An estate attorney creates estate plans and associated documents, including wills and trust. They primarily assist clients with organizing their assets, transferring those assets and distributing them to beneficiaries. As a business owner, you will probably have several assets that you want to plan for in the future. Although estate attorneys are very knowledgeable, their services come at a high costs. After all, they are bar certified attorneys who can charge whatever they deem reasonable. In order to find an estate attorney at an affordable price, we have put together this list of ways to lower the costs.
Create A Budget For Estate Plans
To get started finding an estate lawyer, you need to create a budget to know what you can spend. Already having real estate insurance, you should be used to creating budgets for nearly everything. Hiring an attorney requires the same financial discipline. You should only spend what you can afford on estate planning services. Depending on your budget, you can then adjust what services are most important right now. Then, you can always add your will or trust later on. This way, you have a good idea of what you can spend on estate attorney costs.
Find Estate Lawyers With Low Billable Hours
Many estate attorneys charge by the hour to keep costs low. Many of the experience lawyers could charge more than $200 per hour. However, if you are highly organized and already have some financial planning expertise, you could do most of the work for the estate planning process. Then, you can hire an estate attorney on an hourly basis which would allow you to lower your costs because they spend less time working. In effect, you are putting in some work and finding a lower priced hourly attorney to keep your estate planning costs low.
Buy An Estate Planning Flat Fee Package
Another way to save on estate attorney costs, the flat fee structure gives you a clear idea of what to expect. If you can find an affordable estate plan package, it could fit right into your budget with one secure payment. Ideally, the package would cover all the documents you need, including wills, testaments, power of attorneys and authorizations. Depending on your state and city, you could have additional requirements to satisfy local laws. An estate attorney with fixed costs could save you money compared to hourly pricing.
Offer A Percentage Of Estate Value
Additionally, you can lower upfront costs by offering a percentage of the estate. This might allow the estate attorney to work over a longer period of time for a bigger payoff later. While this could lower your upfront costs, this could cost much more to you or your beneficiaries in the future. If this cost structure is available in your state, make sure you understand all the terms and conditions of working with a fee-based estate attorney.
Negotiate For Lower Costs On All Estate Services
After going through different cost structures, prepare yourself to negotiate with an estate attorney. Most likely, the already know the prices of their competitors and colleagues. If you have done your home work to choose the right estate planner, then you should use all the information you gain to negotiate. You can ask the lawyer to match a price of another firm or provide some free services if you take a larger package. The art of negotiation is key to lower your attorney costs for estate planning.
An estate planning attorney is responsible for many legal documents. In order to have a smooth process now and in the future, an experienced lawyer can make all the difference if you have to know what is probate. Using these tactics to lower estate attorney costs, you should start with a budget, learn about the cost structures and negotiate using knowledge. These strategies will help lower your costs and find a quality estate attorney for planning purposes.