{"id":575,"date":"2023-06-20T20:39:27","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T20:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/?p=575"},"modified":"2024-07-11T15:57:08","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T20:57:08","slug":"the-estate-planning-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/the-estate-planning-process\/","title":{"rendered":"The Estate Planning Process"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"575\" class=\"elementor elementor-575\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f54f92c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"f54f92c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-367c067 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"367c067\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Estate Planning Process<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3a43d31d e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"3a43d31d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3d885adf e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3d885adf\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3e163df3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3e163df3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Many people think the estate planning process is time consuming, complicated and expensive.\u00a0 An experienced estate planning attorney make estate planning a relatively easy process and can be quite affordable for estates that are not overly complicated.\u00a0 The best way to learn about the process is to utilize a free initial consultation that provides you an opportunity to meet with attorney Chris Cox and ask specific questions for your unique situation. We offer three convenient options for this free meeting:<\/p><ul><li>In-person at our Chesterfield, Missouri location near I-64 and Mason<\/li><li>Via phone call<\/li><li>Via Zoom video call<br \/><br \/><br \/><\/li><\/ul><p>During the initial consultation, we make every effort to learn about you, your goals and answer your questions specifically as well offer recommendations and layout a general roadmap for the estate planning process. Most clients find this free consultation incredibly valuable and far exceeds their expectations for a free consultation.<\/p><p>After the free initial consultation, if you wish to proceed, we will provide you with a questionnaire to complete, and schedule a follow-up meeting (either in-person or via Zoom) to gather information and discuss how you&#8217;d like to set up your documents. The questionnaire is designed to gather basic, straight-forward information as well as generate discussion with your loved ones about your wishes in terms of assets, finances, healthcare, guardianship and other related topics. Many clients find the questionnaire helpful in discussing topics they many never have considered.<\/p><p>At the follow-up meeting, we go through each document in detail and discuss all possible options. This meeting uncovers the nuanced details needed to create a customized and comprehensive estate plan to meet your specific needs. We never use template forms or documents for your estate plan. Approximately 7-10 days after our office receives all the necessary information from you, we send you a complete draft of your documents for review. Along with these documents, you&#8217;ll also receive detailed summaries of the documents that make then easier to read and digest.<\/p><p>After you have reviewed the documents, you can call, email or meet in-person with attorney Chris Cox to discuss questions or changes you may have. Once the documents are in final form, we schedule a signing appointment where you come into the office to sign the documents before a notary public and witnesses. After that appointment, you&#8217;ll receive your original signed documents for safekeeping along with an extra copy of everything. We&#8217;ll also review general instructions regarding the documents. If a Trust is one of the estate planning documents our office drafted for you, we&#8217;ll discuss your next step of moving assets into that new Trust. We supply you with very detailed written &#8220;how-to&#8221; instructions, and review those instructions with you so we can answer any questions you may have. This is movement of assets into the Trust is called &#8220;funding your trust&#8221;. This funding process usually does not take much time, and most likely will only require you to go to your bank and the Missouri Department of Motor Vehicles to adjust your car title &#8211; everything else can usually be accomplished over the phone, via mail or online.<\/p><p>Overall, our office makes the estate planning process very easy and smooth. We look forwarding to working with you to meet your Estate Planning needs.<\/p><p>Chesterfield estate planning attorney Chris Cox helps people throughout the St. Louis area with estate planning, trust administration, probate and gift giving strategies to maximize the transfer of wealth to your family and friends. To learn how the law applies to your specific circumstances, <a href=\"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/schedule-consultation\/\">schedule your FREE consultation<\/a> with an experienced estate planning attorney online or call our office at <a href=\"tel:+1-314-727-0163\">314-727-0163<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c78022d elementor-widget elementor-widget-global elementor-global-1154 elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"c78022d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"466\" height=\"174\" src=\"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/closing-block.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1153\" alt=\"Image of Chris Cox, Attorney at Law\" srcset=\"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/closing-block.png 466w, https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/closing-block-300x112.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 466px) 100vw, 466px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7ef737c elementor-widget elementor-widget-facebook-button\" data-id=\"7ef737c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"facebook-button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div data-layout=\"standard\" data-colorscheme=\"light\" data-size=\"small\" data-show-faces=\"false\" class=\"elementor-facebook-widget fb-like\" data-href=\"https:\/\/attorneycox.com?p=575\" data-share=\"false\" data-action=\"like\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-46590b48 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"46590b48\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/article-close.png\" title=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2a8cad50 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2a8cad50\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-141bb978 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"141bb978\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-646184c elementor-widget elementor-widget-template\" data-id=\"646184c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"template.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-template\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"section\" data-elementor-id=\"1096\" class=\"elementor elementor-1096\" data-elementor-post-type=\"elementor_library\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c16e2bc e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"c16e2bc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-42d881d e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"42d881d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4b00c97f elementor-hidden-mobile elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-featured-image elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"4b00c97f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-featured-image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Multi-Generation-Family-Enjoying-Picnic-Together-171355556_4992x3328-1024x683.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-577\" alt=\"process of estate planning\" srcset=\"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Multi-Generation-Family-Enjoying-Picnic-Together-171355556_4992x3328-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Multi-Generation-Family-Enjoying-Picnic-Together-171355556_4992x3328-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Multi-Generation-Family-Enjoying-Picnic-Together-171355556_4992x3328-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Multi-Generation-Family-Enjoying-Picnic-Together-171355556_4992x3328-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1a836905 e-con-full print-no e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"1a836905\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2f09321f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2f09321f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Free Estate Planning Guide<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6c071459 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6c071459\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Download your <b>FREE<\/b> copy of our <b><i>Estate Planning Guide<\/i><\/b>.&nbsp; We are so confident you&#8217;ll find our resource helpful, <b>we don&#8217;t require anything from you to get it<\/b>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2d730b59 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"2d730b59\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-content\/Missouri-Estate-Planning-Guide.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/EP-Guide-300x300.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-1615\" alt=\"Image of Estate Planning Guide\" srcset=\"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/EP-Guide-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/EP-Guide-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/EP-Guide.png 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8ecf805 elementor-widget elementor-widget-wp-widget-recent-posts\" data-id=\"8ecf805\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"wp-widget-recent-posts.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t<h5>Recent Posts<\/h5><nav aria-label=\"Recent Posts\">\n\t\t<ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/estate-planning-for-unmarried-couples\/\">Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/resolving-estate-disputes\/\">Resolving Estate Disputes<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/what-to-do-when-a-trustee-isnt-fulfilling-duties\/\">What to Do When A Trustee Isn&#8217;t Fulfilling Duties<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/debunking-estate-planning-myths-2-0-continued\/\">Debunking Estate Planning Myths 2.0 (Continued)<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/how-to-help-your-adult-child-with-money\/\">How To Help Your Adult Child With Money<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\n\t\t<\/nav>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gain valuable insights and guidance on the estate planning process. Navigate with confidence and ensure effective estate planning for your needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":577,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,16,24,11,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-estate-planning-articles","category-estate-planning","category-probate","category-trusts","category-wills"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2249,"href":"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575\/revisions\/2249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/attorneycox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}