Estate Planning

Some firms help you fill out forms you could have downloaded yourself from the internet. Estate Planning is more than filling out forms; it's designing a future for your loved ones. A thorough Estate Plan is about more than money, it captures the intangible gifts as well: your values, insights, and legacy.

Schedule a 15 Minute Phone Consult

Our Estate Planning Process

Estate planning is not a transaction, it is a conversation. At Rayboun Winegardner, we take the time to understand your family, your goals, and your concerns before a single document is drafted. By the end of your first meeting with us, you will know how things will play out if the unspeakable happens, and you will understand how to design and create a plan so the focus can be on the things that really matter, not red tape.

What to Expect

Step 1 — The Planning Session. The first time we meet you will learn the basics of estate planning relative to what your family needs. This is not a sales pitch. We start with an overview of estate planning fundamentals and get to know your family and your concerns. Some people are planning just for themselves have a basic planning needs. Others have complicated or blended families and may want to learn about trusts. Probate avoidance is a major reason to plan ahead no matter the size of your estate. And for families with young children, it is important to commit our chosen guardians to writing. If you decide to create an estate plan or change one you already have, we start to build your plan together that day.

Step 2 — Review, Revisions & Signing. Before we meet again, we communicate about any leftover decisions, and we confirm your plan's broadest outline. At our second meeting, we review your documents together, answer questions, address concerns, and make any final changes. Once everything is exactly as you want it, you will execute your documents. If your plan includes a trust, we begin to discuss how the funding process works.

Step 3 — Delivery. After you document are full executed, we schedule our final meeting. Then we make sure all pages a properly signed or initialed, witnessed and notarized. We scan the documents and prepare your original plan documents for you to take home. We deliver a fully organized binder with all of your executed documents and show you how to use them. We have a another discussion about funding, if you have a trust. And we help you to complete the funding process.

A Relationship, Not a Transaction

We stay in touch and keep you informed of changes in estate planning laws through our newsletters, emails, or client updates. We are here to help you amend your documents whenever your life changes, whether that means a new grandchild, a change in assets, or a shift in your wishes.

What a Complete Estate Plan Typically Includes

Last Will and Testament: this directs the distribution of your assets and names a personal representative to administer your estate
Revocable Living Trust: this avoids probate, maintains privacy, and allows for seamless management of your assets during incapacity or at death
Durable Power of Attorney: authorizes someone you trust to manage financial matters on your behalf if you cannot
Designation of Health Care Surrogate: names the person who will make medical decisions for you if you are unable to make them yourself
Living Will: documents your wishes regarding end-of-life care
HIPAA Authorization: allows your designated individuals to access your medical information

Ready to Get Started?

Call us to schedule a 15-minute free phone consultation to talk through your situation and find out whether now is the right time to put your plan in place.

Email to Schedule a 15-Minute Phone Consult

Call to Schedule a 15-Minute Phone Consult