Creating an estate plan has never been easy, especially for those who are privileged to have a large estate. Drafting a quality estate plan involves proper planning, strategy, and the right estate planning documents like a trust, power of attorney, etc.
Before you plan an estate, you need to do your research on how much it will cost you. Doing so will help you plan better as regards the financial aspect of the estate planning. If you are keen on planning your estate, but is in the dark on how much it’ll cost you, this article is for you.
As we progress, I’ll help you understand how much it cost to plan an estate, including how much estate planning lawyers charge. However, before we look at that, let’s see what estate planning entail.
What is Estate Planning?
It is very crucial that you have a tad knowledge of what an estate plan is before you think of planning one. You can plan something you know nothing about, right? So, what is really the estate planning that folk’s talk about?
Estate planning is basically plans made to take care of ones estate after his or her death. This plan covers the distribution of the deceased assets, the creation of important estate planning documents like trust and power of attorney, the management of the deceased assets, the payment of estate taxes and unpaid debts, and the creation of a will.
Most Americans Are Confused About Estate Planning
It is not shocking that about a huge percentage of Americans (about 74%) find estate planning confusing. I bet it’s because whoever talked to them about it, wasn’t quite clear. So, if you fall among the category of people who find this topic hard to understand, below are some simple steps for estate planning. Hopefully, when you get to the end of this article, you’ll find this topic as interesting as your favorite novel.
Having looked at what estate planning is, let us consider the cost of making this plan.
Cost Of Estate Planning?
There is not a fix universal cost of planning an estate. It is not like booking a hotel in Dubai or buying a Lamborghini. The cost of estate planning depending on the estate documents you require and the estate planning lawyer you hire.
If your estate plan consists of documents like a trust, power of attorney, and other crucial estate planning documents, the cost of planning your estate will surely be high.
If you visit an estate planning attorney for an estate plan, the amount of money you will pay will depends on the following:
- The type of estate plan you require
- The legal fees of your estate planning attorney
- The individual who does the real work on your estate plan
Fees For Estate Planning
The cost of your estate plan will depend on your situation and the size of your estate. For instance, if what you require is just a will, you might not pay more than $300. For full estate planning, however, you may see price tags around $1,000 and more.
If your estate is pretty large, like the one Jeff Bezos owns, then you can’t escape it. You will definitely fork out a lot in estate planning fees.
Now, let’s look at the fees for estate planning. The fees for estate planning is usually calculated via either:
- Consultation fee
- Flat fee
- Hourly rate
Consultation fee
Consolation is where estate planning lawyers make contact with their clients to discuss their estate planning goals. Most lawyers don’t askfor consultation fee
Flat fee
A flat fee is common with several estate planning attorneys. With this fee, you’ll pay the same amount regardless of how many questions you ask, the number of times you email, etc.
Hourly Rate
Some lawyers will charge you according to how long it takes them to prepare your estate plan. There are lawyers who charge from $150 an hour to $300.
…So How Much Does It Cost To Plan An Estate?
The cost of planning an estate varies. However, on an average, you may spend around $250 to $350 per hour (attorney fee) to create a quality estate plan. You could end up spending several thousand dollars at the end of the day.
