https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 16 May 2026 19:10:56 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-completed-estate-planning#post-2232426 Fri, 10 Jul 2015 06:38:45 +0000 looch 2232426@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: Do you have legal benefits available through your employer (kind of like health insurance, but for legal services)? We do, via Hyatt, and the lawyer that is in network is the same one we would have used.</p> <p>In my state, unless you've got assets over $5 million, your documents are going to be boilerplate, so there is no way I would spend $3k. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-completed-estate-planning#post-2231954 Thu, 09 Jul 2015 16:57:01 +0000 catlady 2231954@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks for the comments everyone. I'm thinking that this attorney we chose is just super expensive. Just looked through the documents again and actually the will package that includes the things we'd need (like guardianship) is close to 3k. This stinks because I really liked the attorney we met. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-completed-estate-planning#post-2231916 Thu, 09 Jul 2015 16:22:34 +0000 wrkbrk 2231916@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We haven't done ours yet by my law firm provides these services for 2-3k. Do not pay 7k for trust documents!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-completed-estate-planning#post-2231895 Thu, 09 Jul 2015 15:52:06 +0000 Truth Bombs 2231895@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes. We have wills, durable PoAs for financial matters and health care, and living wills. Our wills establish testamentary trusts for the benefit of our child(ren). </p> <p>@Mrs. Pickle: Which is "easier" is really a matter of how complicated the wishes of the decedent are. Usually, the cost associated with establishing a trust doesn't really make sense unless someone has really complicated wishes for their estate, in which case, it's a lot of work for the successor trustee. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-completed-estate-planning#post-2231893 Thu, 09 Jul 2015 15:50:22 +0000 rattles 2231893@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We set up our estate plan after we had DD1. DH works for a financial institution and has quite a bit of experience in trusts and I'm an attorney, but I have no experience with trusts and estates outside of law school and he only interprets documents, so we wanted to hire someone to draft it properly. We paid our attorney $2,500 (in downtown Chicago, if that matters for reference) for pourover wills, revocable trusts, and powers of attorney for healthcare and property. We met with him once to discuss our goals and priorities, corresponded via email and then met again to discuss the contents and sign. It really wasn't too bad to transfer everything, though it did mean a little extra paperwork.</p> <p>ETA: The cost for wills/testamentary trusts would have been $1,500. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-completed-estate-planning#post-2231887 Thu, 09 Jul 2015 15:45:23 +0000 NorthStar 2231887@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would maybe call around and see what the fee structure would be like elsewhere. For example, some CPA firms might have a decent fee structure and could do it for you if they have the correct staffing in place.</p> <p>eta - I say this as $7,000 to setup an living trust seems ridiculously high. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-completed-estate-planning#post-2231883 Thu, 09 Jul 2015 15:42:48 +0000 NorthStar 2231883@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We were lucky as when I worked for a CPA firm, there was an estate attorney on staff. They gave a discounted fee for employees, so we got a will, health directive and living trust setup for $750. My guess that the normal fee for all three would have been $1,500. </p> <p>We felt it was important to do the trust so that we could determine if needed, how the money would be distributed and when. For example, our daughter would get a certain percentage at age 25, more at a later age and the full amount at a later age. It gives more control instead of the child being dumped with all this money or having the state decide how it should be disbursed. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-completed-estate-planning#post-2231880 Thu, 09 Jul 2015 15:42:03 +0000 MaryM 2231880@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DH and I haven't set ours up yet either, but I've talked a bit with my brother (who is my lawyer, and specializes in wills and trusts) about what he recommends. What @Mrs. Pickle: said seems true. </p> <p>My grandparents had a trust, and it was very easy for my mom and her sister to continue to care for the property after my grandmother passed away. They both had access to the bank accounts to pay bills and what not. I believe you can chose if one or all trustees have to sign documents (one is easier, so long as you trust them all!)</p> <p>I believe it's a good way to get around inheritance taxes, because technically, it's not inherited. It's just passed on to another/other trustee/s. So there's more legal work upfront, but it's easier for your beneficiaries on the other end. </p> <p>It's a hassle to set up at first. I remember having to go with my mom to the DMV to change her car registration and things like that when she and Dad created their trust. </p> <p>But from what I've heard, it sounds like it could be a gift to your children since there will be less for them to have to go through during what will already be a difficult time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-completed-estate-planning#post-2231879 Thu, 09 Jul 2015 15:40:43 +0000 DillonLion 2231879@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We set up simple wills ourselves. I consulted with an attorney but was not prepared to shell out the dough at the time (it was in the 1-2k range)</p> <p>Once our assets are greater, we plan to have an attorney do a new estate plan for us including a trust. Maybe in 5-10 years. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-completed-estate-planning#post-2231875 Thu, 09 Jul 2015 15:39:17 +0000 JMOM 2231875@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We set up a living trust a couple years ago. My husband has Hyatt Legal at work which covers payment for a trust/will so we don't get billed for the work associated with our trust.<br /> It was kind of a pain to get all our property, cars and accounts into the living trust. But our attorney was awesome - he loves doing trust/will stuff so he was fun to work with. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-completed-estate-planning#post-2231872 Thu, 09 Jul 2015 15:35:14 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 2231872@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DH and I haven't set ours up yet, but we plan on it soon. My mother in law told me that you end up paying the same for a will and a trust. You pay the legal fees for the trust now and for the will later when it goes through probate. She says trusts are much easier than wills for whoever manages your estate after your gone. I haven't done any research on it myself yet so maybe someone who has can confirm that's true? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-completed-estate-planning#post-2231857 Thu, 09 Jul 2015 15:19:48 +0000 catlady 2231857@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DH and I met with an estate planning attorney today. We are still trying to decide between a simple will or setting up living trusts, but I'm glad we got the ball rolling.</p> <p>Just curious if other bees have gone through this process and what your experience was like. Also curious if anyone wants to share how much the attorney's fee was. The difference between will vs living trusts for the attorney we are using is huge (~1k vs almost 7k) which seems crazy based on what my limited google searches on typical fees have brought up. </p>