Estate Planning Fees and Costs
Our Fees and Costs
Arizona Estate & Trust Law’s estate planning fees are determined by the time spent on a client’s behalf, the skill level required to provide the services, and the responsibilities assumed. For most legal services our fees are a flat fee. If the nature of the work makes a flat fee difficult to determine in advance, the work is done on a quoted hourly basis. A written confirmation of the fee arrangement and work to be done is furnished to the client before any work begins on a client’s behalf.
Estate planning fees are dependent on the client’s specific situation. Because Arizona Estate & Trust Law believes clients should know in advance exactly what a comprehensive estate plan will cost them, Arizona Estate & Trust Law is only able to provide fee quotes following an initial office consultation. An extended initial conference is necessary to thoroughly evaluate the client’s situation and to discuss the planning options available to the client. It is also vital that the client knows exactly what services are included in the quoted fee.
An initial estate planning consultation with Arizona Estate & Trust Law typically lasts two hours and costs $300. At the end of the meeting, clients are given a suggested estate plan and a quoted fee to implement the plan. If the clients choose to go forward with the proposed plan, the $300 initial consultation fee is deducted from the quoted fee.
Estate Planning Services:
• Initial multiple-hour conference to determine an appropriate estate plan
• Advising clients regarding beneficiary designations for bank accounts, brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, and life insurance policies
• All additional conferences needed to answer client questions, review initial drafts of estate plan documents, and discuss potential document changes
• Preparing Property Agreement to establish ownership of assets between clients
• Preparing Revocable Living Trust with Pour-Over Wills
• Preparing Certification of Trust in accordance with Arizona law to ensure proper registration of trust assets
• Preparing and recording Deeds to transfer clients’ individually-owned real estate to their trust
• Preparing Financial Powers of Attorney
• Preparing Living Wills and Health Care Powers of Attorney
• Filing copies of clients’ health care documents with the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry for 24/7 accessibility
• Preparing beneficiary designation forms for retirement accounts and life insurance policies
• Supervising clients’ signing of their estate plan documents
• Furnishing clients with written instructions regarding the proper registration of their trust assets
• Furnishing clients with a summary of their estate plan documents
• Furnishing clients with an Estate Plan Notebook
• Responding, without charge, to client questions concerning estate plan matters following the completion of the client’s estate plan.
Typical Fees and Costs:
Attorney fees for married clients with all co-owned assets: $2,500 – $3,500
Attorney fees for married clients with separately-owned and co-owned assets: $3,000 – $4,000
Attorney fees for single unmarried clients: $1,750 – $2,500
Recording fees to transfer Arizona real estate to trust – $30 per deed
A no-obligation fixed-fee quote is provided at the conclusion of the initial conference.
