The Estate Planning Process: What to Expect

Watch Carina de la Torre explain the estate planning process and what to expect on YouTube.

How long does estate planning take?

The estate planning process at our office will usually take between six to eight weeks. However, if you are expecting a baby, or if you going to be traveling internationally, we have ways to expedite that process for you. At our first appointment, you'll get to know us. We'll get to know you. We'll answer all of your questions, and we'll review the three levels of care. At the initial meeting, you'll sit down and review the three levels of care, the Do Nothing plan, the will based plan, and the trust based plan. Then you'll be educated and empowered to make decisions.

First you'll decide, do you want to move forward? You'll be able to say yes, no or not. Yet, we find that most people want to move forward. And then we can sit down and design your estate plan that same day, we come back about four to five weeks later for your signing ceremony, that is the day that your estate plan is officially born, and everyone you love and everything you built is protected. We also offer our clients a third meeting, which we call our legacy meeting. This is an opportunity to capture all of the things that make you you and preserve them for everyone you love. This process will focus on capturing memories, stories, lessons and insights that you would like to pass on.

We hope that legacy video is the first of many that you will make for your loved ones. So that is the process. The whole process, start to finish takes about six to eight weeks. We look forward to meeting with you and walking through that process hand in hand.