Once you have visited with your attorney, given careful consideration to the contents of your Last Will and Testament, and filled out and returned any forms that your attorney has requested, your will is drafted and ready for your review.
This post is a guide for our clients at Kalish Law Office. If you have another firm drafting your will, the steps and procedures may differ. However, all firms will want to be certain of two things before you sign your will 1) that your will accurately follows your wishes; and 2) that you understand what is in your will.
In our firm, we meet with the client(s) in a consultation appointment. Occasionally, a client will know exactly what he or she wants and will have no questions at all for the attorney. However, that is pretty rare. Most people have at least a few questions, even if they have a current will that they are updating.
At the consultation, the client and the attorney ask each other questions and share information to be certain that everyone has the same goals. The client will be given a fill-in-the-blank form to take home. This form assists the attorney in drafting the document and guides the client through the decision making process.
After the client has completed the forms and returned them and communicated further with the attorney to clarify issues and desires, the documents are drafted.
At this point, we have our clients review the draft completely. We answer any questions the client has and share any further advice that we have for the client to consider. We make sure everything is clear and accurate. We ask the client to confirm the spelling of names of the people or charities named in the Will. If the client requires and additional appointment, phone conference or explanation, we provide it.
After all changes have been made, questions are answered and the client is happy with the documents “as is”, we print the final copy and schedule an appointment for the client to sign. A notary and witnesses will be provided. The client walks into the office ready to sign and is provided with the originals and a copy of the signed documents, once they are complete.
Our procedure was created to save valuable time for the client, attorney, notary and witnesses. It also helps ensure that the client has the encouragement to ask questions and prevents a client from signing a document that s/he is not comfortable with or s/he has not reviewed. Our goal is to provide accurate documents, provide good customer service to our clients, and help make the process easier!
