Demonstration site: the people, contact details and documents are placeholders. How this demo works

Shelves of old leather-bound law reports with red and gilt spine labels

New Haven, Connecticut

Estate planning

An estate plan says who makes decisions for you if you can't, who cares for your children, and who receives what you leave. We prepare it with you, and you can do much of the preparation from home in our client portal.

Start your estate plan Talk to an attorney first

The practice

What we help with

An older mother and her grown daughter embracing and smiling
Wills
Who inherits, who settles your estate, and who would raise your minor children.
Revocable living trusts
For property in more than one state, privacy, or children who should inherit over time.
Powers of attorney
A trusted person to handle your finances, under Connecticut's Uniform Power of Attorney Act.
Health care directives
Your health care representative, your wishes about life support, and a HIPAA release.
Guardianship for minor children
Naming the people who would raise your children, and a backup.
Beneficiary and deed reviews
Making sure retirement accounts, insurance and your home pass the way your plan says.
Probate and estate administration
Guiding executors and families through Connecticut's Probate Courts after a death.
Plan updates
After a marriage, divorce, birth, move or death in the family.

Estate Plan

How it works

  1. People meeting across a wooden table with notes, a tablet and coffee

    Start online or call us

    Open your plan in the client portal, or book a consultation first. Either way, an attorney is assigned to you.

  2. An older couple on their sofa at home, looking at a tablet together

    Prepare at home

    The guided workbook asks one question at a time and saves as you go. Your draft documents build themselves from your answers.

  3. A hand signing a document at a desk

    Attorney review

    When you're ready, send your plan to your attorney. They review every answer and draft, and call you with any questions.

  4. A fountain pen resting on a handwritten page

    Sign at our office

    We schedule a signing appointment. Witnesses and a notary are provided, and you leave with your plan signed and in place.

Estate plans are prepared for a flat fee, quoted before any work begins and set out in your engagement letter. Using the portal before you've signed an engagement letter does not make you a client of the firm. Your attorney-client relationship begins when we confirm it in writing.

Client Portal

What you'll prepare

The workbook is organized in levels. Each step you finish drafts the documents it covers, ready for your attorney's review. Levels I and II make a complete core plan; Level III is there if you want it.

Level I. Who speaks for you, and who keeps the bills paid, if you can't

Health Care Proxy (Medical POA)
Appoints a primary and alternate agent to make medical decisions if you are incapacitated.
Living Will / Advance Directive
Outlines explicit preferences regarding life-prolonging procedures and comfort care.
HIPAA Release
Lets the people you name receive your medical information from doctors and hospitals.
Durable Financial Power of Attorney
Authorizes a trusted agent to manage financial affairs and pay bills if you become incapacitated.

Level II. Your will, your accounts, and the people who agreed to help

Last Will & Testament
Directs post-death asset distribution, names an executor, and nominates legal guardians for minor children.
Beneficiary Designation Review
Directs non-probate accounts (401(k), IRA, life insurance, bank POD).
Bank Account POD Guide
Step-by-step guide to add payable-on-death (POD) designations to checking and savings accounts.

Level III. Your home, and the instructions that make everything easier to find(optional)

Transfer-on-Death (TOD) Deed
Transfers home equity directly to designated beneficiaries at death.
Beneficiary Audit Checklist
Audit workflow to remove ex-spouses and align 401(k), IRA, and life insurance forms.
Letter of Instruction
Non-binding guidance for your executor covering digital accounts, subscriptions, and wishes.
The portal's workbook screen: the client's guided plan and their progress through the levels
The portal's Documents screen: draft documents built from the client's answers

The demonstration portal, with a made-up client.

A father reading a picture book with his young daughter on the sofa

For parents of young children

Who would raise your children

A will is where you name the guardian who would raise your children, and a backup. Without one, a court decides. The workbook walks you through the choice, and your attorney talks it over with you before anything is final.

Naming a guardian for minor children

Your signing appointment

Estate planning documents are signed at our office, with two witnesses and a notary provided by the firm, as Connecticut law expects for a will. It usually takes about an hour.

We keep a scanned copy of your signed documents and return the originals to you, or hold the original will in our vault if you prefer.

What to bring

  • A government photo ID for everyone signing
  • Your reading glasses, and any questions you've written down
  • Nothing else: we print the final documents for you
A fountain pen resting on a handwritten page

Estate planning attorneys

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