People often ask what they should bring with them to their initial estate planning consultation (we call this “the Discovery Meeting”) with one of our attorneys.

As we discuss in Our Planning Process, the Discovery Meeting is our opportunity to get to know each other and see how we would work together. It’s important that we like and trust each other – that’s the foundation of a strong professional relationship. Therefore, the focus of the meeting will be on you and on answering the questions you have about your estate planning options.

In order to make the most of our time together in the Discovery Meeting, we ask you to complete our Estate Planning Foundations Questionnaire and Initial Planning Decisions form. The information requested in these documents is essential for us to know in order to properly tailor your estate plan to your own unique situation, and by completing it in advance, we will be able to spend our time together focusing on your unique planning questions and needs instead of gathering the basic preliminary information.

Other than those 2 forms (which we’ll send to you as a part of your New Client Kit when you schedule your Discovery Meeting), you don’t need to bring anything else with you to the first meeting. However, we would be happy to look at anything else you feel is important. Some things that can be helpful (but, again, aren’t required) include the following:

• Copies of previous estate planning documents (Wills or Trusts, powers of attorney, etc.);
• A list of questions you’d like to ask;
• Deeds to real estate;
• Account statements; and
• Business organizational documentation