As we have endured this pandemic in the last several months, I am so grateful that we have not had to quarantine due to exposure and that none of my immediate family has experienced COVID. That being said, I know at times my schedule has had to be more flexible with two little ones at home and myself and my husband still working full time. This has required me to ask my clients to be more patient and flexible. I sincerely dislike inconveniencing anyone and most specifically my clients. As such, I wanted to extend a very sincere thank you to all of my wonderful clients who have had the grace to be flexible and patient in the middle of this pandemic.
This pandemic has changed the way many of us are living our lives and most of us have never lived through something like this before. It may have gotten you thinking about what would happen if you got sick with this virus or some other illness. Who would make medical decisions for you or financial decisions for you if you were not able? You may be thinking that you no longer want to put off planning for those unexpected situations. I know now more than ever, people are concerned about getting things in order, and we want to be here for you to help get your estate plan in order. However, we want to help you do so in a safe manner.
Our normal process for estate planning involves three appointments. The first appointment is a consultation to learn about your family and assets and determine what documents you need to be part of your estate plan. During the second appointment, the drafting appointment, we sit down and go over each of the documents in your plan in more detail to customize your documents based on your needs and wants. After this second appointment, we prepare drafts and send them to you for your review. This gives you time to go over the documents again and determine if any changes need to be made or if you have any questions. Then, we have a shorter, final appointment to make things official with you signing your documents.
To reduce the amount of time you need to spend in our office, we are now offering video or phone call appointments for the first 2 meetings. This way, you can come to the office only one time, for the final appointment to sign your documents. This is the shortest appointment. We provide witnesses and a notary in our office who practice social distancing and wear face masks when meeting with clients. In addition, we are giving more time in between appointments to allow time to sanitize any surfaces that clients touch. We have sanitizer available as well as clean pens set out for each signing.
With cases across Missouri rising, we have suspended in person meetings as much as possible while trying to have remaining flexible to meet your needs. By having the first two meetings done virtually or over the phone, we can still help protect you without having to delay getting the process started.