Hi moms! My husband and I I just met with an attorney to discuss setting up the following:
power of attorney - health care and financial
family trust - revocable trusts for me and my husband
will
The attorney fee is $3800. Does this sound reasonable to you? I do realize I can do a lot of this myself (for next to nothing) if I use the right software, but I'd rather have it handled by an attorney. I just want to make sure these fees seem reasonable. Thank so much!
I think that is way to much. I would inquire with another attorneys office for a comparison. The family trust replaces a will and usually includes power of attorney if something happens to you he has it, if something happens to him, you have it, if something happens to both of you then you have to decide who will take care of everything. It should be more like around $1000-$2000 depending on the complexity of your assets from what I've seen.
whoa seriously way too much. You can get all that done on Legalzoom for hardly anything. I did mine by myself and it's still valid. Don't pay this much
I would shop around. Just like you'd get a second opinion from another doctor, or contact several contractors before having a big job done on your home, don't hire the first attorney that you speak with.
I am an attorney but I do not practice regularly in Chicago. I won't comment on the fee, because legal work does involve a lot of nuances the lay person cannot do adequately but it could be too high anyway-- I just do not know (additionally I don't practice that type of law). However, in Wisconsin, I could get a will done by an attorney with everything you've included for around 1500? Ours would not be complicated though, not sure about yours.
However, I would caution you against using do-it-yourself materials without the advice of an attorney. A will is a serious business. If you and your husband died, or were incapacitated, would you want there to be any question about your intentions?
It seems awfully high since most attorneys use a standard template and just insert your info, so it's not like it starting from scratch. When I was in MD, I worked for a Estate Planning attorney and her going rate was $275 an hour. At her rate, to get to $3800, she would have to spend around 14 hours of work. I don't think we ever spent that much time on a will, POA and trust. POA are fairly standard and in some states you can find the forms free online. For the health care POA check the hospital website. I know here in TX, when I went to the hospital website when I had my daughter, I found the POA form. It is the trust that is costing the most money, but I still think that is a lot of money. I would look into other attorneys. Call your local bar association and they can recommend an attorney for you.
My husband and I are slogging through this now with a lawyer we really like, and she said it would be around $1500-$2500, depending largely on the time involved, i.e, the better we are at following up to questions and paperwork, the faster (cheaper) it would go. I feel a lot better talking to an attorney about it, as many questions have been raised that I would not think to explore on my own, and we have immediate legal assistance should anything go awry with our assets or issues of guardianship with our daughter. Our lawyer works independently from home, so that may or not play into the costs.
Good luck!
Jen
I would look for an attorney who charges a flat rate fee. Also, about 99% of attorneys do use a standard form where they just plug your information into the spots and it's the office help that does it not the attorney. This seems a bit expensive, but you also have to take into consideration where you live. Finding a small town attorney other than an attorney in Naperville would probably save you a ton of money and do just as good of a job.
That sounds excessive to me, but I haven't actually priced it out. I would think it would be more in the $500 range. These documents aren't complicated and shouldn't take a lot of billable time by the attorney (they should have paralegals to do most of the legwork and they just review it). I would ask them to justify the quote and try to itemize it. If they stick to their guns on it, I would shop around a little. I don't think you HAVE to use any particular attorney for this since it's pretty straightforward. I would try to find someone less expensive, personally.
My husband and I each had our wills drawn up, power of attorney for each and a trust and What sticks in my head is about $2500 a few years ago in the Kansas City area.
I personally would not do something like this on my own and you are paying for experience and expertise.
Good Luck,
Lori K
Knowing that attorney's average charge is $250 per hour. That amount seems very high. Unless you have some unusal circumstances, I would think you could have it done for less than $2,500.
Shop arround, maybe this is the going rate in your area?
Personallly, it seems really high; I paid considerably less for some of the same things excluding any kind of trust. I'd feel better if the attorney would be available to you over time for questions. Good luck.
We got something similar done with an attorney in Naperville for $500: David Senneke, 630/357-8887. He was referred by a friend and also worked with us when we bought our new house a couple years ago. Your quote sounds way too high to me.
i think that is kinda high in price..im pretty sue mine did not cost anywhere around that much.. not reall sure where you are from but, Manuel Law Firm in mahomet Il is really good. 217-586-1700 Even if you live far away you could a least get an idea what others charge. good luck.
If you have a bunch of businesses maybe. We did this 16 years ago for 1200.00
We did Power of Attorney for Health Care and a Will for both me and my spouse about 4 years ago in Plainfield. The cost was around 600 dollars, I believe. The attorney was reputable.
It sounds like you'd be adding a little more than we did (family trust), but I don't know how much more that would have been for us.
We used an attorney at Horwood, Marcus and Burke in the city and paid around $2300. This included 2 wills, 2 trust, POA, etc.
I have a great attorney in the Chicago western suburbs who did ours and recently my mothers. The price you received seems high. You should call her. She's a nice woman and very knowledgeable. Suzanne Cahalan, 630-690-7415, Wheaton, IL
Crystal
Geneva, IL
You could sign up for Prepaid Legal Services and have it done for a fraction of the price and then, if you like, cancel the service because you pay month-to-month. Let me know if you'd like someone to contact.
Seems awfully high for this. We had done one for my mom a few years back and it was under $2000. Shop around or email me personally at [email protected] and I'll find the attorneys number in Orland Park. Luci