Will-Based Estate Plan
A will-based plan puts your wishes in writing: who receives your property, who manages your money if you cannot, and who makes medical decisions for you when you cannot make them yourself. Without a valid will, North Carolina law generally decides who receives the property that passes through your estate, and a court may need to appoint someone to act for you.
What each document does
- Will. Says who receives your property and names the executor who settles your estate. If you have minor children, it can name the guardian you would choose. Some property, such as an account with a named beneficiary, passes outside a will, so I look at how you own things too.
- Financial power of attorney. Names someone you trust to handle money and property for you, such as paying bills and managing accounts. Under North Carolina law it can keep working if you later lose capacity.
- Health-care power of attorney. Names someone who cares about you to make decisions about your treatment when you cannot.
- Living will. Records your wishes about life-prolonging treatment if you have a terminal condition, are permanently unconscious, or have advanced dementia, and cannot decide for yourself.
Not everyone needs every document. I learn your goals, your family, and what you own, then recommend the ones that fit. The $1,250 covers the whole plan.
What we decide together
- Who receives your property, and in what shares.
- Who settles your estate as executor, and who steps in if that person cannot.
- Who you would choose to raise your minor children, if you have them.
- Who handles your money if you cannot, and who makes medical decisions for you.
- Your wishes about life-prolonging treatment.
I explain each choice in plain English and what it means for your family before you sign.
Price
$1,250 for one adult.* It covers planning, drafting, one round of revisions, signing guidance, a review of your signed documents, and closing.
Outside costs are extra: notary fees (up to $10 per signature), a paid witness if one is needed, printing and mailing, and any recording fees or certified copies. If a notary travels to you, you pay only mileage at the federal rate, and only if you agree in writing first.
Not included: a living trust, or anything already held in a trust; a separate, standalone trust (your will itself can hold a young child's or grandchild's share until an age you choose, and that is included); deeds, or retitling or recording property; real property outside North Carolina; a business other than a sole proprietorship or a North Carolina LLC you own alone, and any work on a business itself, such as keeping it running, naming who runs it, or a buy-sell or operating agreement; settling an estate after someone has died. If your situation needs any of these, I tell you before you sign anything. Some other situations, such as an estate that may owe estate tax or a beneficiary with a disability, also need a different kind of plan. I tell you at the start if yours is one of them.
Plans for a Couple
A couple, married or not, can have both estate plans prepared together. Each of you gets your own documents, decides what your own documents say, and signs only your own. Both of you must live in North Carolina.
- One lawyer for both of you. I represent you together. Anything either of you tells me about the plans is shared with both of you, so I cannot keep a secret for one of you from the other.
- Either of you can end it. Either of you may end the joint representation at any time, and should confirm it to me in writing. When it ends, I stop representing both of you. I may continue for one of you alone only if the other gives written consent after I explain what that means, and continuing creates no conflict. If one of you needs a lawyer on your side against the other, each of you will need your own lawyer.
- If you are not married. North Carolina law gives a surviving spouse rights that it does not give an unmarried partner, so each of you receives from the other only what the other's documents, beneficiary designations, and property titles provide.
$2,000 for two. Outside costs, such as notary fees, are separate. The same items are not included as for one adult.
How It Works
- Send a short message or use the inquiry form.
- If I can help, you sign a written engagement agreement.
- I draft your documents. You get one round of revisions.
- You sign in person in North Carolina, with two witnesses and a notary: with a notary near you, at my Raleigh office, or at your home. I guide you through each document and review the signed set.
- Your originals come to you by mail, plus electronic copies.
A plan typically takes 2 to 4 weeks from our first conversation to signing. That is a typical range, not a promise.