Cost Effective Estate Planning (2022 version!)

[hornian 5,230]

I’m too lazy to find the old post, so starting a new thread. 
 

TL; DR version: Cost effective estate planning! Get it done before the end of the year!

Longer post: Hey Assholes, It's October, which means it's the time of year when my law firm, Jorgeson Pittman LLP (www.jptexaslaw.com), focuses on helping as many friends, family, clients, and community members as possible to protect their family and get their estate planning documents in order before the end of the year.  It started a few years ago when one of my partners lost a family member around this time; but it’s become an annual focus of ours each fall. 

As you may know, we partner with a legal insurance company called Texas Legal (https://texaslegal.org/independent-legal-insurance-plans) as providing attorneys.  One of the great benefits of of Texas Legal is that it will cover the entire cost of a complete estate planning package (usually valued at $1,500 to $2,000 or more) that includes Wills, Powers of Attorneys, Advanced Directives, Declaration of Guardianship, etc, as soon as your plan is enforced. The plans are low-cost ($270 for an individual for a year, or $28 per month for an individual), so it winds up being a great deal for the participants.

You can sign up as soon as you wish, and if you do so before October 24th and pay your premium to Texas Legal, you can have your documents drafted and executed in November.  We hope we can help protect you and yours this Fall season.  

If you do sign up with Texas Legal, please contact my office as soon as possible once you are a member to schedule a consultation: 512-320-0999 or you can email my assistant Andrea Seger at andrea@jptexaslaw.com.

[Celery Man 21,021]

Pics of your assistant?

[hornian 5,230]

15 hours ago, Celery Man said:

Pics of your assistant?

If you're into almost 50 year-old moms with kids in college/highschool, please see me for a divorce consult instead of estate planning. 

Edited October 12, 2022 by hornian

[Quagmire 2,147]

So if I need a will I can sign up for a month then cancel ? Or is that a dick move ?

[Guest]

So sign up for the legal subscription and they do the estate planning for free? I'm a little confused.

Also, if anyone is wondering about numbers, we did the estate planning stuff a few months back $3-4k in total (from elsewhere in Austin). Honestly didn't love the process as I felt like it made what I feel like should have been a relatively simple process about as clear as mud. We have papers, but I can't really tell you about all the ins and outs.

[hornian 5,230]

3 hours ago, Quagmire said:

So if I need a will I can sign up for a month then cancel ? Or is that a dick move ?

It is a dick move, and they don’t encourage it, but they can’t stop to inform doing it either. 

[hornian 5,230]

2 hours ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

So sign up for the legal subscription and they do the estate planning for free? I'm a little confused.

Also, if anyone is wondering about numbers, we did the estate planning stuff a few months back $3-4k in total (from elsewhere in Austin). Honestly didn't love the process as I felt like it made what I feel like should have been a relatively simple process about as clear as mud. We have papers, but I can't really tell you about all the ins and outs.

Yeah, Texas Legal pays the attorney so there is no additional out of pocket to the subscriber. 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11,821]

4 hours ago, hornian said:

Yeah, Texas Legal pays the attorney so there is no additional out of pocket to the subscriber. 

Is there any limit to the amount of effort needed to estate plan? My wife asks 10 billion questions.  

[Kennythetiger 9,490]

On 10/12/2022 at 5:52 PM, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Is there any limit to the amount of effort needed to estate plan? My wife asks 10 billion questions.  

If she murders you, she can’t inherit. That’s all she really needs to know. 

[Dbeasy 15,160]

I did this last year with Hornian and it went great. 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11,821]

I signed up and will attempt to update my stuff through Ian's firm.  If I end up dead, refer to Kenny's post above.  I am definitely worth more dead than alive.

[ScottS 1,076]

I assume this is good enough.  Do I need to get a notary or something?

[Pescado_Rojo 19,452]

34 minutes ago, ScottS said:

I assume this is good enough.  Do I need to get a notary or something?

might want to have someone delete your browser history, too. 

[Pescado_Rojo 19,452]

On 10/12/2022 at 9:35 AM, hornian said:

If you're into almost 50 year-old moms with kids in college/highschool, please see me for a divorce consult instead of estate planning. 

go on...

In all seriousness, I need to update mine. Divorce was final a couple months ago, and I haven't changed it yet. 

[hornian 5,230]

1 hour ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

go on...

In all seriousness, I need to update mine. Divorce was final a couple months ago, and I haven't changed it yet. 

[hornian 5,230]

Just bumping, since the last day to sign up and have the estate planning benefit available beginning in November is Monday (if you sign up later, it won't be effective until December). 

[Armybrat 40,942]

Nvm

Edited October 24, 2022 by Armybrat

[Bama Llama 1,465]

FWIW I’ve been focusing on estate planning since 1985, first with a small firm for four years, then solo for the next four, then with two associates for the next three, then solo since 1996. I’ve learned some things and continue learning every day.

DIY estate planning is like DIY surgery. 

Robert Shapiro did the estate planning bar a huge favor with LegalZoom; I’ve fixed or replaced enough LZ wills, trusts, POAs and health care directives to pay my annual overhead. LZ is not the problem, its users are.

You’re better off consulting an experienced attorney provided you establish right up front the terms of representation. The services to be rendered, turnaround time and fee.

Beware of document factory law firms which send direct mail or email announcing free seminars with blurbs designed to scare senior citizens, e.g., “The federal government has enacted new laws which will impact your estate plan!”

Dozens of my clients started with document factory firms. They came to me dragging huge four-inch thick binders containing multiple documents such as 100-plus page “loving” trusts  asking me to explain, fix and boil them down.

I practice in a common law state. I realize Texas is community property. However the same simple questions apply to all estate planning:

1. Who gets what?

2. When do they get it?

3. Who’s in charge?

Blended families are now the rule instead of the exception. Beware of any estate plan which permits the surviving partner to revamp the plan.

Fix your shit right. There are multiple routes your assets can follow when you become a croakee. Figure it out - make your advisor explain it to uour satusfaction before you sign anything except the engagement agreement.

Then relax and live your life out doing what you enjoy, posting outrageous shit on Surly, ridiculing anyone and everyone, reveling in a beautiful whatever, and keeping it real.