You Should Not Have to Chase Your Own Plan
You should be able to tell where your estate plan stands without repeatedly calling to find out whether anyone is working on it. That does not mean every plan follows the same timetable. A family with an existing business, several properties, or complicated trust provisions may need different work from a family preparing its first plan. What you should expect is a defined process, an explanation of the next step, and a clear understanding of anything needed from you.
A Defined Process, With the Timeline in Writing
At Monteforte Law, we use a process with identifiable steps, and we give you the timeline in writing. We begin by understanding your family, assets, concerns, and goals, then develop the recommendations before preparing the documents. That order matters. If we start drafting before we understand what you need, we may produce paperwork without resolving the questions that brought you to us. You should understand the recommendation and have an opportunity to discuss it before the plan moves into implementation.
Why We Ask for Documents
Some of the work depends on information that is easy to overlook. An account statement may reveal that an asset is owned differently from what everyone assumed. An old trust may contain an amendment that changes the available options. A deed may show another owner whose interest needs to be considered. Gathering that information is useful work, but you should know why it is needed and how it affects the next step. “We need another document” is more helpful when it comes with an explanation.
Your Decisions Affect the Schedule
Your decisions also affect the schedule. You may need time to speak with the person you want to name as trustee, or you and your spouse may need another conversation about what the children should inherit. We do not want you making those choices simply to keep an appointment on the calendar. We do want everyone to understand that a particular decision remains open. That allows you to distinguish time spent considering an important choice from work that appears to have stalled without a reason. Massachusetts’ rule on diligence requires lawyers to act with reasonable diligence and promptness.
Signing Is Not the Last Step
Signing is another step in the process, but it is not necessarily the last one. When a trust is part of the plan, ownership and beneficiary arrangements need attention. A bank, insurance company, or other institution may have its own forms and processing requirements. We cannot control every outside institution’s schedule, and we should not pretend otherwise. We can help you understand which parts of the plan are completed and which still depend on additional action.
Tell Us About Your Deadlines
Tell us about a medical procedure, travel plans, a closing, or another event that affects timing. A deadline that seems obvious to your family may not be known to our office unless someone mentions it. We can then discuss what needs to happen and what is realistically possible. That conversation should take place early, while there is time to address the work, rather than after everyone has made assumptions about when the documents would be ready.
What a Useful Status Update Covers
A useful status conversation answers practical questions. What stage are we at? Is anything needed from the client? Is another person or institution involved? What comes next? You should not need legal training to understand the answers. If you cannot tell whether you are waiting for us or we are waiting for you, that needs to be clarified. Your estate plan should not become another unfinished project that everyone means to get back to someday.
Seeing the Plan Take Shape
We also understand why uncertainty is frustrating. You may have spent years putting off this work before finally deciding to move forward. Once you have made that decision, you want to know that the plan is taking shape. Our defined process and communication pledge are intended to give you that visibility. You should finish with more than documents, including an understanding of what has been completed and what responsibilities remain as your assets and family circumstances change.
Start with a free 15-minute consult call with Nicole Ott, our Lead Intake Coordinator. Tell her where things stand with any plan you already have and what you want to get done. That is usually enough for us to say what to do next.
