THE UNCONVENTIONAL APPROACH

Our Firm is Different

 

Explaining to you how we’re different requires an explanation of what the “traditional” experience with a lawyer is like.  If you’ve worked with a lawyer to prepare estate planning documents for you in the past, this will sound familiar.

 

During the traditional experience, you’ll go in and meet with a lawyer who will oftentimes make things seem very complicated and confusing. 

 

You’ll have a good idea that your lawyer is smart and seems to know what they are doing, so you’ll nod and answer questions, as if you understand everything.  Because you want to do the right thing for your family, you’ll have the lawyer prepare documents for you and you’ll sign the documents, feeling relieved you got THAT DONE.

 

You’ll take your fancy estate planning binder full of documents home, stick it on a shelf or in a drawer, mark estate planning off your checklist as DONE, feel good and never think about it again.

 

You might remember your lawyer said something about moving your bank accounts into your trust so you’ll go to the bank, forget what you were supposed to do, call your lawyer’s office, get a voicemail, have to leave the bank and wait for a call back, (which takes several hours at least and sometimes days) and by that time, you’ll have gotten busy with other things and never get around to moving that bank account.

 

A few weeks later, you’ll get a bill in the mail for $100.00 for 15 minutes of your lawyer’s time for answering a couple of questions.  You’ll make a mental note– don’t call the lawyer ever again.

 

Several years later, you’ll refinance your house or sell it and buy a new one and forget that you were supposed to let your lawyer know or make sure you kept the title in the name of the trust.

 

Your children will get older, making your guardianship choices outdated, but you don’t want to call your lawyer because you know you’ll get a bill in the mail two weeks later.

 

You’ll hear something about a change in the tax law, but you figure you’d surely get a letter in the mail from your lawyer if it was something that affected you, so you don’t worry about it.  And, you’d have to dig through boxes to find your trust documents so you could remember your lawyer’s name and find his contact information.  Who has time for that?

 

It’s not until you become incapacitated or die and your family finds the binder you stuck up on a shelf several years before and never looked at again, that they’ll realize your plan is so outdated that it has nothing to do with your life, your assets and the law.

 

Your family is at a loss.  They don’t know where to turn or what to do, so they contact the same lawyer you used to prepare the documents, who is more that willing to help you out in the probate court process, since you never titled your assets into the trust you created years ago.

 

How do I know all this?  

 

From personal experience and through clients, I know the problems and stress that surrounds the death of a loved one.  At a time when you are supposed to be grieving,  you are all of sudden thrown into turmoil and face an overwhelming to-do list, meanwhile grappling the loss of your loved one. Because of my own personal experience, I swore it would never happen to my clients when I created my own firm.  

 

Unfortunately, what I discovered is the estate planning industry was not designed to serve entrepreneurs, unconventional couples and individuals who experience lots of change on their road to success who want to ensure those people who matter to them most will be taken care of in their absence.  The traditional model was designed to serve those who were preparing for death.  

 

Our Firm Prepares You to Live Life to the Fullest

 

What makes our firm different is that we were built with the needs of people and businesses with a growth mindset. We understand you are BUSY, you are growing, you are planning for a life of prosperity and you value ease, convenience and efficiency. You might be raising children on your own, 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 loved one and that your plan will work when it is needed the 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 or perhaps you want to ensure that your life partner, extended family or friends are not left out of your plan. Also, by confronting something most of us want to avoid thinking about, death and incapacity, it opens your eyes to the importance of living each day to the fullest, not taking things for granted.

 

You want to feel confident that you’ve made the right choices, and handled everything so that you aren’t leaving behind a mess, when something happens.

 

We’ve developed unique systems so you can have the guidance you need to build and maintain a life of prosperity and wealth. And, to keep your loved ones out of court and out of conflict, which is the greatest risk to the people you love and all you have created. 

 

A Client-Centered Approach

 

We encourage communication with our clients. In fact, we’ve thrown out the time clocks so you never have to be afraid to call with a quick question. Everything we do is billed on a flat-fee basis, agreed to in advance, so there are never any surprises.

 

And, we ensure the most important details of your planning are followed through on and your plan continues to work throughout your lifetime.

 

We take the time to ensure your assets are owned the right way throughout your lifetime so you don’t end up going through a long, expensive court process or have your valuable assets go to the state’s unclaimed property because no one even knew you had that asset.  Especially important these days, when many are investing digitally and in alt. coins and cryptocurrencies. 

 

We’ve created unique membership programs to keep your plan up to date year in and year out as well. 

 

A Holistic Approach to Life’s Transitions

 

Lastly, we believe your financial wealth is only a small part of your overall “Family Wealth” which is made up of your far more valuable – and most often lost upon incapacity or death – intellectual, spiritual and human assets. These assets are what make you who you are, and sum up what’s most important to you. And, a survey of inheritors has revealed that what they care about even more than inheriting your money, is inheriting these intangible assets.  

 

Most estate plans only focus on the transfer of your financial wealth to the next generation. Most people have such great intentions of passing on the intangible, but very few ever get around to it. It’s just not a priority, until it’s too late. How much do you know about your grandparents’ values? Their most prized personal possessions? How they felt about you? What they had learned during their lifetime?

 

If you are like most people, you know very little. That’s why our firm includes a life and legacy interview with every plan we create. Not only will we help you pass on your money, but also your values, your insights, your stories and your experience – the truly valuable assets your loved one’s care about the most. 

 

We’ve developed a tool that allows us to capture and pass on your whole family wealth, including your Intellectual, Spiritual and Human assets.  I can’t go into all of the details here, but we’ll definitely talk about it when you come in for your Family Wealth Planning Session. Book Your Planning Session or free consultation here now www.calendly.com/unconventionallawyer.

 

We look forward to serving you soon and changing your perception of lawyers!

 

Meredith Weil, Esq.

The Unconventional Lawyer

 

PS – Planning is substantially less costly than it would be for your family if you became incapacitated or die with a plan that doesn’t work or no plan at all. Our firm offers creative financing options to our clients because we know that this planning is the foundation for a life of success and will keep your loved ones out of court and out of conflict!

 pressure that comes with every case and are here for you, every step of the way.

 

Dependable, calm, and well spoken, our team of legal professionals add the personal touch our clients deserve whilst approaching each new case with the attention it needs. Get in touch with us today.