Practice Areas
Estate Planning
Develop an estate plan that ensures your loved ones are properly provided for.
Estate Administration
Settle your friend / loved one’s affairs with assistance in the estate settlement process.
Trust Administration
Safeguard and invest assets and carry out the grantor’s instructions with our assistance.
Executor and Trustee Services
Get cost-effective and tax-efficient executor services. We administer estates and trusts.
Adoption
We guide individuals and families through the adoption process from start to finish.
Guardianship
We assist folks who are concerned about the ability of a loved one to handle their personal or financial affairs.
Estate Planning
Ensure your loved ones are properly provided for. We develop and execute estate plans that make sense for you and your family.
Email us at info@estateplansva.com or call us at 434-284-5526 to schedule an initial meeting. In order for us to best serve you, please complete our Estate Planning Questionnaire (see below) prior to your meeting. Please also consider bringing copies of any (i) existing estate planning documents, (ii) deeds to real estate, (iii) bank statements and (iv) premarital or marital agreements as these documents will allow us to brainstorm and develop the most appropriate customized plan for you. During this meeting, we will be able to provide you with a fee estimate for our proposed work.
Estate Administration
Fulfill your responsibilities associated with the estate settlement process. If you have been named as executor, trustee or are otherwise in a position to dispose of a decedent’s property, contact us to discuss the appropriate steps to take.
Trust Administration
There are many responsibilities associated with serving as a trustee. As a fiduciary, you are charged with safeguarding and investing trust assets, as well as carrying out the grantor’s instructions with respect to beneficiaries. Often, trust administration often requires accounting, record keeping and reporting of trust assets to beneficiaries. Trust instruments can be challenging for individuals to interpret and carry out without professional guidance. You may be exposed to personal liability for violating fiduciary duties as trustee. We are pleased to advise and assist you in your capacity as trustee.
Executor and Trustee Services
We are comfortable and confident administering estates and trusts, including those that involve challenging family dynamics and unusual assets.
Because your executor or trustee is responsible for administering your estate, the selection process can be one of the most significant decisions you make during the estate planning process. Ultimately, your beneficiaries could be harmed by an executor’s or trustee’s decisions, whether made in good faith or not, and recourse may be limited.
While we encourage our clients to consider all options in selecting the right executor(s) and/or trustee(s), including but not limited to family members, friends, and banks or trust companies. In some cases, we are called upon to play this role and are pleased to do so. We are both comfortable and confident administering estates, as well as trusts, including those that involve challenging family dynamics and unusual assets. We strive to be productive, cost-effective and tax-efficient.
Estate Administration Fees
For estate administration services as executor or trustee, our fee is typically a percentage of the value of the estate:
First $500,000 4%
Next $500,000 3%
Over $1,000,000 2%
For small estates (less than $500,000.00), we bill hourly.
Other Services
For other fiduciary services, our fee schedule is as follows:
Annual Tax Returns $125/hr
Accountings $125/hr
Trustee Fees
For ongoing trustee services (where we are responsible for the management of trust assets for your beneficiaries), our base annual fee is based on the fair market value of trust assets:
First $1,000,000* 1%
Next $1,000,000 .75%
Over $2,000,000 .5%
The base annual fee includes the following services: (i) maintain quarterly accountings; (ii) provide annual report; (iii) distribute income to beneficiaries per trust instrument; and (iv) conduct annual investment review. Please note that we do not offer investment management services and, when serving as trustee, we typically employ a professional investment advisor when appropriate. There is a one-time startup fee of $750. Additional services are billed hourly at attorney or paralegal rates and are provided on an as-needed basis.
*We reserve the right to charge a minimum fee.
Adoption
We assist and guide individuals and families through the adoption process from start to finish. This includes but is not limited to parental placement adoptions (interstate, step-parent or close relative), agency adoptions, foreign and re-adoption, as well as adult adoption.
Guardianship
If you are concerned about the ability of a loved one to handle his or her personal or financial affairs and believe them to incapacitated, we can assist you through the court process for appointment.
