At Bullard Law, we understand that planning for the future can feel overwhelming. That’s why we’re committed to transparency and accessibility in our legal services. We want you to feel informed and empowered every step of the way.
We also know that everyone has a budget. That’s why we want to be upfront about how much we charge for legal services by providing you with our fees (Wills and Estate Planning Package Pricing).
Please note that each client is unique. The below fees are for estimation purposes only.
If you would like to get a quote, please contact us or schedule your initial call. This initial call is free.
Your journey towards peace of mind begins with a conversation. Book your free 15-minute initial consultation today to discuss your needs, goals, and how our team can help you achieve them. This consultation serves as an opportunity for both the client and the firm to evaluate if we’re the right fit for each other.
Our dedicated team specializes in comprehensive estate planning services designed to meet the diverse needs of our clients. From crafting personalized wills and trusts to navigating complex tax matters and providing compassionate elder care support, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.
We’re excited about the opportunity to take you through the essential process of will and estate planning. Here’s a glimpse into what lies ahead:
Securing your estate plan is not just about managing assets; it’s about ensuring that your legacy is protected and your loved ones are cared for according to your wishes. By taking proactive steps now, you can provide clarity and peace of mind for yourself and your family in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions
Estate planning is the process by which an individual or a family anticipates and arranges for the transfer of their assets in the event of their death. An estate plan’s goal is to preserve the highest amount of wealth possible for the designated beneficiaries and flexibility for the individual during that individual’s life.
Effective estate planning will allow you to avoid the havoc and wasted assets of an unplanned estate, provide you with a sense of security, and provide a measure of personal well-being to your loved ones.
Estate planning is for everyone, regardless of factors like net worth, age or marital status. There are only benefits to be gained by having an estate plan. Without an estate plan, you run the risk of having the state or a judge determine who should inherit from you. This is a long, costly process that can be avoided with estate planning.
Our Family Plan Package includes: a Last Will and Testament, Financial Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy, Living Will, HIPAA Medical Release, Long and Short-Term Care Guardians and Gifts of Personal Property. We offer Estate Planning packages to both individuals and married couples.
- A Last Will and Testament, more commonly referred to as a “ Will”, is a legal document that communicates your final wishes to the judge about who should receive your assets at their death (the beneficiaries) and who should be in charge of that process (the personal representative).
- A Financial Power of Attorney designates one or more agents to make financial and legal decisions on your behalf.
- A Health Care Proxy appoints one or more agents to make medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated and unable to do so.
- A Living Will is a written statement detailing your wishes regarding life-prolonging procedures under specific circumstances.
- The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, is a law that protects the confidentiality of medical records and medical information. Our HIPAA Release allows you to one or more agents to access such medical records and information on your behalf, and extends your lifetime by two years in case your records need to be accessed after death. This is important for medical malpractice and wrongful death claims.
Our Trust Plan package includes a Revocable Living Trust, Financial Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy, Living Will, HIPAA Medical Release, Long and Short-Term Guardian, Gifts of Personal Property and a Pour-Over Will.
We describe a trust like a basket. Anything you put into the basket can be picked up and carried through time. Inside the basket is a set of instructions to your trustee saying who should get the items in the basket and how. This basket avoids the courts and can begin administration immediately at your passing, or as early as you designate in the trust document.
Technically speaking, a trust is a legal entitlement in property which is held in a fiduciary relationship by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of one or more persons (the beneficiary or beneficiaries).
Furthermore, a trust is a type of property ownership. The individual who has the trust set up is called the “grantor” or the “settlor.” The “legal” owner of the trust property is the trustee, and his name is on any document of title. The person who receives the benefits of ownership, like the right to receive the earnings from the trust’s investments, is the beneficiary.
There are several different kinds of trusts. Many revocable trusts aim at avoiding probate at death such as a Family Trust, Living Trust, and Intervivios Trust. These types of trusts are all set up and financed while the grantor is still alive and is revocable. The grantor oftentimes names his or her self as both trustee and beneficiary of these types of trusts. A Testamentary Trust, by comparison, is a trust which takes effect under the terms of a Will, after the grantor has passed. There are many types of irrevocable trusts for asset protection such as a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT), Veteran’s Asset Protection Trust (VAPT), Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) and a few singularly focused trusts such as a Gun Trust which is created to own certain firearms or Pet Trust that may provide for pets and their care at your passing.
Unlike a Last Will & Testament, a trust has the advantage of avoiding probate. Probate is a costly and lengthy legal procedure in which a Judge oversees the transfer of assets.
When an estate is transferred through a Will, the probate court has to validate the Will before the assets are transferred. The probate process can take years. In contract, assets held in a trust are not required to go through probate. While we feel avoiding probate is an attractive attribute of a trust, here are a few other benefits:
- A Living Trust allows your assets to be distributed to your beneficiaries as rapidly as your trust agreement instructs and the taxing authorities permit rather than being required to wait on a judge and statutory time frames as required by probate laws.
- The costliness of probate is completely avoided for all assets that are held in your living trust. Probate can cost 3% or more of the value of the assets going through probate.
- Since a Living Trust is a private agreement, its terms are not made public at your death like the terms of a Will are when it is entered into probate. Only your trustee and beneficiaries are made aware of your assets and intentions.
Anyone can benefit from a trust. Many people mistakenly believe that trusts are only for the wealthy. This is simply not true. A trust can avoid the probate process as we have mentioned above. However, the benefits do not stop there. Beneficiaries can be protected from themselves in a trust. For example, you can set up your trust to prevent distribution to a beneficiary if it would disqualify them from public benefits, if one is facing a divorce, is a minor child or simply is not good at managing money. In the instance of asset protection trusts, the person setting up the trust may also benefit from creditor protection and/or be able to qualify for public benefits that would be impossible without the trust (such as a MAPT or VAPT).
This all depends on the language in your trust agreement, the types of assets you funded your trust with, and any agreements that may exist between you and your spouse. In the event of death, your trust agreement will designate who should take over as the successor trustee along with when and how assets should be distributed.
After we have set up your signed Estate Planning documents, we organize them in a personal Estate Planning binder for you.
In your binder are all of your original Estate Planning documents, along with a USB containing a copy of the signed documents.
If someone’s address or phone numbers change, we recommend that you contact us immediately so that we can update our records. We can update your documents to reflect the new addresses or numbers. However, if your agent listed in one or more of your documents has moved out of town or out of state, you may want to update the documents to appoint someone local depending on your circumstances.
It is not a requirement, but we recommend you either give copies to your children, let them know where your documents are located, or simply give them our business card and let them know that if anything happens to you, they should contact us.
Estate Plans should not be considered permanent. Desires and conditions may change. Estate plans should be reviewed at least every three to five years or if any important change in your life demands instantaneous review. Some of these changes might be:
- The birth, divorce, marriage, disability or death of you or a beneficiary
- A large increase or decrease of your or a beneficiary’s net worth
- You move to another state
- There is a change in tax law
- There is a substantial change in the types of assets you own
- You’ve purchased or sold a business or real property
Very responsive, considerate and highly skilled.
She’s great. Very caring and plugged in. Highly recommended.
Very impressed.
Knowledge and communication are top notch at Bullard Law. I will definitely recommend them to all my friends and family.
After moving here from California, we needed to have all of our legal affairs changed to meet Florida standards. Cesery took us by the hand and we redid everything that we needed to face any consequence that may happen in our lives from now on. Thank you Cesery for such a wonderful job I highly recommend your firm.
After receiving considerable damage to my roof in 2016, I made the costly mistake of dealing with my insurance carrier on my own. When additional storm damage came five years later, and caused water damage to my home’s interior, my insurance once again told me that there was no extensive damage, and that I should cover the repairs out of my own pocket. Fortunately, I decided to contact Bullard Law on the second go around. Our attorney, Cesery Bullard, navigated us through damage appraisals, multiple mediations, and ultimately a successful trip to court. We were very happy with the manner in which Ms. Bullard and her staff handled our case, and took the burden of dealing with the insurance company off of my family’s back!
We cannot say enough good things about Cesery Bullard and her team at Bullard Law! Our firm has numerous opportunities to refer people to other law firms for matters outside of our areas of practice or when there is another reason we cannot take on a particular matter.
While we have many attorneys to whom we can refer, Bullard Law is at the top of our list, as when we send our own clients, family, and friends to Bullard Law, we know they are in the hands of smart, capable, and tough legal counsel who will handle their matters with graceful skill and care.
Excellent litigator. Very knowledgeable in debt collection, business law, real estate, and estate planning.
Cesery has always been quick to respond and has provided high level service. I highly recommend.
If you are a company and need a debt collection attorney, look no further. Responsive and gets the job done in a timely and correct manner.
Being involved in the legal field myself, I never expected to need to hire an outside attorney. Needless to say that my expectations were very high. During the first initial consultation with Ms. Bullard, I was able to determine very quickly that she was extremely knowledgeable in cases that involved businesses, corporations, and contract disputes. Ms. Bullard and her team fought for me and they were able to resolve my case timely and beyond my expectations. Thanks to Bullard Law, I have recovered my peace of mind and can now concentrate in other personal and professional priorities. Thank you Bullard Team.
Managing a business is hard. Its harder when people do not want to pay you for services they received. We do not have the time to chase clients for monies owed. I was referred to Attorney Bullard by another attorney in the area. Our case was complicated because it involved a six digit Post-Judgment Collection against another business for breach of contract. Not only did Attorney Bullard recoup our monies, she also revamped our business Contract to protect us in our future business projects. We now consult any future changes with her before making final decisions. We highly recommend Attorney Bullard.
Bullard Law helped me recover monies I was owed. I hired her to collect unpaid debts from customers. Ms. Bullard was thorough and professional. She is an excellent negotiator and got the job done. I highly recommend her and her firm.
That phrase “More Money, More Problems” is true. I opened a business with somebody who I considered family, sadly that turn out to be the biggest mistake of my life. Everything was going well until we started making a lot of money. All of the sudden, my business partner got greedy and decided he no longer wanted me to be part of the business. Luckily, one of my clients that had gone through a similar problem referred me to Bullard Law. I hired them immediately after the first telephone conference and they were able to resolve my case in short time. God Bless Bullard Law.
Having had the opportunity to work with Ms. Bullard on a professional level as a fellow attorney I find her to not only be competent and professional, but someone who strives for the best results for her clients and takes that extra step to ensure it happens. I have referred clients to her for debt related legal matters including collections and for other legal matters related to business and asset protection and have come to trust her guidance on these issues immensely.
I am not one to post reviews, but this one just had to be done. I am impressed with the excellent customer service and how knowledgeable she is. Ms. Bullard is just what I wanted and needed, an honest, trustworthy, and bottom-line attorney who would fight for me, my family and my business.
I have been with Bullard Law for a few years now. Great customer service and communication which is key for me!
Ms. Bullard does a great job helping me with all my business’s legal matters.
Excellent legal services. Worth every cent. Will highly recommend.
Honest, dependable and trustworthy law firm. I highly recommend.
She’s great. Very caring and plugged in. Highly recommended.
Very professional and always responds quickly. Top notch.
At Bullard Law, we’re all about helping individuals and their families secure a bright future and protect the things that matter most. Our team is here to make estate planning easy and personalized just for you.
WHEN REPRESENTATION MATTERS
Bullard Law is Your Advocate