Traditional estate planning failed me, even as an attorney. My legacy planning ensures your estate plan will protect loved ones.

While my estate planner billed us a flat fee, in many estate planning practices, everything is billed on an hourly basis. In my prior practice, the firm charged $350 to $525 an hour for my time. As you can imagine, my clients wanted me to do everything as quickly as possible with as little communication as possible. They were always afraid to communicate with me, wondering how much the bill would be. Billing by the hour doesn’t work in estate planning because I need to know about your life and what matters to you because the plan that you’re creating today is not going to be your forever plan.  Your life is going to change; your assets are going to change; your circumstances are going to change; the laws are going to change and you need to feel free to call me when you have changes without worrying about what it is going to cost you.

My estate planner met with my husband and me for a half hour; we exchanged a few emails; returned to their office to sign a stack of documents we had never seen before; and then left with vague instructions, not knowing that our failure to meticulously follow them would cause our estate planning to fail.  Before we left, our attorney wrote some dollar amount around $30 million at the top of the instructions and said, “if your net worth ever exceeds this, call me.”  Needless to say, we never called and that set of documents sits in a drawer.  This is where the traditional estate planning typically ends and your relationship with your attorney is over. These vague instructions and inability to communicate with your estate planner when you need them can cause your plan to fail.  You might remember that you were told to go to the bank and transfer some assets into your trust, but if you forget and your attorney is no longer there to walk you through the process, those assets are never going to get transferred.  As an attorney, I knew what to do, but not everyone knows the law.

And yet, even as a lawyer, I thought we had secured our children’s financial future, but upon reading through the lengthy and expensive plan, we were essentially handing over large sums of money to them when they would lack the maturity to manage it alone.  Worse yet, our estate plan did not consider my family’s unique circumstances and left my family vulnerable to probate and temporary state custodianship of my children – despite having appointed guardians in my plan!  No parent wants their child in those circumstances at such a vulnerable time. 

These unintended consequences are not uncommon in typical estate planning. Traditional estate planning fails families at their most vulnerable moments, but my way of planning will prevent that. I knew if traditional planning could fail me, an attorney, it could happen to other families. And when I decided to start my own firm to have a more meaningful relationship with my clients and the practice of law, I knew that estate planning was the way that I could make the biggest impact for the families in our community. As a certified Personal Family Lawyer, my estate planning goes beyond the traditional approach.

First of all – nothing I do is billed on an hourly basis. Everything I do is billed flat fee, agreed to in advance, so there are no surprises. You’ll know exactly what it will cost to work with me after we get clear about what you want, and you’ll even be able to choose your own fee. Then, after the initial planning process, we have options so that you can ensure your plan stays up to date throughout your life, and again you’ll know exactly what that costs and choose your own fee there. 

Second – I will support you through the entire process. That means, if you are at the bank and call my office to get a quick answer about how to title an account, you don’t have to leave the bank and return on another day because there was no one available to answer your question for hours or days. You’ll be able to speak to me to get your questions answered right away.

Third – Planning is just the beginning of the relationship. This is not a one-time transactional event.  

Once you sign your planning documents, that is when the relationship really begins. At no additional charge, I review your plan at least every three years.  I offer two levels of membership programs that almost all of my clients participate in – either the gold program which provides you with a yearly plan review and unlimited changes to your plan, or the gold plus program, which includes an annual meeting with your attorney, CPA and financial advisor, plus ongoing legal guidance throughout the year.

Finally, my legacy and estate planning does more than protect your financial assets; I help you safeguard your legacy and personal values for your loved ones.  When my father passed, he left behind meaningful personal possessions, but more importantly, he had recorded himself reading a storybook for my son.  We cherished that storybook because it captured my father’s large personality so well. My parents immigrated from Bolivia in the 1960’s, and despite living in the United States for over forty years, they both still spoke with a rich Bolivian accent.  The recorded storybook captured my dad’s “Spanglish” and unique voice for us to enjoy over and over again. When the batteries corroded the electronics in the storybook and we lost the recording, I was devastated. The gift of hearing your loved one’s voice and holding onto a part of them after they pass is a treasure.  My legacy and estate planning includes a way for you to not just pass on your financial assets, but also the spiritual and human pieces of your legacy that are most often lost when you die.  This legacy planning is included in every plan; and I will guide you through the process during your Legacy Interview.

These are just a few of the things that make my firm different. Fowler Legacy & Estate Planning is the best fit for people who don’t just want to leave their family a set of documents that may or may not work, but instead want to use the estate planning process to pass on a legacy of love and care, and ease. And keep their family out of court and out of conflict.

On a personal note, I am an older mom to younger children. I am acutely aware of how I need to protect their future. My estate planning is something that you do not for you, but for the people you love the most. You won’t be the one to benefit from the plan we will design for you today – the people who will benefit are the people you love the most who will be dealing with things after you’re gone. Planning for the inevitable protects your loved ones when you can’t be there. It is the last gift you will ever give; I will help you make it meaningful and enduring.