The Estate Planning Process

The very first step is to schedule your initial meeting. During your first meeting, you and Carissa will go over your personal and family situation, review any existing estate planning documents, and review your assets.

After discovering what your legacy contains, Carissa will begin to focus on what you hope to do with your legacy and how you would like to protect it. For example, do you need to name guardians for minor children? Do you want to make sure your children do not get immediate access to all of their inheritance at once? Or maybe you want to disinherit a relative or make sure your family business ends up in the right hands. Once Carissa understands what you want, then she will design your estate plan and legacy by determining which documents you need to accomplish your goals, what those documents will say, and how much they will cost you.

Once you engage this firm to do your estate plan, we will get right to work. We will prepare a draft of all your documents and either email them to you to review in the comfort of your own home or we will set up a meeting to review your documents at our office. Once the documents are reviewed and any necessary changes made, you will sign them in our office. And then you are done! About every six months to a year after the signing of the documents you will receive an e-mail and/or letter asking if there have been any changes to any part of your legacy Then you get to go about your life knowing you have created a plan you and your family can count on for a lifetime!

Special Note for Parents with Minor Children

Carissa understands that imagining and planning for your family’s future without you in it is a daunting task that often finds its way to the bottom of your “to do” list! She is a parent as well. Carissa knows how precious your time and your family are to you. Taking this step was the hardest part – now that you’re here she’ll guide you and do everything she can to make the rest easy for you! What makes this firm different is that we were built with the needs of growing families in mind. We understand you are BUSY, you are growing, you are planning for a life of prosperity, and you value ease, convenience and efficiency. You are raising children and caring for elderly parents, while also working hard to build your own nest egg for a lifetime of support. 

You want to know you’ve made the best decisions for your family and that your plan will work when your loved ones need it most. You want to make sure your minor children would be raised by the people you choose, and never by anyone you wouldn't want, and that your teens and adult children are properly prepared to care for you and what you leave behind. Carissa believes in protecting your family’s future so that you can live for today. We understand that you are BUSY, but that you also want to provide financial security, prosperity, and comfort for your loved ones after you are gone.

This is Carissa's priority for you as well.

Cost of Estate Plans

All of our estate planning is done on a flat fee basis. If you have any questions about how much your estate plan will cost, please give us a call or an e-mail. We can assure you that planning is substantially less costly than it would be for your family if you become incapacitated or die with a plan that doesn't work or if you don’t have a plan in place at all. Carissa believes in working with everyone to make sure the process is accessible and affordable for everyone. She has made creative payment plans available to clients because she know that this planning is the foundation for a life of success!