Practice Areas
Estate Planning
A good estate plan is about more than document preparation. We coach you in identifying and visualizing the best estate plan for your needs and goals. We help you craft the plan that will protect you while you are alive and protect your family and your wishes after you are gone. Learn more.
Trust Administration
Trust administration can feel overwhelming, especially when you are grieving the loss of a loved one. We can help you through all stages of trust administration, coaching you through the process and taking on tasks you wish to delegate. Learn more.
Probate
We guide you through all stages of probate, including petition preparation, providing notices to heirs, preparing the court inventory, notifying heirs of proposed actions, arranging for publication of the legal notice, and representing you in court. Learn more.
Conservatorships
When somebody you love cannot care for themselves and/or their finances, we can assist you in pursuing a conservatorship through a court process. We help you evaluate your options and represent you throughout the petitioning process. Learn more.
How Much Does It Cost?
Fair question! At Fidelitas Law, we are transparent with our pricing. Kim’s hourly rate is $350 per hour, and she will give you a ballpark idea of how many hours she expects to spend on your matter. However, many matters work best with a flat fee agreement because the client can freely ask questions without worrying about the billable hour.
Kim will explain your billing options to you, but ultimately, you will decide on the fee structure. To give you some insight, this tabbed section provides a general overview of our current fees for most matters.
If you require the preparation of only a single estate planning document, such as a Will or a durable power of attorney, we typically recommend that you pay on an hourly basis.
The cost of a complete estate plan will vary depending on the complexity of your situation, but following are our minimum fees for our estate planning packages. A package typically includes a trust, pourover Will, power of attorney, health care directive, certification of trust, assignment of assets, property agreement (married couples), and trust transfer deed.
- single person no home: $2000
- single person with one home: $2500
- couple no home: $2500
- couple with one home: $3000
If you don’t require all the documents in the package you select, we can tailor the fee for you. We require a $1000 deposit on estate planning packages, and the fee balance is due upon delivery of your drafts.
Kim generally recommends that trust administrations be handled on an hourly basis, but she is happy to discuss a flat fee with you if you prefer that structure.
Attorney fees in probates are set by statute and are based on the gross value of the estate:
- 4% on the first $100,000
- 3% on the next $100,000
- 2% on the next $800,000
- 1% on the next $9,000,000
Note that attorneys are paid for their work at the end of the probate process and only by court order. You will be billed for costs we advance on your behalf (such as courier and filing fees), but otherwise you will not pay us until the end of probate.
Why Choose Us
Flexible
For your initial meeting, we can meet with you on your terms, whether in the office, at your home, or virtually.
Compassionate
We see you first as a person, not a project (or a dollar sign). We listen to you. We know you have a unique family and personal concerns, and we won’t shove you into a one-size-fits-all solution.
Transparent
Our general fee structures are available to you on our website. You choose whether you want to pay a flat fee or by the hour for your matter. We allow you to craft the package you really want, and we never recommend more than you need to accomplish your goals. We never pad our legal bills.
Free Phone Consult
Call or email us at (925) 266-3449 or info@fidelitaslaw.com, or you may fill out this contact form. We offer a free 15 minute consult to discuss your goals and needs. If our firm seems like a good fit for you, we schedule an intake meeting.
Contact
Fidelitas Law
4695 Chabot Drive, Suite 200
Pleasanton, California 94588
(925) 266-3449
info@fidelitaslaw.com
Legal Disclaimer
Use of this website does not create an attorney-client relationship between users of this site and any other party whatsoever. Neither transmission nor receipt of information from this website creates an attorney-client relationship between users of this site and any other party whatsoever. No attorney-client relationship exists between the users of this website and any other party, including but not limited to Fidelitas Law or Kim Cameron-Smith