Attorney Thomas B. Burton answers a reader question about what a lawyer charges for a simple Will that will divide someone's property evenly between her three children.
Transcript of Video: What Do You Charge for a Simple Will?
Today's question comes from Janesville
Wisconsin and they said what do you
charge for a simple Will my 80-year-old
mother needs a Will prepared but is
very low income all she needs to divide
is a house contents of house and car her
intent is to divide equally between her
three daughters so this is a good
question and I would say in general a
lot of lawyers are all over the board on
this so you should talk to a lawyer that
you want to work with in your town or
wherever you want to hire them to get a
quote if you call my office and tell me
what you're looking to do I can
generally give you a range of fees and
in fact for most common estate planning
things I offer flat fee packages so you
can know right up front what you're going
to pay I don't like to hide the ball on
fees the fact is everything takes time
and I need to be fairly compensated for
working on your matter but I do my best
to come up with that figure and tell you
now if she really just needs a basic
Will plan it's likely there's a lawyer
in your town who does flat fee packages
for estate planning as well and
they could help you with that if she's
very low income and cannot afford
anything at all then there's options
where you could do it yourself with
totally legal online or get a form from
the state of Wisconsin there is a basic
will and testament available in the
Wisconsin statutes but if your mother has
a home and a car and some other things I
recommend you get professional
assistance from an attorney who can help
you put this together
in addition often what you're paying for
it's not just the form but the
attorney to look at your situation and
give you the customized advice you need
because that can save you a lot of money
down the road so great question and good
luck finding an attorney who can work
well with you and thank you for asking.
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Transcript and captions provided for ease of access for the hearing impaired.
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