Initial Contact
Email is the way to make initial contact with the firm.
Please provide your name, preferred contact information, and a brief description of the estate-planning assistance you are seeking. Do not include confidential, privileged, or time-sensitive information in your initial message.
Amanda will review the basic information provided and explain the appropriate next step. This initial exchange helps determine whether the matter is within the firm’s services and whether the firm may be able to assist.
Contacting the firm does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship. The firm represents you only after any necessary conflict review has been completed and the firm confirms in writing that it has agreed to represent you.
Planning Process
After representation begins, the planning process starts with learning about your circumstances, concerns, and goals. Estate planning is not simply a matter of selecting documents from a list. The documents should work together and reflect the people, property, and decisions that matter to you.
Depending on the scope of the engagement, the planning process may include:
- Gathering information about your family, property, and existing documents
- Identifying the people you trust to serve in important roles
- Discussing your goals and particular areas of concern
- Comparing a will-based plan with a trust-based plan when appropriate
- Considering powers of attorney and advance healthcare directives
- Reviewing how property ownership and beneficiary designations relate to the plan
- Preparing draft documents for your review
- Answering questions and making appropriate revisions
Amanda will explain the purpose of the proposed documents and the decisions they require. You will have an opportunity to review the drafts, ask questions, and identify corrections before the documents are finalized.
The exact process may vary depending on the services requested and the complexity of the plan.
Signing
New Mexico has not adopted electronic wills. A will must be on paper, and two witnesses must sign it in your presence and in one another’s presence. No e-signature service or video call satisfies that requirement.
So the signing is the part of this that happens in person. Everything before it — the first conversation, the questions, the decisions, the drafts and the revisions — can be handled at a distance, and usually is.
Not every document is signed the same way. Some are notarized rather than witnessed, and the requirements differ from one document to the next. Amanda will explain what yours require.
The firm is based in Albuquerque, and signing is arranged around your circumstances rather than around an office. You will know what needs to happen in person before you decide whether to go ahead.
Next Steps
After signing, follow-up steps may include:
- Confirming where original documents will be stored
- Providing appropriate copies to agents or other trusted people
- Giving healthcare documents to appropriate healthcare providers
- Reviewing beneficiary designations
- Addressing property that should be coordinated with a trust
- Keeping a practical record of where important information can be found
Amanda will explain any follow-up actions included within the scope of the engagement. Completing the documents does not necessarily complete every property transfer, beneficiary update, or account change associated with the plan.
Estate plans should also be reviewed periodically and after significant changes involving family relationships, property, health, residence, or applicable law. A review does not always require new documents, but it can help determine whether the existing plan still reflects your wishes.
If you are ready to begin, contact Amanda. If you would first like to gather some basic information, visit Before You Make Contact.
General website information is educational only and is not a substitute for legal advice based on your individual circumstances.