Are you planning to engage an estate lawyer? Do you want to know how much their services cost? If you do, this article is for you. As far as the cost of hiring the services of an estate planning lawyer is concerned, it depends on a number of factors such as local business practices as well as their level of experience and the complexity of the matter.
In most cases, estate planning lawyers do not charge a fee for the initial meeting. However, it’s not a universal rule and you should ask them about it before the meeting. In fact, it’s recommended to set up a telephone interview before you decide to meet the attorney in person. It will save time and ensure that they are the right attorney for your specific requirements.
In the phone interview, you are not going to get too much information out of the attorney as they are not going to give advice for free. This phone interview is solely for the purpose of finding out whether they are right for you. You should clearly explain what you plan to do with your estate. Don’t expect them to give all the information you need on estate planning but you should be able to figure out how much it’s going to cost you based on your requirements.
Attorneys can either charge a flat fee or an hourly rate. The choice depends on a variety of factors such as the complexity of estate planning, experience of the attorney and other such things. Attorneys usually charge a flat fee for simple matters. For instance, setting up a trust or drafting and executing a will is relatively simple and attorneys will typically charge a flat fee for such services. Also, if your estate planning is like what most other people do, you will be asked for a flat fee in such cases.
Since most estate planning lawyers have already developed a set of standard clauses that can be used in a variety of situations, it doesn’t require them to do much work from scratch to put together a new document for your estate planning needs. However, you should know that the flat fee structure is based on the assumption that you are not going to require any other special services such as funding the living trust or other things. Most lawyers might charge an extra fee for such things. It’s better to ask about their fees in the initial meeting or when you have the telephone interview.
The other option is the hourly rate charged by the attorney. Usually, attorneys charge an hourly rate when the matters are too complicated and lawyers expect to spend a lot of time on setting up the estate and ensuring every single thing is in order. Usually, the flat fee is also based on the standard hourly rate of that attorney and the number of hours they expect to invest on your case. For instance, if an attorney asks you for a flat fee of $6000 and their hourly charges are set at $300, it means they expect to spend anywhere up to 20 hours on your case.
You should also know that higher hourly rates for an attorney usually means they have a lot of experience in the matter. While the hourly charges may seem high but it also means they are much more efficient due to their experience in estate planning.
Overall, it’s better to set up phone interviews with a few experienced and well-reviewed estate planning lawyers for initial consultation. You should explain your requirements during the initial consultation and ask them about their fees. It will help you in choosing the right attorney for your needs and also give you an idea of the money you will have to pay for their services.
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