Estate planning. Madison, Wisconsin.
Wills, trusts, powers of attorney and probate for families in Dane County. Every fee is printed on this page, and most plans are signed within three weeks of the first meeting.
Practice areas
We do not take divorces, injuries or business disputes. Estate work is the whole practice, and it has been since 2011.
Who inherits, who is in charge, and who raises your children if you cannot. Without a will, Wisconsin law answers all three for you.
What it costs
$450
For one person. $750 for a couple.
For a home you want kept out of probate court, a second marriage, a child who is not ready to manage money, or a cabin up north that three siblings will share.
What it costs
$2,400
For one person. $3,100 for a couple.
Two short documents. One names who pays the bills, one names who speaks with your doctors. In Wisconsin a spouse does not get either job automatically.
What it costs
$175
Each. Both come with every trust.
When someone has died and their name is still on the house or the accounts. We file with the county, answer the creditors and close the estate, most often within nine months.
What it costs
$3,800
Start to finish. Court costs are separate.
Flat fees
The fee is agreed in writing before we start, and it does not move if the work takes us longer than we thought. Half is due when we begin drafting. Half is due the day you sign.
| Document or service | What is included | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Will, one person | Your will, a meeting to go through the draft line by line, and a signing in our office with two witnesses and a notary. | $450 |
| Wills, a couple | Two wills written together so they agree with each other. One set of meetings and one signing. | $750 |
| Power of attorney for finances | Names who can pay bills, sell property and manage accounts if you cannot. Signed and notarized. | $175 |
| Power of attorney for health care | Names who speaks with your doctors. Includes a living will and a release so the hospital can talk to your family. | $175 |
| Living trust, one person | The trust, a will that catches anything left outside it, both powers of attorney, and one deed moving your home into the trust. | $2,400 |
| Living trust, a couple | Everything in the row above for two people, as one joint trust or two separate ones. We will say which suits you. | $3,100 |
| Probate, informal | From the first filing to the final account. Court forms, notices to heirs and creditors, the inventory, and closing the estate. | $3,800 |
Not included
The court’s own filing fees, the county’s $30 charge to record each deed, and any dispute that ends up in front of a judge. Contested work is billed at $290 an hour, and only after you have approved an estimate in writing.
What to bring
Bring what you can find. A missing paper never delays a meeting, and we can request most records for you.
Photo IDA driver’s license or passport for each person signing.
A list of what you ownHouse, accounts, vehicles, a business. Rough numbers are fine.
The deed to your homeOr the latest property tax bill, which carries the legal description.
Retirement account statementsThe most recent one for each account.
Life insurance policiesWe check who is named to receive them. It is often out of date.
Any will or trust you have nowEven an old one. Even one from another state.
Marriage and divorce papersA certificate, a judgment, or a marital property agreement.
Names and birth datesFor your children and anyone else you plan to name.
Two people you trustSomeone to be in charge and a backup, with phone numbers.
Your questionsWritten down, so nothing is forgotten once we start talking.
The partners
Partner. Wills, trusts and probate.
Ikenna has practiced estate law in Madison since 1997. He spent fourteen years at a larger downtown firm before opening this office with Karin. Clients say he explains a trust the way a good teacher explains long division.
Partner. Trusts, taxes and incapacity.
Karin trained as an accountant before law school and still reads a balance sheet faster than a contract. She takes the plans where taxes, a family business or a child with a disability make the usual forms a bad fit.
Questions people ask
Most people need a will. A trust earns its extra cost when you own a home and want your family to skip probate court, when you have children from an earlier marriage, or when someone who will inherit should not receive it all at once. We will tell you at the first meeting which one fits, and we will say so when the cheaper one is enough.
State law decides who inherits, and it does not ask what you wanted. If you have children from an earlier relationship, part of what you own can pass to them instead of your spouse. A judge picks the guardian for young children and appoints someone to manage the estate.
About three weeks for most plans. We meet, we send drafts within ten days, you mark them up or call with questions, and we sign. If someone is ill, we can prepare powers of attorney and a simple will within two days.
No. If we misjudge the work, that is ours to absorb. The fee changes only if you ask for something different from what we agreed, and we will name the new number before we start on it.
Yes. We travel to homes, hospitals and care residences anywhere in Dane County at no extra charge, and we bring the witnesses and the notary with us.
You take the originals home in a fireproof envelope and we keep scanned copies. Every three years we mail a one page reminder to look the plan over. A change to one document costs $150.
Contact
Telephone
(608) 555 0142
A person answers during office hours. After hours, leave a message and a partner calls back the next working day.
Office
140 Kessler Street, Suite 300
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Hours
| Monday | 8:30 to 5:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 8:30 to 7:00 |
| Wednesday | 8:30 to 5:00 |
| Thursday | 8:30 to 5:00 |
| Friday | 8:30 to 3:00 |
| Saturday | By appointment |
| Sunday | Closed |
Home, hospital and care residence visits are arranged by phone, any day of the week.
This website was made with Mirin.
Get a free website for your business. Built for you in minutes.
Get my free websiteReport this website