Weekly Tip: Negotiation for After Death Plans

Weekly Tip: Planning for Death and Negotiating Your Estate Fees

Credit: apartmenttherapy.com

It can be hard to speak up for yourself when creating your post-death plans. But, in sharing her estate planning experience, a woman named Jody Roth explains why one of your most important assets in estate planning is your ability to speak up — negotiate!

Sit down, and think about what you expect from your estate plans.

Note our additional SevenPonds tips: Be sure to review our Practical Tips on estate planning. These are included along with memorial ideas and grief healing suggestions here.

Then, think about what your loved ones and you deserve after your death and from the estate planning experience in general.

Credit: womenshealthmag.com

“Dad negotiated the estate fees,” says Jody about observing the process firsthand, “[he had] lunch with the attorney who wrote his will was so helpful that I’m still in awe. When the dust settled, I called her and said “What now?” She knew exactly what to do and had all the information to do it. But, get this: Dad negotiated the estate fees as well. He told her, “If my daughter decides to use you to settle the estate, (knowing he had already stacked the deck in her favor), let’s negotiate a not-to-exceed amount that you would charge.” He then put that amount in a targeted bank account. I was thinking that the cost for the legal fees would be about $7,000 or $8,000. I had no frame of reference. This was just a number in my head. The fees were $20,000. I was blown away. When I did some research and called some lawyer friends, I learned that lawyers typically charge between 3% and 5% of the total value of the estate. My dad had negotiated 2% and put the money in an account I had immediate access to. Again, thanks Dad!”