Make sure your family is
taken care of.

For most people with families and real estate, a trust is worth considering. Wills have to go through probate — a public court process that can take months or longer. A revocable trust handles the same decisions (who inherits what, who's in charge) but keeps the whole thing private and out of court. If your estate is simple and you don't own real estate, a will alone might be enough. We'll help you figure out which one fits your situation during your free consultation.

Without a plan, state law decides what happens — not you. Your assets pass according to your state's default rules, which may not match your wishes. If you have minor children and haven't named guardians, a court decides who raises them. Your family deals with probate court proceedings, delays, and legal fees during one of the hardest periods of their lives. An estate plan is how you make those decisions in advance, so your family doesn't have to.

A revocable trust is a legal structure that holds your assets during your lifetime and transfers them to your beneficiaries after you die, without probate. "Revocable" means you can change it, modify it, or cancel it anytime while you're alive. You stay in control of the assets the whole time — legally, the trust is just a tool that holds title on your behalf. It's the most common structure used in modern estate planning for one reason: it keeps your family out of court.

Most estate plans are completed in two meetings over two to four weeks. The first meeting is about understanding your situation — your family, your assets, your wishes. We prepare the documents between meetings. At the second meeting, we review everything with you, make any adjustments, and sign. Simpler plans can go faster; complex estates sometimes need a third session.

Estate planning laws vary meaningfully across California, Texas, and Massachusetts. Probate rules differ, trust requirements differ, property laws differ. A California estate plan usually relies heavily on revocable trusts because California probate is expensive and slow. Texas has a simpler probate system, so a will-based plan works for more clients there. Massachusetts has its own rules. When you book your consultation, your attorney will walk you through what's typical for your state.

Both. Our standard packages cover the situations most families face — wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives. For more complex estates — business ownership, multi-state assets, irrevocable trusts, charitable giving structures, blended families — we provide custom planning on a flat-fee basis. The free consultation is the right place to figure out which category your situation falls into.

Virtual works for most of the process. Initial consultations, working sessions, and document review are all easy to do over video. Signing usually needs to happen in person because estate documents require notarization and (in some states) witnesses. We'll coordinate the signing to work with your schedule, and for clients who can't travel, we can often arrange a notary to come to you.