I once met with a couple from Queens who were updating their estate plan. Their previous attorney, they told me, billed in six-minute increments. Every phone call, every email, every question appeared as a line item on a monthly invoice. They confessed that they often hesitated to call with follow-up questions, worried about “running up the meter.” This is precisely the dynamic we designed our firm to avoid. Planning your family’s future is too important to be constrained by a ticking clock.
That’s why we handle nearly all of our estate planning work on a flat-fee basis. It’s not just a billing method—it’s a reflection of our philosophy. An effective estate plan isn’t a transaction; it’s the result of a deep, collaborative conversation. When you’re worried about the cost of every question, you’re less likely to ask the very questions that lead to a more intentional and resilient plan. A flat fee removes that friction.
Aligning Our Work With Your Goals
The traditional hourly billing model can, in my view, create a misalignment of interests. An attorney billing by the hour is compensated for time spent, not necessarily for the clarity or efficiency of the outcome. A client, on the other hand, wants a thorough, effective plan without financial surprises. The two are often at odds.
A flat fee changes the relationship. It aligns our incentives directly with yours: to create a thorough and durable plan as efficiently as possible. It encourages open communication. It allows you to call with a question about a potential trustee or a concern about a beneficiary without feeling penalized for it. We want you to be fully engaged in this process, and a flat fee makes that possible.
This commitment to clarity is also rooted in our professional obligations. The New York Rules of Professional Conduct, specifically Rule 1.5, require that a lawyer’s fee be reasonable and that the basis for the fee be clearly communicated to the client. We find that a transparent, fixed fee is the most direct way to honor that duty. You know the exact investment from the outset—no ambiguity, no surprises.
What a Flat Fee Includes—And What It Doesn’t
When we present a flat-fee proposal, it’s for a defined scope of work. For most families, this includes the entire process from start to finish:
- The initial design meetings where we discuss your family dynamics, assets, and long-term goals.
- The drafting of all core estate planning documents, which may include a Last Will and Testament, a Revocable Living Trust, a Durable Power of Attorney, and a Health Care Proxy with a Living Will.
- A review session where we walk through every clause in plain English to ensure the documents perfectly reflect your wishes.
- The formal signing ceremony, also known as the execution, where we ensure all legal formalities are correctly observed.
- Guidance on trust funding—the critical step of retitling assets into the name of your trust.
A flat fee for estate planning is for a defined scope. It does not typically cover the administration of your estate or trust after you pass away—that is a separate process with its own fiduciary duties and legal work. It also doesn’t cover unforeseen litigation, such as a will contest in a New York Surrogate’s Court, or highly specialized tax planning that goes beyond the scope of the initial plan.
You Are Investing in Judgment, Not Just Documents
Ultimately, the documents we produce are the tangible output of our work, but they are not the true value. The real value is in the counsel, the strategy, and the decades of experience that inform every decision within that plan.
You’re investing in our judgment about how to structure a trust to protect a child with special needs, how to select a trustee with the right temperament, and how to draft provisions that anticipate future family changes. That work—that careful, deliberate stewardship of your legacy—isn’t something that can be measured in six-minute increments. A flat fee properly values the thinking, foresight, and prudent counsel that go into building a generational plan.
Our process begins with a meeting to map out the architecture of your plan. From that conversation, we can provide a precise, flat-fee proposal so you know the full investment before we begin our work together. To start that conversation, I invite you to schedule a confidential planning session with our team.
