Estate Planning
A Plan That Says What You Want
The documents that decide who steps in if you can’t, who inherits what you’ve built, and who raises your children. Most plans are finished in two to three weeks, at a flat fee you know before we start.
Why It Matters
Without a Plan, Someone Else Decides
If you don’t have a plan in place, Ohio has one for you. It is rarely the plan a family would have chosen on its own.
Your Family Goes Through Probate
Without a properly designed plan, your assets pass through the probate court — a public process that typically takes six to nine months in Stark County. It is slower, more expensive, and more stressful than a thoughtful plan that avoids it.
The Court Decides Guardianship
If you have minor children and have not named guardians in a will, the probate court will choose for you — not your siblings, not your parents, and not necessarily the people you would have asked.
Your Assets May Go to the Wrong People
Ohio’s intestacy statute distributes assets in a fixed order: spouse, then children, then parents. It cannot account for stepchildren, blended families, or the friend who has been like family. Only your own plan can.
Who Needs This
Estate Planning Isn't Just for the Wealthy
If you have people you care about, or a single asset you want to protect, you have an estate worth planning.
Young Families with Children
The most important reason to plan when your kids are young isn’t money — it’s guardianship. Without a will naming guardians, an Ohio court chooses who raises your children. Naming people you trust takes one afternoon.
Homeowners
Your home is likely your largest asset and the one most likely to drag your family through probate. A properly funded trust or transfer-on-death designation passes the home directly to your heirs — no court, no public filing, no months of waiting.
Business
Owners
If you own a small business, what happens to it the day after you can’t run it? Estate planning for owners includes succession provisions, buy-sell language, and powers of attorney that keep the business operating when you can’t.
Retirees & Seniors
Your plan should reflect the assets you actually have now and the people in your life now — not the situation from twenty years ago. We help families update aging plans to reflect grandchildren, remarriages, blended families, and current wishes.
How It Works
Getting Started Is Simple
Most families have their estate plan completed within two to three weeks of the initial consultation. Here’s how the process works.
Free Consultation
We’ll send a brief questionnaire before the consultation so our conversation starts with the details that matter. Then we’ll discuss your family situation and goals at no charge.
Flat-Fee Quote
Your estate plan is quoted as a flat fee in writing before any work begins. No hourly billing, no surprises.
Document Preparation
Once you approve the quote, we draft your personalized documents and send them for your review.
Review & Sign
We walk through every document together and answer every question before anything is executed.
Flat fees and the timelines shown apply to estate planning. Probate and real estate matters are quoted before work begins.
Services & Pricing
Flat-Fee Estate Planning Packages
Most estate plans fall between $1,000 and $3,500, depending on whether a trust is involved. You’ll have your exact number in writing before any work begins — no hourly billing, no surprise letters.
Will Package
Individual
For a single adult
$1,000
Includes
- Last Will and Testament
- Financial Power of Attorney
- Healthcare Power of Attorney
- Living Will / Advance Directive
Will Package
Couple
For married couples or partners — each document prepared for both of you
$1,800
Includes
- Last Will and Testament
- Financial Power of Attorney
- Healthcare Power of Attorney
- Living Will / Advance Directive
Trust Package
Individual
Avoids probate for your estate
$3,000
EVERYTHING IN WILL PACKAGE, PLUS
- Revocable Living Trust
- Pour-Over Will
- Trust Funding Guidance
- Supporting Trust Documents
Trust Package
MOST POPULAR
Family
Most popular for married couples with children or property
$3,500
EVERYTHING IN WILL PACKAGE, PLUS
- Joint Revocable Living Trust
- Pour-Over Wills for both of you
- Trust Funding Guidance
- Supporting Trust Documents
Not sure which package fits? Most families have a clearer answer after the free consultation. We’ll help you figure out which package makes sense for your situation, and what it will cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Estate Planning Questions, Answered
Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?
Most families do fine with a will, powers of attorney, and updated beneficiary designations. A trust becomes the right tool when you want to avoid probate entirely, own property in more than one state, have a beneficiary with special needs, or want to control when a young beneficiary receives an inheritance. We’ll help you sort out which fits during the free consultation.
What documents will I actually walk out with?
At minimum: a last will and testament, a financial power of attorney, a health care power of attorney, and a living will. Trust-based plans add a revocable living trust, a pour-over will, and guidance on funding the trust — the step that actually makes a trust work.
How much does an estate plan cost?
Estate planning is quoted as a flat fee, in writing, before any work begins — there’s no hourly billing. Most plans fall between $1,000 and $3,500, depending on whether a trust is involved. You’ll have your exact number after the free consultation, once we know what your situation actually calls for.
How long does the process take?
Most families have a finished plan within two to three weeks of the initial consultation. Documents are typically drafted within five to seven business days after you approve the quote, and the rest is scheduling the review and the signing.
Can you help if I own property in Kentucky?
Yes. We’re licensed in both Ohio and Kentucky, which matters if you own real estate in both states — out-of-state property can otherwise require a second probate process there.
Get Started
Your Family Deserves a Plan
The first conversation is free, confidential, and runs a full sixty minutes, with no obligation to hire us. We’ll listen to what’s going on, tell you what an engagement would look like, and let you decide from there.
Send Us a Message
Tell us a bit about your situation and we’ll reach out to schedule your consultation.
Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not include confidential information until that relationship has been established.
