In addition to mediation services, I also still work as an attorney offering the following planning services:
Planning Bundle
Wills, Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Advance Directives.
Appropriate for assets below $5 million.
$1,600 for a couple with children.
$1,200 for a single parent or a couple without children.
Wills include pourover testamentary trusts for beneficiaries who are minors or young adults. In addition to documents, the bundle includes an initial hour planning meeting, an additional half hour of email exchanges and an in person meeting to execute all documents. Some families prefer additional consultation time. For example, blended families may require extra conversation. If additional time seems helpful, we will discuss prior to incurring the time.
Directives & Powers
Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Advance Directives
For standalone documents.
$500 for a couple.
$300 for an individual.
Preparation of powers of attorney and healthcare advance directives without the preparation of a will. Includes an initial planning telephone call and an in person meeting to execute the documents.
College Consult
Consultation and College Forms.
For a child entering adulthood.
$500 for a consult.
A facilitated conversation between parents and a child. We discuss college forms including emergency contact release and health center forms. We will also discuss the young adulthood risk window for mental health episodes and actions your student can take at their campus if they are concerned about a student. We can discuss changes parents may wish to make reflecting the child’s transition to an adult role including their healthcare advance directives. I’ve included in the pricing time for a brief advance call with parents as well as time to research available resources at the student’s college. My research focuses on college release forms and on campus resources for a mental health crisis. For students with a 504 or IEP, we can touch on their rights under the law and resources they may wish to utilize. Due to my professional obligations, I will need to let all parties know who I am legally representing in the conversation. Typically, that will be the parent. Note: I will need to stop the conversation immediately if it appears there is a conflict of interest among members of the family. Alternatively, if interests are aligned, I may be able to transition to providing legal services and legal documents to all parties.
Planning Consult
Planning consultation.
For assets above $5 million or to evaluate a living trust.
$500 for a consult.
In 2024, with the individual estate tax exemption over $13 million, it’s rare residents of Georgia need to engage in significant estate tax planning. However, for those over $5 million in assets, there’s value in taking extra time to ensure the asset tally includes items sometimes overlooked or unanticipated. For couples below $10 million even after considering unusual scenarios, we can proceed to fairly standard wills. If the full list of potential assets will be significantly higher, I will refer you to a specialist who works regularly with high net worth families. From my prior professional experience preparing documents for Georgia families certain to cross the exemption, I believe families in need of significant tax planning are better served working with the few law firms who serve those families in significant number.
In my opinion, it is also unlikely Georgia residents would benefit from the creation a living trust. There are states with an almost Dickensian probate process. In those states, the complexities of maintain a living trust over a number of years may be simpler than probate. As Georgia isn’t one of those states, living trusts can cause more problems than they solve. Even in situations such as hospice care where the trust will be of short duration, there are frequently simpler options available.