Flat-Fee Estate Planning
Our will-based package with ancillary documents for a married couple generally ranges from $1,500–$2,500; trust-based plans generally range from $3,500–$5,500, depending on scope. Your written engagement confirms the documents, responsibilities, and flat fee before drafting begins.
Schedule a Free ConsultationFlat-Fee Estate Planning in North Carolina & South Carolina
Under NC State Bar Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5 and S.C. Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5, attorneys may charge fixed fees for transactional legal work when the fee is reasonable, clearly communicated upfront, and confirmed in a written engagement letter. Ryan offers flat-fee planning for every engagement, quoted before any work begins, with the scope and payment schedule set out in your written engagement.
| Plan type | Typical range for married couples | Common ancillary documents |
|---|---|---|
| Will-based plans with ancillary documents | $1,500 - $2,500 | Financial/durable power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, living will, and funeral directive. |
| Trust-based plans | $3,500 - $5,500 | Companion pour-over will, financial and healthcare powers of attorney, healthcare directives, supporting documents, deed work, trust-funding instructions, and mobile-notary signing assistance. |
Flat-fee planning gives you a price for a defined scope before drafting begins. Hourly billing can be appropriate when the work is less predictable. Compare the same documents, deed work, signing support, funding instructions, and later work across quotes, and ask what could create an additional charge. Our guide to comparing flat-fee estate-planning quotes explains the questions to ask.
Every flat-fee plan is a coordinated system of documents — not a menu of separate items that may or may not work together. Your will or trust, powers of attorney, healthcare directive, and ancillary documents are drafted simultaneously, cross-referenced, and tested for consistency before delivery. The result is an estate plan that functions as a whole, not a collection of individually purchased documents.
Comprehensive documents in every plan
Ryan's flat-fee plans are built around two tiers: a will-based plan for clients who want a straightforward foundational plan, and a trust-based plan for clients who want to avoid probate and maintain privacy. Both tiers include the complete document set needed for a legally sound, coordinated estate plan.
Includes: Last Will and Testament (with testamentary trust provisions for minor beneficiaries, guardian nomination, and self-proving affidavit) + Durable Financial Power of Attorney + Healthcare Power of Attorney + Living Will and Advance Directive + HIPAA Authorization. Drafted for NC, SC, or both, based on your situation, with mobile-notary signing assistance.
A trust-based plan includes the revocable living trust, companion pour-over will, financial and healthcare powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and supporting documents tailored to your family. It also includes deed work, trust-funding instructions, and mobile-notary signing assistance. Ryan explains what to do; you remain responsible for completing financial-institution paperwork and the account or beneficiary changes described in your instructions.
Ryan can coordinate the estate-planning documents for both spouses in one engagement, with provisions tailored to each person. Your written engagement explains the agreed scope and flat fee before drafting begins. Ryan coordinates mobile-notary signing assistance with the required signing formalities.
Ask Ryan to review your plan after important family, asset, or legal changes. He can explain whether an amendment or a more substantial update is appropriate and quote any additional work before it begins.
From inquiry to signed plan — what to expect
The process usually takes 4–6 weeks and involves two Teams meetings, some homework, and a mobile-notary signing appointment. Timing depends on the decisions, review, and signing arrangements needed for your plan. If you have a deadline, raise it at the start so Ryan can discuss what is feasible.
Free Initial Consultation
A 30-minute call or video meeting to understand your family structure, assets, and goals. Ryan explains the options — will-based vs. trust-based, key decisions about agents and beneficiaries — and provides a flat-fee quote before any work begins. No commitment required.
Intake Questionnaire
You provide family and asset information and think through the people you would trust to help. You do not have to resolve every guardian, trustee, or distribution decision on your own; Ryan helps you work through those choices.
Draft Documents Delivered
Ryan prepares your documents for review and walks through the plan with you remotely. You can ask questions and discuss revisions before signing. Your written engagement describes the scope of the work.
Mobile-Notary Signing
Ryan coordinates mobile-notary signing assistance. The signing appointment follows the witness, acknowledgment, and notarization requirements for each document and state. Remote meetings do not mean the required signing participants appear only by video.
Funding and Implementation (Trust Plans)
Ryan prepares the agreed deed work and provides account-funding and beneficiary instructions. You remain responsible for completing financial-institution paperwork and the account or beneficiary changes described in your instructions. Follow-through is necessary; signing the documents does not complete every transfer.
Delivery and Storage Guidance
Executed documents are delivered in digital form (encrypted PDF) and mailed in hard copy if preferred. Ryan provides a plan summary document explaining where original documents should be stored, who should receive copies, and what to do first if a triggering event (death or incapacity) occurs. The engagement is complete — but Ryan is available for questions as your circumstances evolve.
NC & SC Legal Requirements
Why Flat-Fee Pricing Makes Sense for NC and SC Estate Planning
Estate planning in North Carolina and South Carolina involves well-defined document requirements — N.C.G.S. Chapters 29, 31, 32A, 32C, 36C, and 36F for NC; S.C. Code Title 62 for SC. The legal work involved in preparing a will, trust, or POA is largely predictable for a given client situation, making flat-fee pricing structurally appropriate.
The hourly billing model is often used for litigation, where work volume is genuinely unpredictable. Estate planning is transactional — Ryan knows from the intake questionnaire roughly how complex the engagement will be, and the flat fee reflects that assessment. Complex situations (blended families, business interests, multi-state property, charitable planning) are priced accordingly.
Serving Both Carolinas with State-Compliant Documents
Many clients in the Charlotte metro, Mecklenburg County, Fort Mill, and Belmont areas have significant connections to both North Carolina and South Carolina — living in one state, working in another, or owning property in both. Ryan drafts estate plans that address both states' requirements in a single coordinated engagement.
NC and SC have adopted many of the same Uniform Law Commission acts (Uniform Trust Code, Uniform POA Act, Uniform Fiduciaries Act), making multi-state planning more straightforward than it was a generation ago. However, execution requirements differ — particularly for wills and healthcare directives — and Ryan ensures every document complies with the specific requirements of each relevant state.
Who needs flat-fee estate planning
Young Families
Choose a guardian nomination, name a trustee, and decide how an inheritance should support your children as they grow. Flat-fee planning gives you a clear scope and price while Ryan helps with decisions that can feel uncomfortable to make alone. For North Carolina families comparing the options, see our will-versus-living-trust guide.
Couples — Married and Unmarried
Unmarried partners have no default legal protections. A coordinated couples plan ensures both partners are protected, regardless of marital status. Joint flat-fee rates make this affordable.
Business Owners
A standard estate plan can address how business interests pass at death, but business succession planning is outside the standard packages. Tell Ryan about business interests early so any separate work can be defined and quoted.
Property Owners
Real estate can make a trust-based plan useful, especially when property is in more than one state. Whether a trust fits depends on title, transfer options, and family goals. The included deed work is for the first deed for your primary residence; additional properties require separate scope confirmation.
People with Existing Plans
A will from 2008 that predates the birth of your children, your divorce, or your move to NC is not an estate plan — it's a liability. Plan updates are available at flat-fee rates.
Anyone Who Hates Billing Surprises
If the uncertainty of hourly billing has kept you from starting, the flat fee is the solution. You know the cost before you commit. No surprises. No ongoing meter running.
5 mistakes to avoid
Choosing the Cheapest Online Option
LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and similar services provide templates — not legal advice. They cannot identify issues specific to your family structure, advise on NC vs. SC execution requirements, coordinate beneficiary designations with your estate plan, or prepare state-specific real estate deeds. The cost difference between a $200 online template and a professionally prepared flat-fee plan is often less than one hour of probate litigation caused by a defective document.
Purchasing Documents Piecemeal
A will from one attorney, a trust from another, and a POA from a legal forms website rarely work as a coordinated system. Cross-references are missing; trustee authority doesn't align with agent authority; beneficiary designations contradict trust terms. A coordinated flat-fee plan drafts all documents together, with built-in consistency.
Not Asking About the Signing Process
Ask how signing will work before engaging. Ryan coordinates mobile-notary signing assistance, with the witness, acknowledgment, and notarization requirements for each document and state. Remote planning meetings do not replace the required signing formalities.
Assuming the Plan Is Done After Signing
A signed trust still needs funding follow-through. Ryan prepares the agreed deed work and provides account-funding and beneficiary instructions. You remain responsible for completing financial-institution paperwork and the account or beneficiary changes described in your instructions.
Never Updating the Plan
Ask Ryan to review your plan after important family, asset, or legal changes. He can explain whether an amendment or a more substantial update is appropriate and quote any additional work before it begins.
What Each Flat-Fee Package Actually Includes
Transparency is the point of flat-fee pricing. Here is a detailed, honest breakdown of what each engagement covers and what may fall outside the flat fee.
Will-Based Plan — Detailed Scope
The will-based plan is designed for families who want a complete estate plan without the complexity (or cost) of a revocable living trust. It includes every document needed for a legally complete plan under NC or SC law:
- Last Will and Testament: Custom-drafted for your family situation, including executor and guardian nominations, specific bequests, residuary distribution, testamentary trust provisions for minor beneficiaries (when applicable), and self-proving affidavit per N.C.G.S. § 31-11.6 or S.C. Code § 62-2-503
- Durable Financial Power of Attorney: NC Ch. 32C or SC § 62-8-101 compliant, with detailed grant of authority including real estate, banking, tax filings, business operations, and (when appropriate) gifting and estate plan modification authority
- Healthcare Power of Attorney: NC § 32A-16 or SC § 62-5-501 compliant, naming healthcare agents and successor agents
- Living Will / Advance Healthcare Directive: NC § 90-321 or SC § 44-77-10 compliant declaration of treatment preferences
- HIPAA Authorization: 45 C.F.R. § 164.508 compliant authorization permitting healthcare providers to share medical information with named individuals
- State-specific personal-property directions: Coordinated with the will under NC § 31-51 or SC § 62-2-512, recognizing that South Carolina permits a qualifying later-prepared list while North Carolina’s incorporation-by-reference rule requires the writing to exist when the will is executed
- Plan summary and storage guidance: Written summary explaining where original documents should be stored, who should receive copies, and what to do first if a triggering event occurs
- Mobile-notary signing assistance: Signing arrangements that follow the witness, acknowledgment, and notarization requirements for each document and state
Trust-Based Plan — Additional Inclusions
The trust-based plan includes everything in the will-based plan, plus:
- Revocable Living Trust Agreement: Custom-drafted under NC Ch. 36C or SC § 62-7-101, with trustee succession, distribution provisions, spendthrift protections, and trustee powers tailored to your family situation
- Pour-Over Will (instead of standalone will): Will that directs any non-trust assets into the trust at death
- Certificate of Trust: Short summary document for presentation to financial institutions during trust funding
- Funding Instructions: Detailed, asset-by-asset instructions for coordinating eligible accounts, beneficiary designations, and other assets with the trust. You complete financial-institution forms and changes; funding-completion checklists, verification, and ongoing funding review are not included.
- Real Estate Deed Preparation: Deed work for the first deed for your primary residence, as agreed in the engagement. Additional properties require separate scope confirmation. Confirm recording costs and any applicable transfer taxes in your written engagement.
For the division of responsibilities after signing, read our trust-funding instructions and client responsibilities.
Scope and Costs to Confirm
Your written engagement describes the agreed scope and payment terms. Ask Ryan to explain how these items are handled for your situation before drafting begins:
- Recording fees for real estate deeds: Confirm the applicable recording costs and how they are handled in your written engagement.
- State transfer taxes (where applicable): Ask Ryan to explain whether a tax applies to the proposed transfer and how any related costs are addressed in your written engagement.
- Out-of-state property deeds: If you own property outside NC or SC, deed preparation for that property requires coordination with local counsel
- Irrevocable trust planning: Medicaid asset protection trusts, ILITs, dynasty trusts, and other irrevocable structures require specialized expertise — referrals provided when appropriate
- Business succession and special-needs planning: Outside the standard will-based and trust-based packages; these needs require separate consideration and an expressly defined scope of work.
- Tax return preparation: Estate, gift, and income tax return preparation requires a CPA
- Probate or trust administration: Post-death administration is outside the estate-planning engagement. A trust can reduce probate work for properly coordinated assets, but administration duties, taxes, and possible professional costs remain.
Amendments and Future Updates
Ask Ryan to review your plan after important family, asset, or legal changes. He can explain whether an amendment or a more substantial update is appropriate and quote any additional work before it begins.