#Trusts #Wills #SEFlorida #EstatePlanning #LawyerFees
Hey there 👋! It sounds like your Aunt is looking to set up a trust or will in SE Florida, but was quoted a hefty fee of $2700 from a lawyer. That’s a lot of money 😳, especially if she doesn’t have a lot of assets. Don’t worry, I’m here to help guide you through some alternatives and suggestions that might save your Aunt some money while still ensuring her wishes are properly documented.
First, let’s break down why lawyer fees for setting up a trust or will can be so expensive. Then, I’ll share some tips and options for your Aunt that might be more cost-effective.
## Understanding the High Cost of Setting Up a Trust or Will
It’s not uncommon for lawyers to charge a significant amount for setting up trusts and wills, but it’s important to understand why. Here are a few reasons why the quote might be so high:
### Complexity of the Documents
– Lawyers need to ensure that the legal documents are comprehensive and cover all necessary aspects of your Aunt’s wishes and assets. This may require extensive review and customization, which can drive up the cost.
– For example, if your Aunt’s house is not fully paid off, the lawyer may need to include specific instructions for how the property should be handled in the event of her passing.
### Legal Expertise and Liability
– Lawyers take on a significant amount of responsibility when drafting trust and will documents. They need to ensure that everything is legally sound and won’t lead to disputes or challenges in the future. This level of expertise and potential liability can contribute to the higher fees.
### Client Consultation and Communication
– Lawyers spend time meeting with clients to discuss their wishes and assets, understand their unique situation, and provide guidance on the best approach. This personalized attention and consultation time are factored into the overall cost.
Given these factors, it’s understandable why the quote might seem sky-high. However, there are alternatives to consider that could lower the cost while still meeting your Aunt’s needs.
## Exploring Cost-Effective Options for Setting Up a Trust or Will
### Online Legal Services
– There are various online platforms that offer templates and guidance for setting up trusts and wills at a fraction of the cost of hiring a traditional lawyer. These services can be a budget-friendly alternative, but it’s important to ensure they are reputable and provide legally sound documents.
### Estate Planning Workshops or Seminars
– Some community organizations or legal aid clinics offer workshops or seminars on estate planning. Your Aunt might be able to gain valuable insights and assistance at a lower cost or even for free.
### DIY Approach with Legal Assistance
– If your Aunt is comfortable with handling some of the paperwork herself, she might be able to work with a lawyer on a more limited basis. This collaboration could reduce the overall cost while still receiving professional guidance and review.
### Exploring Pro Bono or Reduced-Fee Legal Services
– Your Aunt could reach out to local legal aid organizations or pro bono programs to see if there are any options for reduced-fee or volunteer legal assistance. This could provide access to legal expertise at a more affordable rate.
## The Importance of Proper Estate Planning
It’s understandable that the cost of setting up a trust or will can seem overwhelming, especially when your Aunt’s assets are relatively modest. However, it’s crucial to emphasize the importance of proper estate planning, regardless of the size of her estate.
– Even small assets like a vehicle and a home should be protected and allocated according to your Aunt’s wishes. Without clear documentation in place, the distribution of these assets could become complicated and lead to disputes among family members.
### Peace of Mind and Future Security
– By establishing a trust or will, your Aunt can have peace of mind knowing that her wishes will be carried out and her assets protected. This provides a sense of security for her and her loved ones.
### Avoiding Probate and Legal Challenges
– Proper estate planning can help avoid the need for lengthy and costly probate proceedings, as well as potential legal challenges from family members. This can save time, money, and emotional stress in the long run.
### Ensuring Financial and Healthcare Directives
– Estate planning also encompasses important aspects like financial and healthcare directives in the event of incapacity. These documents ensure that your Aunt’s wishes are known and honored in various situations.
## Conclusion
In conclusion, while the initial quote of $2700 from a lawyer might seem daunting, there are alternative options and resources for your Aunt to consider when setting up a trust or will. These alternatives can help reduce the cost while still providing the legal guidance and documentation she needs.
It’s important for your Aunt to recognize the significance of estate planning and the valuable protection it provides for her assets and wishes. By exploring cost-effective options and being informed about the process, she can move forward with confidence and peace of mind.
If you have more questions or need further guidance on estate planning, feel free to reach out. I’m here to help you navigate this important aspect of financial and legal preparation. Good luck to your Aunt on her estate planning journey! 🌟 #EstatePlanning #WillWriting #LegalAssistance #PersonalFinance #SEFloridaLawyers
$2700 for a trust is on the lower end. If she doesn’t have a lot of resources, she can probably get by with just a will.
We are having both trust and medical POA. Four-ish k.
Many things at a CPA firm/lawyer usually has a price floor. It doesn’t matter how many assets you have. A trust set up…. is a trust set up. You are still using a lawyers time to set it up.
Clearly you require assistance to set it up so bear that in mind. Shop around and compare prices, but don’t expect your trust set up to cost $100.00.
That cost is reasonable, however she may want to consider other options. I just setup a trust. It cost $2,500.
Each state is different I believe, but estates under a certain $ do not need to go through probate. Maybe just create a will?
Trusts are generally not needed if there aren’t many assets to distribute. A trust is a way to bypass probate court and have your plan laid out for your heirs.
In Kentucky. My wife and I were quoted around $2000 for a will and our assets are minimal. So $2700 seems reasonable in Florida.
I have one of those legal benefit through work. Called and found out I could meet with a probate attorney locally and set up my trust account. It was all paid though this benefit! If you have it check it out. Saved me $3500
You are paying for the attorneys expertise. Anyone can print documents off the internet, but you have no idea if it was done correctly. $2700 seems about right.
This seems extremely high.
By way of comparison, I had my Living Trust, Will, Power of Attorney done by an attorney in the Los Angeles area which is at least as high cost as Florida.
The attorney handled everything including transferring the Deed of my home to the Trust.
The cost was $1500 for everything. Frankly they pull out their forms on the computer and draft a few paragraphs that are specific to the testator. Probably actually done by a paralegal or a competent old fashioned legal secretary.
FWIW, the value of the assets isn’t really relevant to the cost because Trusts and Wills are very simple unless the person has a HUGE estate and are setting up stuff to avoid estate taxes. But for a “normal” person – even one with relatively moderate assets – the cost is going to be the same.
Most people don’t have complicated estates – they leave to their spouse – they leave to their children. There are some things that can complicate matters a bit – i.e. step children; children who are dead but these don’t really impact the cost for a middle class typical estate – just stuff that is handled routinely by a competent T&E lawyer.
Is she trying to do a Medicaid asset protection trust? If so, then yes it’s going to be a few thousand to set that up.
We had a party and did it all. What I mean is my group of friends has a lady that is a notary and a paralegal. None of us had anything complicated, so she gave us all boilerplate documents/wording. We all met up for a BBQ and signed our documents and signed others as witness, then she notarized them all. It was a pretty fun day and we all got piece-off-mind.
Had this done with a California estate lawyer.
Cost about $3K and it included listing deeds for 2 properties under the trust.
$2700 sounds about right.
That sounds about right. You want the trust to be correct and enforceable, particularly if there are multiple beneficiaries, significant tax risk, or even significant but modest assets.
If the individual truly doesn’t have assets they don’t really need a trust but it’s a good idea even if they just have $100,000 of equity in their home.
Have her check her benefits at work and see if there is a prepaid legal option. I got a full trust/will, and the only thing I paid was the county fee to move my house deed into the trust.
OK so it comes down to how much is the house worth and how much equity? If it’s a substantial amount the attorney may be attempting to shield the home from being taken by a nursing home by creating an irrevocable trust. If the home does not have much equity then it’s a waste of time and you can do this on legal zoom.
$2700 is a little on the high end but it’s not completely unreasonable. Lawyers are expensive.
This seems right in the ballpark for such work. What sort of pricing were you expecting?
$2700 for a trust is on the low end, honestly. My father had an estate trust put together and it was like $3500 in OK, where the cost of living tends to be pretty low.
It’s expensive because lawyers’ time is expensive. And this isn’t something you want to take a chance on doing yourself and potentially missing some crucial detail.
So a trust is really for when you have assets that are worth something. If all you have is home equity and a cheap vehicle (plus items in house) then you probably can get a standard will available for free online, print it out then get it notarized. They aren’t fancy and you can’t get creative in specifying distribution but if you don’t have tons then there’s no point in doing that anyways.
Because you are enlisting the assistance of a lawyer who went to school for 3 years beyond college to be able to legally, professionally, and correctly perform the tasks you wish to accomplish.
By all means, save the money and do it yourself and see how it turns out. Btw, the price you were quoted is extremely fair and actually on the low end.
There’s a start up based in San Diego trying to simplify the process & charge a flat fee of $5-800, it’s called Trust & Will, check if they do FL.
I wish, I could find somebody to charge me $2700.
I used Rocket Lawyer and LegalZoom to ***draft*** a trust. Then my county reviewed it for me to let me know if there were any flaws in it. A few changes had to be made. I live in a large county, and the office is extremely busy, so I was a little surprised they were willing to do that, but apparently it was part of the job. I was also able to file the original final document with the county for safekeeping.
As someone going through probate now, pay it!!!
My parents died and did NOTHING about any of this. I’m $16k deep with probating two estates.
The only asset either had was a house they bought together. After what’s left on the home loan is only worth maybe $140k. After all the fees, probate costs, taxes, etc I will net maybe $75k. It’s been a ton of work and still a ton left to do.
So if you can protect your family from all this work, financial investment, and stress, please do it
Setting up a trust is more complex than a will. It takes more time and many more legal steps. Property needs to be re-titled in Trust name and recorded. Bank accounts renamed or closed and opened in the name of the trust with the trustees (generally just the Grantor, your Aunt, but it could be different). If the trust is a complex trust …more work.
If she wants a end of life Health Care document, durable POA, and/or trust provisions if she becomes incapable of handling her own finances to be able to appoint a successor trustee. What happens to the trut upon her demise? etc etc…. More work for the attorney.
It isn’t just setting up paperwork. There is a lot of planning and legal advice entailed.
Even IF you do opt for a trust, she should still have a will for specific bequests or a pour over will if the trust continues after death.
If your Aunt’s assets are minimal and depending on what she wants to happen, she may or may not need a trust. However, to be safe you need legal advice on this.
All the above is not legal advice from me 😉 …..and a personal consultation with a professional is what you need.
How much equity is in the house? Does she have any retirement or bank accounts? Those are assets. Does she have any pieces of things that she wants to designate to people?
$2700 is cheap to stay out of probate
It sounds like a will is appropriate for her situation. It’s less costly than a trust.
Because the lawyer that writes it up has to make sure it provable and defensible. Don’t just print a form and do it yourself – I did that for my mom and it was rejected so we had to do the court probate route to anoint me as executor. And TBH I would have paid 2500 to avoid that boondoggle.
Worth every penny if it was done correctly. It probably covered more than what happens when she dies.
When my wife and I did ours.
It covered POA.
Will.
Living Wills.
Childcare for Child.
Lot of other things.
And hopefully done correctly.
If she doesn’t have many assets, why does she need a trust? A will is a lot simpler than a trust. For example, here’s an [article](https://trustandwill.com/learn/electronic-will-in-florida) about creating a will in Florida online and here’s an [article](https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/florida-last-will-and-testament) about creating your own will in Florida. In fact, you have a right to create your own will in Florida.
Usually a trust is associated with either lessening estate taxes for larger estates or for something more complicated than just letting certain people directly inherit the assets (such as assigning trustees for children who manage and disburse the trust, etc…).
I think we paid about $2k here in central Florida within the past couple years.
Why does she want a lawyer to set up trust if she has no assets. Prob just do a will on legal zoom.
We paid over 2200 just for will and POAs in Montana just fyi.
Ours was more expensive than that. Yes, it really is that expensive. It comes down to whether or not you want your loved ones to struggle with probate when you die. I decided I didn’t want that.
$2700 to set up a trust is cheap. It is usually around 5k for someone reputable. A will would cost less.
Since she lives in Florida have a deed drawn up on the house that transfers ownership on her death. This also avoids probate. Check all her bank accounts to. Are sure they have a beneficiary set up. Have her draw up a bill of sale for the car to you and have it notarized. Don’t change the registration. No probate no massive legal fees. The fee to draw up the trust will be dwarfed by the trustee fees later.
Sounds pretty cheap to me. If she has no assets, why is there a trust involved? She should have at minimum a Will, Power of Attorney, and Medical Directive. In her will she can name the executor, who will make sure that everything is sold and assets are distributed. The house will be sold, if there is any equity in it, after her debts are paid, the money will be split between whoever she designates in her will. If the car is crap, she can give it to someone, or have it sold.
Lawyers are expensive. Out of curiosity what is the purpose of a trust if your Aunt have any assets?
I just went through this and picked up the final papers today. If they are a reputable law firm that is a good deal.
We just did this in Miami for two wills, living wills, healthcare POA, etc. plus trust and house transfer. It was just over $5k for everything.
https://trustandwill.com/
Good people trying to fix this exact problem.
Had a lawyer tell me that it will cost more money when it’s done later through probate, I suspect she was right.
Had a similar quote here in California. Found these guys. They charged $1000. Went down to $800 because we took the title transfer paperwork to the city title office ourselves.
https://www.wethepeopleoffice.com/
I’m a Florida attorney (real estate though, not trusts/estates). You’re getting a great deal at that price.
People like to think it’s just “setting up some paperwork”, but it’s a LOT more than that. The attorney knows HOW to set up the paperwork to make sure that it’s following the law AND will accomplish what the parties involved want accomplished. You’re not paying for “paperwork”…you’re paying for knowledge and expertise, and there is a cost for that.
Like we say in my practice area, it might take me 10 minutes to draft a letter that you’re being charged $300 for. You’re paying for the experience that allows me to finish that letter in 10 minutes.
If the paperwork were so simple, you wouldn’t need an attorney to assist with it. And if you think you can do it yourself, by all means, do it…but realize you’re going to pay a lot more than $2,700 when you end up needing an attorney to untangle the mess you’ve made of it later down the road.
We paid $3k for a simple trust set up. The lawyer is doing work, and they aren’t cheap. If you just want to write up a simple will and get it notarized, you are only paying the cost of the notary. If you want a trust, a lawyer is needed.
Why is your aunt putting a cheap vehicle and a house with a mortgage into a trust? She may want to move, and no one is going to want her cheap car. She should just write up a will.
That’s what I paid for a trust, a special needs trust, a POA, and other estate planning documents.
Benefits of a trust includes titling your home and other assets into it, which avoids probate and makes it easier for the beneficiaries to administer the assets.
Just sharing as a comparative but for a family member estate planning plus a trust was done (located in the northeast) and it cost $6k. This was the cheapest out of 3 lawyers and doing a trust is what cost the most. I do think costs will vary depending on how complex the situation is.
That’s what it costs to have a professional do it. If you don’t want to pay then don’t do it. Your opinion on the cost has no impact on the market rate for that service.