Our Process: Estate Planning Made Simple and Personal

Your first step is a free consultation—choose what works best for you: Over the phone, on Zoom, in person at our Atascadero office, or we can come to you. This is a chance to get to know each other, discuss your goals, determine the best plan for your needs, and go over next steps.

If you choose to move forward with us, we’ll send you a simple agreement memorializing our engagement along with a custom “homework” packet. This helps you gather the information needed to make the most of your planning session and gives us the critical starting information we need to draft a comprehensive plan for you (i.e., giving us an overview of your family dynamics and your assets so no one and nothing is unaccounted for).

We’ll meet to go through all the important details together. Stephanie will ask the right questions to uncover what matters most to you—whether that’s protecting your children, planning for incapacity, or ensuring your legacy lives on your way. Further, she will be sure to advise you of the applicable laws in easy to understand language and walk you through how different scenarios can or may play out so you can make fully informed decisions as to how we customize and structure your estate plan and what planning tools and techniques we implement and/or utilize.

Based on your goals, we’ll prepare your personalized:

• Revocable Living Trust
• Will
• Powers of Attorney (both for finacial management and healthcare decisions)
• Kids Protection Plan (for minors, if applicable)
• HIPAA Authorization
• Advance Healthcare Directive
• Any other needed legal documents to ensure you and your family are well protected for the future

Every detail is tailored to your unique family and financial situation.

At your next appointment, you’ll first meet with Stephanie where she will go over your your estate planning documents with you and make sure everything is correct and accounted for, and thereafter, about halfway through the meeting, the scheduled notary will come in so that you may sign and execute your documents. 

Stephanie will then work to prepare your final Estate Planning Portfolio in your custom binder. She will scan all originals so you get electronic copies of everything and assemble all originals into your custom binder so that everything is neat and tidy and easy to find. You will meet with Stephanie about one week after the Review & Signing Meeting so that Stephanie may deliver your final Portfolio/Binder to you and show you where to find everything. You’ll receive: A beautifully organized and customized estate planning binder, and a USB drive with all documents scanned for easy access & record-keeping. We’ll walk you through everything so you leave confident and protected.