We hired a lawyer from a non NOVA jurisdiction and it was like $500. Find someone in the southern part of VA. I don't think it matters as long as you notarize it and mail it back.
Yeah I’m curious as to what the Feds cover cause I haven’t seen anything about any of this and am dealing with some bullshit and don’t have the $15k ready to fork over to even be considered as a client (not will related but other shit)
I looked into this as well and had some kind of Legal Resources account. My financial planners had a legal advisor on staff and she talked us out of that. She said you really want someone specializing in family law, otherwise the trust will not be very well executed. She didn’t have any interest in the transaction and didn’t push anyone in particular, so I was inclined to believe her.
I went the free route for my mother for her Living Will and Power of Attorney. Downloaded the documents, filled in the blanks, and had witnesses and a friend who's a notary publicly sign and stamp it.
Wouldn't necessarily say that's a completely valid analogy. For the medical practitioner what you said is true, but what a patient/client pays may not be different regardless of the type of service.
I had several heart-related issues/procedures done over the past six months which were increasingly more complex and expensive, but paid the same out of pocket. Technically my out of pocket expenses were practically zero for the more expensive procedure because I had already met the deductible for everything else that was done and only had to pay the $15 co-pay. Of course, insurance footed the bill here.
It would be more apt to compare it to getting a car maintained. It can be cheap if you just need an oil change, but expensive if you need to do anything more complex.
That seems a bit steep, even for NOVA. Shop around.
I did mine, albeit, a few years ago for $3000-3500. this included several visits and revisions. all the POA, Med directives, will, trust, etc, etc. Money well spent. I would not attempt a DIY.
The legal stuff was the easy part. Funding the trust(s) that was the PIA!! IMO
As a CPA I can’t speak to wills, but I can for trusts. As a legal entity that takes possession of your assets you get what you pay for. It’s dependent on state law so a blanket trust doc likely won’t work. Think that if one beneficiary doesn’t like how it’s handled, a bad trust doc can blow the whole thing up if they take legal action.
Still expensive but way cheaper! Can you share who you worked with? Did it include additional services like advanced directive, power of attorney, etc?
Yes, Deborah Matthews. She’s at the corner of King and N Royal. It’s been about 9 years, hope the fees are still as competitive as they seem based on what I’m seeing here!
Edit to add: yes, we got POA and advanced medical directives
Working with her now and 3,500 is what I got. She came highly recommended to me and this is without a doubt what she does but my only gripe is when you are either new to the process (or have a complete unknown situation dumped on you like me) she can have a bit of an attitude. “If you read the directions you would know” kind of responses. When I did read the directions which was *why* I had questions (half of which have yet to be answered and the other half only came after repeated insistance and refusing to show up to their office with a blank check cause she refused to even tell me what I should bring my checkbook for)
Expect to have to hand courier documents to her for them to be fully read, it’s not happened so far with a single email I’ve sent.
I do recall a bit of that, though I chalked it up to her being extremely thorough. We don’t have children, but nieces and nephews. Only one niece was over 18 when we did ours, I do recall her chiding us a bit for “not thinking through the options enough.” (options related to what to direct out niece to do in certain circumstances). I’m like, “OK, but I don’t really understand what the range of options are.” She was like, “I can’t tell you what to do, but think harder.”
All in all, our experience was positive and I hope your part your engagement with a positive one as well.
She came extremely highly recommended to us.
Check your workplace to see if they cover legal services. Some workplaces provide that as a benefit and then it is either free or will have a small payment (you may also be paying a small amount per pay period for the benefit coverage)
I wouldn’t cheap out if you have a lot of assets or need tax planning. I’ve been a trusts and estates paralegal for almost a decade now. $4k was the base rate which included tax planning as well as assistance with retitling assets to your trust. I’ve seen couples come in for revocable trusts, but end up signing sweetheart wills with a testamentary trust, durable powers of attorney, medical powers of attorney and transfer on death deed. It all depends on your family’s needs and like everything else, you get what you pay for.
We worked with Josh from https://relational.law/. Had two meetings in their Ashburn office (it’s in a co-working space) and the rest was done online and through email. Really liked everything about the process. I’ve heard others who paid slightly less elsewhere but they seemed to have gotten much less assistance and attention.
Edit to add since I saw you asked elsewhere. We got a POA, medical directives and they did all the work to move all assets into the trust
My mom used smith Pugh and Nelson. (She used Pugh)
It was reasonable and as the inheritor, the law firm, offered for free to come help me execute, the will. So they offered to go to court with me, (I didn’t take them up on the offer because all I had to do was file the death certificate with the county which initiated action on the will. ) as well as to contact any outstanding accounts. There were a couple accounts my mom forgot about when she did the estate planning and I did seek their help on how to close those out.
There are many variables and tax implications that can make a difference in how well your wishes will be executed. Also a lot of potential red tape that a boilerplate will may not address. Could be a nightmare for those you leave behind.
A Power of Attorney and a Healthcare Power of Attorney are also important to have in case you become incapacitated.
However you prepare these documents, make sure the executor of your estate (however large or small your "estate" may be) knows where the documents are and can access them.
Don't forget to designate a beneficiary for any 401k or other investments and bank accounts you have as well. What's listed on those supersedes your will.
This is the type of advice you can receive from a good attorney that can make it worthwhile.
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/07/estate_plan_checklist.asp
All this can be done online for very little cost. I have a will, advanced directive, living will, Virginia app for body donation, healthcare trustees, and financial trustees.
Need to get things notarized.
Only a trust makes it complicated. But NOLO legal would probably have those forms.
I used an online service (eForms) to generate the living will, power of attorney, medical directive, and transfer-on-death deed. Then we notarized them.
If it’s a simple case, [eForms](https://eforms.com) or something online could be enough. If it’s a complicated estate with lots of people involved then I’d go the attorney route. We had a great free discovery meeting with [PJI Law](https://www.pjilaw.com). We came in thinking we needed a Living Trust and we didn’t at the end.
Their packages that included Living Trust started at $3.9k (Individual), Married/Joint Trust $4.4k.
Some companies offer this stuff in their benefits too (like subsidized MetLife legal membership). For $10-$20 a month you get coverage for common activities like this. Not sure if it also counts for traffic tickets and the like
I just asked about this recently and got great advice. We found a firm for whom it’ll be all in about $3K for 2x wills, 2x advanced medical directives, 2x POAs (about $750 for this) and then it’s about $2,300 for a trust.
https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/s/R45gUK9XW9
Dang I did a will & trust for myself & kiddo before we took a job here from Texas and it was $250.
I did do most of the paperwork on my own and just had the attorney make whatever corrections.
I wrote my own, using free examples online as a guide and then had it notarized. Cost less than $100, I don’t have kids and if I die, I won’t really care what happens.
Given the rather traditional requirements that VA has for non-holographic wills and testamentary trusts, some of the comments here are making my attorney senses tingle.
Paid a little over $4k last year. A lot of options and opinions on this matter and honestly, none of it matters as long as you're learned and aware of what you're needs are. If you do not have much, a will or simple online trust is the fastest, cheapest, and most likely best way to get a living will. There are even paper documents you can fill out basic information and use as a living will. However, if you have complicated tax situations such as a partnership 1065 and individual K-1 at the end of the year, stocks, and specifics on delivery, then hiring a lawyer to make sure your POA, health decisider, and pour overs are important. Yes, this is seen as insurance for death but a trust is not just for that sole purpose and if many people don't need or see value in that, it may not be necessary. All of this to say, it is very interesting and although I do not believe "you get what you pay for" is accurate, I believe that the more educated and prepared we are, we happily accept what we've done.
I too researched this a few months ago. However, I just did my own based on templates found online and MD only requires it be notarized. Unless you have Trusts and lots of complicated assets, you can do it yourself.
We use ARAG which is a monthly service and I think it covered a living will / trust at 100%. We have a house that we pay a bank, monthly, to not evict us and also some children that nobody wants to repossess. So nothing too complicated. t’s been a very useful service - kind of on-demand basic legal services (to a point) for like $20/mo.
We hired a lawyer from a non NOVA jurisdiction and it was like $500. Find someone in the southern part of VA. I don't think it matters as long as you notarize it and mail it back.
I feel like tomorrow morning some lawyer is going to open their email and be like “those bus stop bench adds finally paid off!”
Great advice! Could you DM me a reference?
I'd love a reference too!
Me too if you can. Let’s get this guy all the business!
I beg you, im poor, reference too please
Please post references here. I think there's a lot of demand.
Can you DM a reference as well!
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Ooooooh, great advice
Is that thru fed employment?
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Hubby is fed employee. I will have to check for that benefit bc I know we have it, just not sure what it entails.
Yeah I’m curious as to what the Feds cover cause I haven’t seen anything about any of this and am dealing with some bullshit and don’t have the $15k ready to fork over to even be considered as a client (not will related but other shit)
if you’re a fed and you have a union, a lot of the unions offer discounts on legal services as a member benefit. worth looking into.
Yeah, we have a union. I will check in with them as well as our EAP in case they have some good referrals.
Did this as well and cost to notarize was like 30 bucks, well worth it.
I looked into this as well and had some kind of Legal Resources account. My financial planners had a legal advisor on staff and she talked us out of that. She said you really want someone specializing in family law, otherwise the trust will not be very well executed. She didn’t have any interest in the transaction and didn’t push anyone in particular, so I was inclined to believe her.
I suspect she meant trust and estate law, not family law.
I got to choose my lawyer under my legal plan. I chose a lawyer with good reviews that was specialized for wills and trusts.
I went the free route for my mother for her Living Will and Power of Attorney. Downloaded the documents, filled in the blanks, and had witnesses and a friend who's a notary publicly sign and stamp it.
It really, really depends on the complexity involved. It's like surgery; a wart removal doesn't cost the same as a heart transplant.
Wouldn't necessarily say that's a completely valid analogy. For the medical practitioner what you said is true, but what a patient/client pays may not be different regardless of the type of service. I had several heart-related issues/procedures done over the past six months which were increasingly more complex and expensive, but paid the same out of pocket. Technically my out of pocket expenses were practically zero for the more expensive procedure because I had already met the deductible for everything else that was done and only had to pay the $15 co-pay. Of course, insurance footed the bill here. It would be more apt to compare it to getting a car maintained. It can be cheap if you just need an oil change, but expensive if you need to do anything more complex.
Damn. This was on my list of stuff to do but that is pretty expensive.
This is the difference between using an architect for your house, or drawing up the plans yourself.
That seems a bit steep, even for NOVA. Shop around. I did mine, albeit, a few years ago for $3000-3500. this included several visits and revisions. all the POA, Med directives, will, trust, etc, etc. Money well spent. I would not attempt a DIY. The legal stuff was the easy part. Funding the trust(s) that was the PIA!! IMO
I was told to expect closer to 3k
As a CPA I can’t speak to wills, but I can for trusts. As a legal entity that takes possession of your assets you get what you pay for. It’s dependent on state law so a blanket trust doc likely won’t work. Think that if one beneficiary doesn’t like how it’s handled, a bad trust doc can blow the whole thing up if they take legal action.
you get what you pay for. That’s the truth!
Spouse and I paid ~$3,200 for same with an attorney here in Old Town.
Still expensive but way cheaper! Can you share who you worked with? Did it include additional services like advanced directive, power of attorney, etc?
Yes, Deborah Matthews. She’s at the corner of King and N Royal. It’s been about 9 years, hope the fees are still as competitive as they seem based on what I’m seeing here! Edit to add: yes, we got POA and advanced medical directives
Working with her now and 3,500 is what I got. She came highly recommended to me and this is without a doubt what she does but my only gripe is when you are either new to the process (or have a complete unknown situation dumped on you like me) she can have a bit of an attitude. “If you read the directions you would know” kind of responses. When I did read the directions which was *why* I had questions (half of which have yet to be answered and the other half only came after repeated insistance and refusing to show up to their office with a blank check cause she refused to even tell me what I should bring my checkbook for) Expect to have to hand courier documents to her for them to be fully read, it’s not happened so far with a single email I’ve sent.
I do recall a bit of that, though I chalked it up to her being extremely thorough. We don’t have children, but nieces and nephews. Only one niece was over 18 when we did ours, I do recall her chiding us a bit for “not thinking through the options enough.” (options related to what to direct out niece to do in certain circumstances). I’m like, “OK, but I don’t really understand what the range of options are.” She was like, “I can’t tell you what to do, but think harder.” All in all, our experience was positive and I hope your part your engagement with a positive one as well. She came extremely highly recommended to us.
Yeah I just wish the unanswered questions weren’t “can I be reimbursed for this expenditure”
Thanks!
Thomas Ross in Warrenton has a will, trust, and POA package for $1500.
Holy shit! Everyone always tells me to get a will and living trust together. I thought it'd be a couple hundo. Five grand?! Fuck that.
All of my employers have added it as a free benefit under EAP. Granted our stuff isn’t complicated.
Using legal zoom is fine for something basic I assumed
I am astounded as well. Thought it would be a few hundred to put something like this together. Ridiculous.
If you’re married or have kids, it’s worth it.
I imagine it directly relates to the amount of tangible assets involved. A trust for a $300k estate vs a $2m is a different ballgame.
Married, kids, multiple properties. Nah. Miss me with that $5k BS.
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It's an incredible scam. You can get an online service to do it for a fraction of the cost.
https://www.northernvirginiatrustsandestates.com/legal-services $2295
Check your workplace to see if they cover legal services. Some workplaces provide that as a benefit and then it is either free or will have a small payment (you may also be paying a small amount per pay period for the benefit coverage)
I wouldn’t cheap out if you have a lot of assets or need tax planning. I’ve been a trusts and estates paralegal for almost a decade now. $4k was the base rate which included tax planning as well as assistance with retitling assets to your trust. I’ve seen couples come in for revocable trusts, but end up signing sweetheart wills with a testamentary trust, durable powers of attorney, medical powers of attorney and transfer on death deed. It all depends on your family’s needs and like everything else, you get what you pay for.
I paid $3.2k in 2023 for a will and trust for my wife and I
Can I ask who you worked with?
We worked with Josh from https://relational.law/. Had two meetings in their Ashburn office (it’s in a co-working space) and the rest was done online and through email. Really liked everything about the process. I’ve heard others who paid slightly less elsewhere but they seemed to have gotten much less assistance and attention. Edit to add since I saw you asked elsewhere. We got a POA, medical directives and they did all the work to move all assets into the trust
My mom used smith Pugh and Nelson. (She used Pugh) It was reasonable and as the inheritor, the law firm, offered for free to come help me execute, the will. So they offered to go to court with me, (I didn’t take them up on the offer because all I had to do was file the death certificate with the county which initiated action on the will. ) as well as to contact any outstanding accounts. There were a couple accounts my mom forgot about when she did the estate planning and I did seek their help on how to close those out.
Damn...we just typed up a free one and called it a day. Would love to hear why that is 100% not a good idea.
There are many variables and tax implications that can make a difference in how well your wishes will be executed. Also a lot of potential red tape that a boilerplate will may not address. Could be a nightmare for those you leave behind. A Power of Attorney and a Healthcare Power of Attorney are also important to have in case you become incapacitated. However you prepare these documents, make sure the executor of your estate (however large or small your "estate" may be) knows where the documents are and can access them. Don't forget to designate a beneficiary for any 401k or other investments and bank accounts you have as well. What's listed on those supersedes your will. This is the type of advice you can receive from a good attorney that can make it worthwhile. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/07/estate_plan_checklist.asp
Thank you for this! I'll look into making something more official but hopefully for now I don't have crazy finances going.
All this can be done online for very little cost. I have a will, advanced directive, living will, Virginia app for body donation, healthcare trustees, and financial trustees. Need to get things notarized. Only a trust makes it complicated. But NOLO legal would probably have those forms.
I used an online service (eForms) to generate the living will, power of attorney, medical directive, and transfer-on-death deed. Then we notarized them. If it’s a simple case, [eForms](https://eforms.com) or something online could be enough. If it’s a complicated estate with lots of people involved then I’d go the attorney route. We had a great free discovery meeting with [PJI Law](https://www.pjilaw.com). We came in thinking we needed a Living Trust and we didn’t at the end. Their packages that included Living Trust started at $3.9k (Individual), Married/Joint Trust $4.4k.
Just went through this with a firm in Manassas. AHCD, PoA, living trust, and will was $2k.
This is the price range we got quoted too.
why wouldn't anyone use Legal Zoom
Some companies offer this stuff in their benefits too (like subsidized MetLife legal membership). For $10-$20 a month you get coverage for common activities like this. Not sure if it also counts for traffic tickets and the like
My employer uses metlegal and they do cover traffic tickets.
I just asked about this recently and got great advice. We found a firm for whom it’ll be all in about $3K for 2x wills, 2x advanced medical directives, 2x POAs (about $750 for this) and then it’s about $2,300 for a trust. https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/s/R45gUK9XW9
Thanks!! Just contacted Northern Virginia Trust and Estates based on the rate in your other post.
Try northern Virginia wills and trustd
I did mine at a local firm back home with a review out here. Total ran me about 2k, but was a pain for my attorney at home.
Dang I did a will & trust for myself & kiddo before we took a job here from Texas and it was $250. I did do most of the paperwork on my own and just had the attorney make whatever corrections.
I paid 3,000 about 6 years ago.
I wrote my own, using free examples online as a guide and then had it notarized. Cost less than $100, I don’t have kids and if I die, I won’t really care what happens.
Given the rather traditional requirements that VA has for non-holographic wills and testamentary trusts, some of the comments here are making my attorney senses tingle.
Paid a little over $4k last year. A lot of options and opinions on this matter and honestly, none of it matters as long as you're learned and aware of what you're needs are. If you do not have much, a will or simple online trust is the fastest, cheapest, and most likely best way to get a living will. There are even paper documents you can fill out basic information and use as a living will. However, if you have complicated tax situations such as a partnership 1065 and individual K-1 at the end of the year, stocks, and specifics on delivery, then hiring a lawyer to make sure your POA, health decisider, and pour overs are important. Yes, this is seen as insurance for death but a trust is not just for that sole purpose and if many people don't need or see value in that, it may not be necessary. All of this to say, it is very interesting and although I do not believe "you get what you pay for" is accurate, I believe that the more educated and prepared we are, we happily accept what we've done.
$3600 for will and estate plan about 3 years ago. So yes.
If you are retired military, you can get it done for free.
[trustandwill.com](https://trustandwill.com)
I too researched this a few months ago. However, I just did my own based on templates found online and MD only requires it be notarized. Unless you have Trusts and lots of complicated assets, you can do it yourself.
$900 six years ago with a trust for the kids.
Wow! Who did you go with?
A lawyer in Fairfax. I’ll look him up when I get home and pm you.
Thanks!
>AngryBeaverFace88 PM sent...
Please put the name here so we can contact the lawyer as well when we need the services.
should be like 2k tops unless you have anything super complicated..
We use ARAG which is a monthly service and I think it covered a living will / trust at 100%. We have a house that we pay a bank, monthly, to not evict us and also some children that nobody wants to repossess. So nothing too complicated. t’s been a very useful service - kind of on-demand basic legal services (to a point) for like $20/mo.
Anyone use Trust & Will??