It has come to our attention from a number of members of our community that they have recently been approached and/or marketed by law firms about pre-paying for trust administration services.  These clients are healthy and are in no need of such services, but the appeal is that you can perhaps save money by pre-paying for these services now for your family.

DO NOT PRE-PAY FOR LEGAL SERVICES

Consider this a warning against pre-paying for legal services when you are not in need of the services in the foreseeable near future.  One of the caveats of a pre-paid legal service before you need the service is that the law firm you pay will be around or available when the time comes and there is simply no guarantee of that for you or your family.  Another consideration is that there is no way for an attorney to quote you a reasonable fee right now to do whatever may be necessary to administer your trust when the time comes.  There may be a number of factors to consider and any pre-paid legal services you may have paid for may not cover those fees (or you may be paying for services you will not need!).

As part of being a client of Thompson Von Tungeln, your Successor Trustee is entitled to a free appointment should you become disabled or pass away.  During that meeting, we will assess what may be needed and we will quote a fee at that time and the decision to move forward is entirely up to your Trustee.  We feel that this is the fairest way to do business, don't you?