Usually, the more complicated you make things the more expensive it "should" be - and more money can make things more complicated too. If you want to leave everything to one charity when you die, it's not complicated. Once you start adding more than that (second marriages, multiple blended family children, businesses, irresponsible children, irresponsible spouses, estate taxes, pool boys) and if you care what happens to the money you spend 50 years earning/collecting, things can get pretty complicated.
Based on the dozens (or more) of very poorly written documents I have read, you should find a qualified estate planning attorney (I just got off the phone today with a real estate attorney that drafted someone's trust - not good) to draft your documents. If you don't have a "complicated" situation, it should be simple and the price should reflect that.
What does surprise me though, is how many people with $5,000,000 are reluctant to spend a few thousand dollars and the time and effort to ensure their hard-earned money goes where they want it to go. Some people don't care - so that's fine. But when you can make (or lose) $50,000 in a day when the market is up or down, $5,000 for a decent plan sounds cheap.
Based on the dozens (or more) of very poorly written documents I have read, you should find a qualified estate planning attorney (I just got off the phone today with a real estate attorney that drafted someone's trust - not good) to draft your documents. If you don't have a "complicated" situation, it should be simple and the price should reflect that.
What does surprise me though, is how many people with $5,000,000 are reluctant to spend a few thousand dollars and the time and effort to ensure their hard-earned money goes where they want it to go. Some people don't care - so that's fine. But when you can make (or lose) $50,000 in a day when the market is up or down, $5,000 for a decent plan sounds cheap.
