The process begins when you call our office or contact us online to schedule a consultation. Your first meeting with one of our attorneys includes a complimentary 30-minute consultation, giving us an opportunity to get to know you and discuss your needs. 

Once your appointment is scheduled, we'll send you a short form to complete before your appointment. This questionnaire form is designed to help you start thinking about your family, your wishes, and any questions or concerns you want to discuss during your consultation. There’s no need to have everything figured out before your first meeting. The questionnaire is simply a starting point to make the most of your time with the attorney.

Call us at (727) 343-8959 or contact us online to schedule your consultation. 

During your consultation, you and the attorney will discuss your goals, your family, and the type of estate plan that best meets your needs.

This conversation is one of the most valuable parts of the planning process. There is no need to be completely settled on your wishes and plans; that is what the meeting with the attorney is for. The initial meeting gives the attorney an opportunity to understand your priorities, answer your questions, and help identify the best planning options for your situation. During this time, you and the attorney will have a discussion and work towards developing the plan that suits you. It also gives you the chance to think through important things you may not have considered. Throughout the meeting, the attorney will explain your options and help you make informed decisions that matter most for your family.

Once we have a clear understanding of your goals and have addressed your questions, we can begin drafting your estate planning documents. At that point, we'll outline the next steps and provide an estimated timeline for completing your plan. In most cases, plans are ready for review within a few weeks.

You'll have the opportunity to review your draft documents before your signing meeting, giving you time to review them on your own and note any questions or request changes. For families creating trust-based plans, we may also provide educational materials to help you better understand how your documents work and why each piece is included. Our goal is for you to feel informed, confident, and comfortable about the plan you're putting in place.

Most signing meetings take place in person at our St. Petersburg office. During this meeting, your attorney will review your estate plan with you, answer any questions, and guide you through the signing process. Florida law requires that estate planning documents be signed and executed in the presence of witnesses and a notary, which is why the in-person meeting is necessary.

We understand that traveling to our office isn't always possible. When circumstances require it, we can arrange to meet you at your home, care facility, or another appropriate location to complete your estate plan.

After you sign and execute your documents with us, our team will scan the originals into our system and keep a digital copy. Normally, this process takes about 15 minutes.

Once everything is complete, we'll deliver all original signed documents to you, unless we've discussed another arrangement. We will also provide you with a set of copies, an emergency card and, if you wish, a link for the digital copies. If you'd like electronic access to your documents, please let us know early in the process. Because completed matters are eventually closed, we do not maintain digital files indefinitely.

For many trust-based estate plans, and occasionally for basic will plans, there may be a few additional steps to complete after your signing meeting. Depending on your circumstances, this may include recording a deed with the county, coordinating with an attorney in another state, or completing other tasks specific to your situation. 

Once all follow-up work is finished, we'll send you a final letter confirming that your estate plan is complete.

For most estate planning matters, we can offer flat-fee pricing rather than billing by the hour. We can typically tell you what your estate plan will cost once we’ve discussed your goals and determined the best plan for you during the initial meeting. Because estate planning follows a well-designed process, we can usually estimate the time involved, and there should be few surprises along the way.

Basic estate plan (will-based): 

• Individual: starting at $1,200

• Couple: starting at $1,800

Revocable trust estate plan: 

• Individual: starting at $3,600 

• Couple: starting at $5,000 
  

In some situations, a family's circumstances may involve additional complexity or require research beyond the scope of a standard plan. When that happens, we may create a combined fee structure: a flat fee for the known work, with an additional allowance at our hourly rate for any unusual items. We'll always discuss this with you in advance so you can decide how to proceed. 

Families are usually asked to pay at least half of the flat fee before we begin drafting. 

After your estate plan is complete, you'll have the opportunity to enroll in our Continuing Care Program. Estate planning isn't a one-time event. Laws change, family and assets evolve, and life circumstances shift, and your plan should keep pace. Our Continuing Care Program is a fee-based service available to families who have completed the estate planning process with our firm. It's designed to help you stay informed about changes that may affect your plan and keep your plan current over time.