the Price of Estate Planning Services

I had retired and needed to update a lot of my legal paperwork including my will. I choose a local general practice lawyer. Neither my paperwork nor my will were very involved, they were fairly straight forward. I made the appointment and saw the lawyer about 2 weeks later. I had brought all my paperwork with me and even included a CD so I could leave it with him. He was to review it and let me know any changes that I might need to have made.

Upon arrival at the lawyer's office, my first problems started. Even though I was there 15 minutes early, I still had to wait another 30 minutes. I didn't see any other clients there so I have no idea why the wait. Once in the office, the lawyer was very cordial and professional. He looked over my papers carefully and seemed to really study them. This made me quite comfortable. He gave me a few suggestions which I agreed with and we red lined the paper work together. He then said he would have it all typed up and legal. I would be able to pick it up within the week. Unfortunately, his legal secretary was not as adequate as he was. I ended up waiting 2 weeks and then had to have more re dos. This started raising my cost. I had been quoted approximately $300 for the service but with the secretary mess up, my bill came to $350. I complained to no avail. They tried to say I made additional changes.

Always check with the bar association on any type of lawyer. Ask friends. Make sure you know what the costs involved are. Be specific on costs, don't let them say approximately. You want exact.