I Met With My Attorney to Discuss My Estate Plan. Why Can I Not Sign My Estate Planning Documents the Next Day?

You took the first step.  You met with your estate planning attorney and have decided to do a Living Trust or a Will.  You are excited to sign your estate planning documents.  But wait!  You are told that it is going to be several weeks before you can sign your documents.  What? Why? Don't attorneys simply enter information into a computer and documents come out ready for signature?  The answer to that question is "it depends."

It is true that some estate planning documents are generated after some information is inputted into a computer (ex: Power of Attorney or HIPAA).  But does the generated document accurately reflect your wishes and desires or  does it reflect the lowest common denominator (i.e. the basics that apply to most people)?  The process of drafting an estate plan is a lot like buying a car.  You can buy whatever is on the lot (even if the specifications do not match your wishes) or you can plan ahead and order your car fully customized with all the bells and whistles you want.

A proper estate planning drafting process is more like buying a customized car.  You provide to your attorney all of your specifications for your estate planning documents and with that information, the drafting journey starts.  During the first stage of drafting, your information is entered into a database by one of the staff members and template documents are generated.  Moving your documents along the conveyor belt, they enter the second stage of drafting.  In this stage, the time is taken for your documents to be tailored to match your specifications.  Once your documents have been drafted with your specifications, your documents enters the third stage of drafting--quality control.  In this quality control stage, your attorney will review the drafts for accuracy. In some situations a second attorney may also be asked to review your documents, and once the documents are reviewed, your draft moves along to the fourth stage of drafting--your review.  The fourth stage is one of the most important because this is where you have a chance to look through your drafts, ask questions about provisions, make changes to your agents and distributions, and make sure that names are spelled correctly.  If everything is in order and all questions have been answered, then your drafts enter the fifth and final stage of the drafting process--preparation for signing.

The time it takes to get documents ready for signature varies, but a proper estate plan drafting process takes time.  It is very unlikely that a draft can go through all five stages within a short period.  So, in general, it would take weeks to get a properly drafted estate planning document prepared.  In case you are wondering, currently, RLG's drafting process is usually somewhere between six to eight weeks.  It takes that much time to ensure you a have a quality estate plan that will bring you peace of mind and control.

If you have any questions about RLG's drafting process, please give a call to 206.246.8772.