What is a reasonable fee for estate planning?

[RhinoSurgeon]

Greetings! My wife and I have a basic estate plan we put in place about 10 years ago that includes a trust, will, power of attorney, etc. As our lives have changed since then, we are looking to update this with some minor changes to guardians and beneficiaries, as well as any improvements the lawyer we hire may be able to make upon the work previously done. Any advice on how much this service should cost? We got a quote for this service recently from a lawyer we were referred to by a friend - $6000. This seemed steep to me, given that we are not starting from scratch and just trying to touch up the previous work. I’m in the market and would like to know what the going rates are. Thanks WCI!!!

[ERRES2288]

4800 for us starting from scratch. Living trusts, wills, and POAs. Midwest

[The White Coat Investor]

We spent far more than that. Heck, we spent more than that on appraisals for the assets that went into one of our trusts.

This just varies a ton by the complexity of the planning going on. If your life is super simple, you can just do a LegalZoom will for a few hundred dollars. If more complex, tens of thousands is a completely appropriate price. Attorneys get paid for their time like doctors and accountants. Expect to pay several hundred dollars an hour for their work.

Just do what you do with someone that comes to do a moderately sized home improvement project. Get three quotes and take the lowest one from someone who sounds like they know what they're talking about.

[jz-]

$5000 for original in 2015.
$500 for update.

[invenio]

$60 for Quicken/Nolo Will Maker. But ours is super simple.

[PainShrink]

We belong to the MetLife legal plan (formerly Hyatt Legal plan). It was free to set everything up and update regularly with this plan. If you have access to this plan through your employer ( typically offered through University settings and other large corporations), it’s a great plan. Unfortunately one would likely need to wait for open enrollment if not already enrolled for this year.

[CordMcNally]

I'm not sure how the legal system works regarding this but I know in medicine nobody likes to work on someone else's work (patient). It may not be as non-time consuming as you think when it's somebody that didn't come up with the original plan. I'm sure plenty of time should go into review of the previous work.

[SeattleCPA]

I have two law firms I regularly refer clients too. The smaller one charges maybe $3K to $5K? The other firm, a very large one, charges a multiple of that. Both price fairly in my opinion for what they deliver.

[afan]

Lawyers have said that it is faster and cheaper to do new documents than to read and revise those created by someone else.

Apparently, the cost for estate planning depends on the level of expertise you need, the size of the law firm and where it is. A senior partner at a big firm in Manhattan will charge much more than a junior person at a small firm in a lower cost of living locale.

If you ask on bogleheads, some estate planning attorneys may be able to give you an idea of whether you need a complicated and costly plan.

[jfoxcpacfp]

Multiple thousands for complex estates. The problem is you don’t know what’s out there that you need to be considering. This is not a cut-and-paste job, although some legal firms treat it that way. You really need to find an experienced firm with a deep tax knowledge and with whom you connect mentally. It’s not too difficult to determine if they are just going through the motions, especially after you meet with a few. While you don’t want to search looking for the most expensive, as with all true professionals, price shopping is not a good way to determine your final choice, Whoever you choose will prob be starting from scratch, no matter what you think. That is what i would expect when choosing a new firm.

[snowcanyon]

Lol I was quoted 20k...ridiculous since I won't be here for the benefits!!

[Larry Ragman]

I would have done the plan myself. Bought the software, printed the forms. My wife said no. I infer she would trust me with our money but not to not screw up our kids money. (Mama bear don’t play.) Well, more seriously, she was concerned with nuances in the state law not captured by the software. Our state’s probate is fairly rigorous. Ended up going to a lawyer who had helped us settle MIL’s estate. He was actually great.

I think $2500 all up (wills, medical directives, etc. No trusts.) Was quoted $7500 by another estate and trust attorney in the area, but he was suggesting a trust for the properties. We talked about it and decided it wasn’t necessary, but it was a good conversation.

[Larry Ragman]

Lol I was quoted 20k...ridiculous since I won't be here for the benefits!!

There is some outrageous gouging out there. When we were looking for help on MIL estate they guy who prepared her will and trusts wanted $15k to start. We walked out.

I just did most of the work and hired the guy I mentioned above to make sure we filed correctly. Like $3k as I recall. Great sounding board. I think you really do need a lawyer to deal with the court filings, but the rest of the nitty gritty can be done by anyone with some financial acumen.

[endomd]

I joined a legal benefit option to subscribe to under current employer ($7/month) and am quoted $30 per document for estate planning. Appears it may not exceed $500 at the end. Will see how much I will be anticipated to pay at the end though.

[Gavin West]

Lawyers have said that it is faster and cheaper to do new documents than to read and revise those created by someone else.

Apparently, the cost for estate planning depends on the level of expertise you need, the size of the law firm and where it is. A senior partner at a big firm in Manhattan will charge much more than a junior person at a small firm in a lower cost of living locale.

If you ask on bogleheads, some estate planning attorneys may be able to give you an idea of whether you need a complicated and costly plan.

That is good advice from afan for all people needing estate planning, no matter the complexity of the work. Good estate planning is normally $2,000 and up. Some good planners don't charge much for simple plans, while others do, but either way, what's most important is the work is high quality. The best thing you can do is a bit of study at the same time you're getting two or more initial consults. Then you'll get a feel for what you need and what it will cost. Even for estates valued under $1 million, there's no one-size fits all and doing your own work often results in missing something important. The problems I see during estate administrations usually have to do with DIY work or from attorneys who don't regularly practice in this area so pick your attorney carefully and if you want to minimize costs, be proactive while working with him or her so the attorney doesn't have to do as much work.