Are you…

…overwhelmed with an impending sense of doom because you’re not prepared if you get hit by a car or have a stroke?

…afraid that you won’t get your 💩 together before it’s too late, and your legacy will be the mess you leave behind?

…feeling like three toddlers in a trench coat pretending to be an adult, waiting to be discovered as an imposter at any time?

…confused about where to even start, given that there are numerous options ranging from $20 DIY options that seem sort of sketchy, to employee-benefit options that can’t possibly pay the lawyer enough to be effective, to multi-$$$$$ options and you don’t understand whether the value is there?

…hoping you’ll find someone who can hold your hand, tell you you’re not alone in feeling any of this, walk you through understanding exactly what issues you and your family face, create a plan that addresses all your worst fears, ensure your plan is going to work when the time comes that it’s needed, and maybe even give you an “I adulted!” sticker at some point?

You’re in the right place.

Why is estate planning so easy to put off?

Estate planning is so easy to put off because it involves thinking about a lot of things we don’t want to think about—not just about death, but about our lives. Thinking about estate planning can bring up:

feelings of shame around finances
feelings of not being a real adult or being behind on your adulting to-do list
feelings of not belonging because you weren’t raised by wealthy parents who had lawyers
feelings of loneliness because you don’t have the community you desire
feelings of anxiety because you are the sole caregiver and/or financial provider for the people who depend on you
feelings of fear about losing control and having to entrust others to care for you one day

If you have felt any of those feelings, you are not alone.

Unfortunately, these feelings are all too common, and that’s probably why only around 25% of adults have an estate plan in place. You want to avoid all those bad feelings, and when you want to avoid bad feelings, it doesn’t help that when you muster up the energy for a Google search about estate planning, you’re met with an overload of information that is confusing, probably 90% inaccurate AI slop, and just oh-so fundamentally f**king boring for most people.

Seriously, doomscrolling Facebook is more fun than this.

The bad feelings, info overload, confusion, and boringness lead to research paralysis, making it easy for people to just become stuck, or to do something quick, cheap, and easy, like an online will, telling themselves they’ll get it reviewed by a lawyer at some point, but never doing so.

The Truth is That…

The truth is that there’s never an end to the research, because estate planning is a complex area of law changes constantly, varies from state to state, is affected by the policies of banks, investment companies, and other institutions, and has to be applied to your unique family, assets, and set of circumstances.

The truth is that the smartest thing you can do is know that the stakes are too high not to hire an experienced estate planning lawyer to break it down for you.

The biggest truth of all is that most estate plans fail—yes, even the ones done by experienced estate planning lawyers.

Only 8% of Estate Plans Are Successful

Even when people do get a will or trust in place by an experienced estate planning lawyer, their plans still often fail. Only about 8% of Estate Plans are successful. The biggest reason for this is that life keeps changing, and most plans don’t keep up with those changes. That’s why there are messages like this on the Oregon Estate Planning Lawyer Listserv every day:

“Searching for the will of so-and-so. Family remembers they met with a lawyer 20 years ago, but no one can find the will or remember the lawyer’s name.”

— Lawyers, every day on the listserv

Why? Because the existing estate planning models are broken.

These are the existing estate planning models:

No estate planning: Doing nothing means your loved ones face court processes like conservatorship if you become incapacitated and probate after your death. It can mean frozen bank accounts and other assets, meaning that your family will be the ones doing a GoFundMe to get the mortgage and funeral paid. It means your kids will come to me to do their estate planning because they don’t want to leave a mess like you did.
DIY estate planning: This can be using a Will kit you found at Office Depot for $20, adding your son to your bank account and deed to your house, naming beneficiaries on certain bank accounts, and giving property away before your death. Sometimes these solutions work fine, but most of the time, they can cause a lot of problems, like accidentally disinheriting people, no money available for estate administration and taxes, and creditors collecting against beneficiaries. It means your kids may have to pay more than you would have paid to do things the right way. It also means your kids may end up with a lifelong feud over this stuff.
DIY estate planning disguised as a lawyer-approved solution: These are Legal Zoom, Suze Orman, and other online programs that lead you to believe you should pay more than the $20 Office Depot Will kit, because a lawyer’s face is on it or you can pay extra to have a lawyer “review” the form you filled out. You might pay $100-700 for these services. You might overlook the small print that says they aren’t giving legal advice and that you should have everything looked over by a lawyer. All this stuff can cause the exact same problems as the other DIY planning described above. The way they use lawyer affiliation to give a false sense of security is appalling.
Estate planning with an inexperienced or generalist lawyer: While there are many inexperienced lawyers who put a lot of time and education into learning about estate planning, it’s still kind of dicey as to whether you’re working with someone who’s slinging essentially the same thing that Office Depot and LegalZoom are, or with someone who’s new and learning all they can. Generalist lawyers who offer estate planning documents as a sort of side note aren’t going to have the experience and expertise necessary to differentiate them from a $20 Will kit. You might pay $500-1,000 for what is essentially worth $20. The false sense of security here is as appalling as the online options that put a lawyer’s face on it.
Estate planning with an experienced estate planning lawyer: You might work with an experienced estate planning lawyer who knows what they’re doing and does a great job setting up your plan for you, spend $2,500-10,000, and still ultimately have your plan fail by the time it’s needed. The failure with this one is more of a systemic issue than it is anyone trying to deceive or mislead you. It’s a failure to see what the average client is experiencing, what they need, and how lawyers can meet those needs. These lawyers will tell you what you need to do to make sure your plan works, tell you that you should contact them if there are any changes, and close out your case with a CYA letter and no system to ensure you follow their advice.

None of these models work.

We know this because we’ve done estate administration for all of these models, and because we’ve been stuck in that last model ourselves. We used to send clients off with instructions on what to do next, and even offered a free plan review every three years, thinking they’d be excited to call us for it. Guess what. Nobody called for their three-year reviews.

That is why we have created something entirely new.

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Roots + Wings Membership Model

When we saw that our estate planning model wasn’t working, we set out to learn how we could do better for our clients. We were already offering flat fees, a free plan review every three years, and no charges for any calls or emails about estate planning, but the vast majority of our clients were not taking us up on it. We started trying to reach out to the clients we had not heard from for three years or longer, and the task was never-ending. We emailed, we called, we sent postcards, and it was like pulling teeth to get clients to come back in. When they did come in, we found that most of them had big changes that affected their plans, and we were doing a lot of work to get things back on track. We were also finding that a lot of our clients who set up trusts did not complete the process of transferring their assets to their trusts, meaning that if something had happened to them, they’d have essentially wasted their investment in a trust because those assets would have to go through probate.

All of this informed how we wanted to move forward with our newer clients. For a few years, rather than our typical three-meeting process, we started setting monthly meetings until the process was completed, which often took up to a year for our clients who set up trusts. We saw them through all of the asset transfers to their trusts. We held all these meetings and oversaw all the asset transfers at no additional charge to the clients. We were having to limit our availability to new clients more and more because of the time we spent on each client.

That’s when we decided that we needed to change our entire estate planning model to a membership model.

Membership Levels

Our fees are essentially the same as they would be using the old model, but our new clients are considered Members of our Roots + Wings Family. The fee they pay gives them a one-year membership. They can pay monthly, or pay up front for a reduced fee. After the year is up, they can decide to stay on as a Member at a reduced fee, or they can decide not to stay on as a Member, but still be entitled to a free plan review every three years at their request.

Like Having a Lawyer in the Family

Candice Aiston grew up with a lawyer in the family—her dad. Now she carries on that legacy by helping clients feel the same level of care, attention, and confidence that when the time comes that their plans are needed, they’ll work.

We’re here for every stage of life with our clients, from adulting milestones to long-term care decisions. Whether you’re planning for your kids, your parents, or yourself, we’re in it with you for the long haul.

Contact us