Estate Planning is the process of developing a comprehensive plan that empowers your loved ones to make informed decisions about your finances, assets, housing, personal care, healthcare, care for your minor children, and ultimately when the time comes, the distribution of your assets upon the event of your incapacity (while you are still alive) or death. And most importantly, your plan is PERSONAL to you. You and your family and your situation are unique. There is no one size fits all planning approach to your legacy. 

While we always hope for the best, the reality is that we will all pass away one day. And many people will experience a time in their lives when they are incapable of making their own decisions. These situations can leave behind some difficult decisions - how to care for your needs, how to handle your finances, or ultimately, how to distribute your possessions. Since we know that the situations can take a toll on emotions and decision-making abilities, we shouldn’t leave these decisions to be made by our loved ones who are hurting the most, or even worse, by judge and state law. You can and should make a plan for these situations in advance.

We offer various levels of planning that can fit into your budget and needs. Because each plan is customized to an individual or family, the cost can vary. However, we only charge flat fees for our services, so you will know the exact cost to you before we begin. 

When you work with Tanner Legal Solutions, you will get trusted advice from an experienced attorney in every step of the process. We will help you make the best, most comprehensive decisions for your needs. We will offer sound legal advice and keep you aware of any changes in the law that may impact your plan. We will check on you annually to see if a life change event has impacted your plan and make sure that it stays current. We will electronically store certified copies of your plan documents. And most importantly, we will be here to advise you and your loved ones on when and how to implement your plan. We offer various levels of planning that can fit into your budget and needs.

Many people think they can simply go to a website and get a will for a super low price and think they have an executable plan.  But in most cases, they are mistaken, as there are several problems with this approach. Most people have no idea what the documents mean or how to use them properly. They do not have an experienced and knowledgeable advisor walking them through the process to answer their question or to ask them the important questions they haven’t even thought of. They have no one checking on them to see how a life circumstance or a change in the law may have impacted their documents, and they are not guaranteed that they have properly signed the documents in a legally binding manner. In the end, they just have bought a set of canned documents, that are virtually the same as everyone else, that sit in a bank lock box or on a shelf collecting dust that may not even be legally binding. As you can see, this can create quite a mess for your loved ones.

Many people purchase a trust document online thinking it will keep them out of court, but often, the trust is not properly funded, meaning it doesn’t have any assets in it, or it is improperly executed or has some other legal deficiency. So guess where this ends up? That’s right – in court – the very place they were trying to avoid in the first place.