Short answer: Bring a list of your assets and debts, copies of any existing estate planning documents, and a rough sense of who you want to inherit what and who you want in charge if you can’t act for yourself. At Ridley Law, the initial consultation is free and does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship, so there is no cost to showing up unprepared, but the more you bring, the more useful the meeting is.
What should I actually bring to the first meeting?
Bring a plain list, not polished paperwork. An attorney needs to see the shape of your estate: real property, bank and brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance, business interests, and any significant debts. If you already have a will, trust, power of attorney, or health care directive from a prior attorney or an online service, bring copies even if you think they are outdated. Knowing what already exists, and how it was drafted, changes what work is actually needed.
You do not need account numbers or exact balances. Round figures and a sense of how assets are titled (your name alone, joint with a spouse, already in a trust) are usually enough for the first conversation.
Which documents make the biggest difference to bring?
- A list of assets and approximate values, including how each one is titled
- Any existing will, trust, power of attorney, or health care directive
- Deeds for California real property you own
- Beneficiary designation information for retirement accounts, life insurance, and any payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts
- A rough family tree: spouse or partner, children, and anyone else you might name as a beneficiary or fiduciary
Joint tenancy property, payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts, and accounts or policies with a named beneficiary generally pass outside of probate on their own. That matters at the first meeting because it changes what actually needs to go into a trust versus what already has a built-in transfer mechanism.
What does a first meeting with Ridley Law cost?
The initial consultation is free. It does not, by itself, create an attorney-client relationship. If you move forward with a complete trust-based estate plan, meaning a revocable living trust, pour-over will, incapacity documents, and the deed work to move a California home into the trust, Ridley Law charges a flat fee: $4,100 for a married couple and $3,700 for a single person. Matters that fall outside that flat-fee scope, such as trust administration disputes, are billed on retainer or hourly. Full detail on what is included is on the fees page.
Figures verified July 2026.
What questions should I ask at the meeting?
Ask what happens to your assets if you do nothing. A will, by itself, does not avoid probate; it only takes effect once a court validates it through the probate process. Only a properly funded revocable living trust, meaning one where your assets are actually retitled into it, passes property to your beneficiaries outside of probate. A trust that sits unfunded does nothing for the assets left out of it.
Ask who would serve as trustee or executor if your first choice cannot, what duties that person owes, and how disputes among beneficiaries get resolved. Ask what happens if you become unable to manage your own affairs before death. Ask what the flat fee includes and what would trigger hourly billing instead. A direct answer to each of these should be available at the first meeting, not deferred to a follow-up call.
What happens after the first meeting?
You should leave with a clear picture of what documents you need, what they cost, and what happens next if you move forward. Debts, taxes, and administration expenses generally get paid out of an estate or trust before beneficiaries receive anything, so part of the conversation is usually about how those obligations get handled, not just who inherits what. If your situation involves a blended family, out-of-state property, or a family member who cannot manage money responsibly, expect the attorney to flag that early since it changes the structure of the plan.
Does it matter who I meet with?
Yes. Ask how long the attorney has practiced in this area and whether they actually draft the documents themselves or hand the work to a paralegal after the intake call. At Ridley Law, Eric D. Ridley has practiced estate planning, trust, and probate law in Ventura County since 2010, and meets directly with clients rather than routing the substantive work elsewhere. If you are weighing a will against a trust, or you are not sure which tools apply to your situation, that background matters more at the first meeting than at any later stage, because it shapes every recommendation that follows.
It also matters whether the attorney’s practice covers your county. Ridley Law serves clients in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. If you live outside that area, ask directly at the outset rather than after you have gathered documents and scheduled time.
What to do next
Pull together your asset list, any existing documents, and a rough sense of your family situation before you call. If you already have a plan, bring it regardless of how old it is. From there, a consultation with an estate planning attorney will tell you whether what you have works, needs updating, or needs to be built from scratch. If you want a sense of what the meeting itself looks like step by step, see the firm’s process page.
Want a straight read on where you stand?
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