Client and attorney agree to one fixed fee for the complete estate plan, including the planning, drafting and execution of all necessary legal documents.  Clients know ahead of time what their plan will cost, paying the fee in agreed increments, with final payment due upon completion.

Clients are billed at the attorney’s hourly rate for time spent working on the estate plan.  Clients are billed for meeting time, document drafting, telephone discussions, and often for assistant’s time.  If the lawyer meets the client outside of the lawyer’s office, the client may be billed for travel time.

Client and attorney determine the time frame in which the plan is to be completed.  Ryan, Swanson attorneys utilize a customized calendar to chart and track progress to assure all estate planning topics and issues are discussed and addressed within the agreed time frame.    

The estate plan usually is developed over a long period of time, and often is never complete.  Clients often end the process without addressing significant issues because they grow weary of the start-and-stop nature of the relationship, and of the ever-present hourly billing.

We strive to get to know our clients on a personal level.  The better we know you, your family and your goals, the better able we are to tailor your plan. 
Upon the completion of your estate plan, we follow-up so that your plan never goes out of date.  Our follow-up services also are based upon fixed fees so that hourly billing never discourages necessary action.

The lawyer-client relationship lasts as long as the project.  Once the estate planning documents are completed and signed, the relationship between lawyer and client ends until the client determines it is time to update the plan—usually 8-15 years later.

We view estate planning as a tremendous opportunity for our clients to build a lasting and dynamic legacy.  Traditional estate planning leaves so much of this potential un-tapped.  Our Legacy estate plans go beyond defensive planning to making your estate plan the capstone on a life lived with purpose and foresight. 

Estate planning is equated with “getting your Will in place.”  It is the collection of a few key documents that, much like life insurance, are used as a hedge against death.

Advantages – the Legacy Plan

Disadvantages – Traditional Planning Approach

The biggest problem with traditional estate planning is the many factors preventing clients from ever completing their estate plan.  This is tragic because your primary motivation for engaging an estate planning attorney is to gain the peace of mind that comes with having your affairs fully in order.  What a waste—to spend significant money to get the job partially done—without the reward of peace of mind!
Estate planning is not easy. Our clients invariably run into thorny issues without simple answers. Even without these issues, a thorough estate plan involves many complicated legal documents and strategies. 
We will see you through to completion of your plan in your chosen timeframe because we have eliminated the billable hour and the disincentives that go with it.  You agree to the fee up front, and can communicate with us as often as you want throughout the process, without additional charge.  We are motivated to keep you on task because our fee is based on results—not the ticking of the clock. 

Sophisticated estate planning invariably involves complicated questions that do not have easy solutions.  Hourly billing discourages the dialogue and analysis necessary to break decision log jams.
Getting in to see the lawyer is inconvenient.
Finishing what is started is an ongoing challenge – competing priorities between client and lawyer.
Clients have a dozen reasons to find other things to do, not least of which is the knowledge that talking to a lawyer is like paying someone to kick you in the shin with a frozen moccasin.
Only the squeaky wheels get attention.  Lawyers are so overworked to maintain their hourly billing requirements, they rarely have the time to give personal attention to their clients or to follow-up when clients need it.
The traditional hourly billing arrangement gives clients lawyer-fatigue, and makes it impossible for the lawyer to be as attentive as he or she may like.  The simple fact is, clients do not want to pay lawyers to be attentive, and lawyers cannot give away the time it sometimes takes to keep clients on task.

We want to know you.  Remember the concept of the family attorney? The trusted advisor?  The personal friend?  We are committed to restoring that ideal.
The fact is, no two estate plans should be the same.  The better we know our clients, the better able we are to anticipate rough spots, to further our client’s goals, and to head off family disputes.  When formulating your initial estate plan, we take the time necessary to tailor your plan to the unique physique of your family.  We expect to maintain our relationship with you through the years, and know your plan will mature with you.

Unlike buying rack clothing, it is not possible to find a pre-fitted estate plan that is the right size and fashion for any client.
Hourly billing works against the discovery process that allows a lawyer to get to know and properly customize the plan to the client.
Many lawyers do not have the time nor experience to anticipate and plan for the conflicts that lurk beneath the surface of every estate plan.  Therefore, though the plan may be complete on paper, it is not thorough enough to keep the family from disputes, confusion or unnecessary expense when implemented.

Our attorneys have been in the trenches of estate disputes.  Every Ryan, Swanson estate planning attorney has had significant estate and trust dispute experience.  We are commonly asked by our peers to represent their clients when disputes arise from poorly conceived estate plans or where fiduciary duties are not performed to standard.  You would be amazed at the difference this experience makes in crafting plans that work!

The best estate plans are worthless if the details of asset titling, beneficiary designations, etc. are not coordinated with the plan.  
Clients do not have the experience to know what details are important, and traditional estate planning lawyers do not have a system in place to attend to these details.

We help you see that your plan is not derailed by failure to attend to details.  Did you know that your Living Trust has to be funded to work as designed?  Are you confident your beneficiary designations are not working at cross-purposes to your Will?  Most estate planning lawyers do not and cannot attend to these details—often to disastrous results.  Our process includes a thorough review of your asset titling, beneficiary designations and other critical details.  We give you the instruction and assistance you need to keep these “pennies” from derailing your estate train.

Estate plans decay over time as client circumstances change.  Friendship, trust and regular “check-ups” are essential if the plan is to keep up with the client’s changing circumstances.

Where the basis of the relationship is hourly billing, friendship and trust are not developed between the lawyer, client and client’s family. 
Clients are discouraged from maintaining their estate plans due to inconvenience and the inevitable bill that accompanies updates.

We are constantly looking out for your best interests. Collaborating with you on your goals helps us deliver the peace-of-mind you are looking for. 

Traditional Estate Planning approaches estate planning as planning for an event we all hope will never happen.  It is an uncomfortable task to be done with the help of a hired scrivener.

The focus on legal documents and risk-avoidance overlooks tremendously significant means of building a legacy through the estate plan.