Estate Planning

Estate Planning Steps

The Initial Appointment

The first step in the estate planning process is to schedule an initial appointment. You are not required to bring any documentation or information to the initial appointment, however, you may want to review the Preparing for Your Initial Estate Planning Meeting documents below. During the initial appointment, you will meet with us and we will review the estate planning process in detail with you. We will gather information from you and, if necessary, send you home with a list of any information you need to think about or consider. We will also mail you drafts to review.

Estate Planning Document

The Review Appointments

The next step in the estate planning process is the review appointment. During this appointment, we will review with you the draft documents. If there are no further questions and/or changes to the documents, you may execute the documents. If there is tax planning, we will review the draft documents with you and send you home with the documents for your review and schedule a third appointment to execute the documents.

The Execution Appointment

The next step in the estate planning process is the execution appointment. Many times, the documents reviewed and executed at the same appointment. We will provide all necessary witnesses and a notary public. Payment is due at your execution appointment, however, if you are making payments, a payment schedule will be discussed during the execution appointment.

Your Estate Planning Documents

We will deliver a packet containing your original estate planning documents and a copy of your estate planning documents, as well as your documents on a flashdrive, if you so request. We will also provide you with cards that you can distribute to the people named in your documents which list your documents as well as leaves a blank for you to identify where your original documents are stored.

Transferring Your Assets to Trust

If your estate plan includes a living trust, you will receive an asset transfer instruction sheet to assist you in the transfer of your assets to trust. We transfer Missouri and Kansas real estate to your living trust as well as your tangible personal property and closely held businesses. You are responsible for transferring all other assets to trust, however, we will assist in this process. Our staff is able to answer questions regarding asset transfers and you are free to call, e-mail or stop by with asset transfer questions.

Estate Plan Reviews

We seek to mail an estate planning review card every three (3) years, however, it is your responsibility to contact us to discuss changes in tax law and changes in your situation. There is no charge for this review of your situation and the current tax laws. If you would like to review your estate plan with us, please contact us to schedule an appointment. This is how we monitor changes in tax law, your tax situation and life changes (such as births, deaths, marital status, etc).