“My husband and I had put this off for eleven years. Two video calls and one Saturday signing at our dining table, and it was done.”
Denise K.Will plan, Westerville
Estate planning at flat fees
What happens to everything, and everyone, after you?
It's the question under every will. We're three estate lawyers in Columbus who answer it in plain words, for a fee you see before we start, and by video wherever you live in the state.
Start with the worry
What happens to my…
Most people come to us with one question that won't leave them alone. Here are the six we hear most, and the short answers.
Trust plan…house?
Left to a will alone, a house can wait months in probate before anyone may sell it or live in it. A living trust lets it pass straight to the people you name.
How a trust holds a house
Will plan…kids?
If both parents die, a judge chooses who raises your children unless your will has already said. We help you pick a guardian, a backup, and someone to manage the money.
Naming a guardian
Part of every plan…car?
Usually less than you fear. A car can often change hands with a form at the title office. We list every car, account and policy so your family knows which need a court.
What goes through probate
Part of every plan…savings?
Accounts with a named beneficiary skip the will entirely, so an old form can still send money to an ex. We read every beneficiary form as part of your plan.
What a will covers
Included, or on its own…care, if I can't decide?
Without a power of attorney, your family may need a guardianship case to pay your bills. Two signed pages let someone you trust do it, and talk to your doctors.
Powers of attorney
Probate, one fee a phase…Mom's things, now she's gone?
If you're the executor, you have a list of jobs and deadlines, and probably a job of your own. We take you through probate one phase and one fee at a time.
Help for executors
Before you call
The questions people are shy to ask
Do I need a lawyer, or will an online will do?
An online form can be enough for a simple estate. It won't ask what you didn't think of: the stepchild, the cabin in another state, the account still naming your ex. That conversation is most of what you pay us for.
We don't have much. Is a plan worth it?
Often it matters most then. A small estate has less room for court costs and months of delay, and a guardian for your children costs nothing to name.
Can we really do all of it by video?
Everything except the signing, and even that can come to you. We send a notary and two witnesses to your home, or you sign with us on High Street.
My parents won't talk about it. Can I start for them?
You can call us to learn what to ask and what to gather. The plan itself has to be theirs, so we'll meet with them, and for part of it without you.
What isn't in the flat fee?
Money paid to others: court filing fees, deed recording fees, appraisals and tax returns. Your written quote lists each one before you agree to anything.
How we work
A desk on High Street, and a video link for everyone else
Most of our clients never visit the office. They meet us from a kitchen table in Dayton or a hospital waiting room in Athens, with the documents on screen between us.
We write every plan in plain English first, go through it line by line on a second call, and only then turn it into the legal version you sign.
A free first call of thirty minutes
A written flat-fee quote before any work
A plain-English summary of every document
From clients
What families tell us afterward
“Harjit gave me a list of what to do each month as Dad's executor. I live in Cincinnati and only had to drive up once.”
Marcus T.Probate, Franklin County
“I asked a lot of questions about our son's trust and never once felt the clock running. The fee was the fee.”
Priya and Sam R.Trust plan, Dublin
Comments from clients describe their own matters. Every family's situation is different, and none of this promises a result in yours.
Bring the question that's keeping you up
Tell us what you have and who you want to look after. You'll leave the first call with a written flat fee, and no obligation to use it.
The first call is free and doesn't make us your lawyers; a signed engagement letter does.