Up until now, you’ve had two options for your estate planning: Go to a do-it-yourself site like LegalZoom or work with an attorney who will customize your plan to meet your circumstances. Most people are afraid to fly solo online and many feel that they do not need the one-on-one attention, or cost, of an attorney. That’s why we are creating a third option.
We’re calling it The Estate Project. It’s an online estate planning process for people who want their estate plan created by experienced Massachusetts attorneys but whose situation is staright forward so it doesn’t require a unique solution.
Spread the word! Anyone can beta test the new site at half price through Labor Day. (see the bottom of this post for details)
Here’s how the The Estate Project process works:
- Take the Self-Assessment. First, you go through a quick checklist to determine whether The Estate Project is the right fit for you. Examples of situations for which the solution is not appropriate include long-term care, estate tax and special needs planning. They require a more hands-on solution.
- Complete the Workbook. If The Estate Project is a good fit, then the next step is to complete a workbook providing the information we will need to create your plan. We estimate that this could take as little as 30 minutes. (As beta testers, you’ll help us learn the average time to complete.)
- Choose a Package and Schedule an Appointment. You will choose between two packages, depending upon whether you want to have a revocable trust. All packages include wills, durable powers of attorney, health care proxies, HIPAA releases and, if you have minor children, standby guardianship appointments. Regular prices range from $750 for a single person without a trust to $1,250 for a couple with a trust. During this Beta test period until Labor Day 2016, the prices are 50% off. After selecting and paying for your plan, you will schedule an appointment online for a telephone consultation with a Margolis & Bloom attorney.
- Phone Consultation with Your Attorney. Based on the information provided in your Wordbook, a Margolis & Bloom attorney will prepare and email drafts of your estate planning documents which you will review together over the telephone. This will give you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have and to explain any of your choices in the Workbook that might have been confusing.
- Revise and Execute. Based on your discussion, the attorney will revise and finalize your estate planning documents. You may come to our Boston office to sign them or the attorney will send you your plan with instructions for how to execute it properly.
We hope that this streamlined and lower-cost process will encourage more people — especially new parents and Baby Boomers — to complete their estate plans. At this stage, we need beta testers. If you participate on or before Labor Day, you may use the promo code TRIAL for one-half off (the already low) prices. In exchange, we ask that after you have completed the plan you fill out a survey telling us about your experience. Just go to www.TheEstateProject.com to get started.
Thank you in advance for participating in this beta test and helping us modernize the practice of law to be more consumer-oriented.
