Wes Coulson debuts the first video in the Coronavirus Preparedness Series, discussing what our estate planning process looks like during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Transcript:
I’m starting this with my mask on to give you a sense of comfort that if you need to come in the office, you will know that we are aware of and taking all reasonable measures to protect you and us from Coronavirus. I’m going to take this off though so you can see my smiling face and hear me just a bit better for the video.
This is one of our series of videos that I’m calling our Coronavirus Preparedness Series.
What I want to talk to you about today is just kind of walk you through the process of how we’re going about doing estate planning for people during this time. I know that a lot of people are thinking, “you know, I really do needs this because I am concerned about the risk of contracting COVID-19,” but you’re also concerned about walking into a lawyer’s office.
Here’s what we have in place:
We start out the whole process with things that we can do with you by email or mail, getting you forms that we use to gather information. And, when we get those back from you and we want to have a first meeting to talk about what we’re helping you to accomplish, and to go over your choices that’ll be reflected in the documents that we prepare, we’ve traditionally done that by telephone but we can do it also now by a Zoom video conference. Don’t be overwhelmed by that on your end, it’s actually pretty easy if you have a device that does emails and has a webcam and a microphone, you’re all set. So that could be some PCs, almost all laptops, notebooks, tablets, or even a good ol’ cell phone will get the job done.
Once we’ve done that, we get the documents and send you the drafts, again by email or mail, for you to look at. When you’ve approved them, we have the signing meeting. For the most part, we are doing those in the office, but we have you set up at a table that we have cleaned with the documents laid out. You’ll have masks on and we will be standing outside the door of offices where we can see each other, where we can talk to you, to run you through the signing process. Or, if you are in a situation where you can’t get out, we are also set up to do signing meetings by video conference. I’m going to be honest and tell you we don’t prefer to do them because there is a checklist of 28 items we need to go through to comply with the executive order from Governor Pritzker on those, but we’re going to make sure that we help you, so we’ll do what we need to do to get it done.
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Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (618) 632-7000 (IL) or (314) 567-9292 (MO), or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.
