic copy, and we will maintain electronic copies in our secure database.

6. Post-Signing — Asset Alignment

After signing, we are available to help you re-title deeds, other assets, and beneficiary designations to ensure the comprehensive plan achieves your goals.