Quote:
Originally Posted by FredMitchell
In 2020, a lawyer in Sarasota did the following work for a client.
Preparation and execution of Lady Bird Deed for $250.
Preparation and execution of Last Will and Testament, Separate Writings, Living Will, Health Care Advanced Directive, Durable Power of Attorney, Preneed Guardian and instructions for the Living Will and Health Care Advanced Directive for $300.
Unfortunately, the client did not follow the instructions. So the doctors and the person in charge at the end of life were unaware of all of the important details.
The only thing known, was the Lady Bird Deed. Even the existence of the other documents was not known to the person who needed to know them. The law firm could not even disclose that the work was done to anyone but the client, even though the person with the responsibily was named in the will and all of the other documents! The only reason the law firm was known was the firm name was on the Lady Bird Deed, a public record. Also, the client did not set up the pay on death (dependency distribution instructions) for her bank account.
If you do the legal work yourself, you won't know whether you got it right, unless you get an attorney to check it for you.
Sometimes it is just not right to do it yourself.
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I agree. But, personally, I would hire a title company to prepare and record the ladybird deed. The $250 cost sounds reasonable, but the $600 cited in Post No. 8 sounds high to me. It seems to me that a title company would have more experience than an estate attorney at preparing and recording a new deed. Preparing deeds is what they do. But, if you have questions or need advice, an estate attorney may be required. My opinion.