Our Process
At the Village Law Firm™, we're committed to providing you with a comprehensive service that leaves no i's undotted or t's uncrossed. Below is an overview of our planning process.
Discovery Meeting
At our first meeting, we will review your family and financial situation and discuss your goals and concerns. We will explain the challenges that your loved ones may face and present a blueprint for a plan that will make things as easy as possible for them. We will also evaluate your estate tax exposure and make recommendations to minimize or eliminate those taxes altogether. Prior to this meeting, you will be asked to fill out a questionnaire so that we can prepare for our discussion ahead of time.
Plan Questionnaire
Once you’ve decided on a plan, you will fill out another questionnaire with information about the individuals you would like to serve in various roles, such as your children’s guardian and your executor.
Plan Review Meeting
At our next meeting, we will review how your plan will work and go over the individuals you have chosen for each role in your plan. This is also the time where we can guide you if you’re having trouble deciding on the best fit for a certain role. After this meeting, we will begin drafting your documents.
Document Review Meeting
At this meeting, we will review your legal documents with you so that you understand what each document does and make any final changes before the Document Execution Meeting.
Document Execution Meeting
At this point, you have reviewed your final documents and are ready to sign them. Estate planning documents have strict execution requirements, so we recommend signing them in our office if at all possible. (This is the only meeting that requires you to come to our office.) We will provide a notary and two impartial witnesses and ensure that your documents are validly executed.
Plan Implementation
No estate plan is complete without updating beneficiary designations and, in some cases, retitling accounts. Our services do not end when you have sign your documents. We assist you in filling out the forms necessary to retitle accounts and update beneficiary designations, serving as a liaison with your financial institution or financial advisor.
Final Confirmation Meeting
At the final meeting we’ll confirm that all outstanding items are complete and answer any final questions.
Partnership Service
You will have the opportunity for us to serve as an ongoing partner to you and your loved ones. Our partnership service maintains the complete information and documentation that your loved ones will need in the event of an emergency, so all they need to do is simply call our office and we will walk them through exactly what they need to do. The partnership service includes an annual review meeting to keep your plan up to date and ensure that our records are accurate.