Penhallow & Wray, P.A. · Attorneys & Counsellors at Law · Wills, Trusts & Estates
Telephone (561) 555-0117 Request an appointment
214 Banyan Court◆Delray Beach, Florida 33444◆Monday to Friday, nine to five
§ I
We do one kind of work. The fees below are fixed unless marked otherwise, and are confirmed in a written engagement letter before anything begins.
i.
Who receives what, who looks after minor children, and who is trusted to carry it out. Signed in our office before two witnesses and a notary, so that it is self-proving under Florida law.
$650 for one person · $950 for a couple
ii.
For those who own a home, hold accounts in several places, or would prefer their affairs stay out of the public court file. Includes the pour-over will and written instructions for retitling each asset.
From $2,800
iii.
A durable power of attorney, designation of health care surrogate and living will. The papers a hospital or bank asks for first, and the ones most often missing.
$350 for the set of three
iv.
Opening the estate in Palm Beach County, notifying creditors, gathering accounts, and distributing what remains. Summary administration where the estate qualifies; formal administration where it does not.
Summary from $2,500 · Formal from $4,500, plus court costs
v.
Guidance for a successor trustee: notices to beneficiaries, inventories, accountings, tax identification and the final distribution. Billed by the hour, with an estimate in writing at the outset.
$375 per hour
vi.
Florida’s homestead rules surprise many families. We review how the house is titled and, where suitable, prepare and record an enhanced life estate deed.
$450, plus recording fees
§ II
Most people who come to see us have been meaning to for years. There is nothing unusual in that. The subject is not a pleasant one, the vocabulary is unfamiliar, and it is hard to know what any of it ought to cost.
So we have tried to make the office an easy place to visit. We are two attorneys and two paralegals in a small building on Banyan Court. You will meet with one of us, not an intake coordinator. We will ask about your family before we ask about your accounts. We will tell you the fee before you decide anything, and if a simple will is all you need, a simple will is what we will recommend.
When someone has died, the pace is different but the manner is the same. We explain each step of the administration before it happens, we return telephone calls the same business day, and we send a short written report on the first of every month until the estate is closed.
Eleanor M. Penhallow&Thomas A. Wray
Founding Attorney
Admitted to The Florida Bar, 1987. J.D., University of Florida. Member, Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section. Has kept an office in Delray Beach for thirty-nine years.
Attorney
Admitted to The Florida Bar, 2009. J.D., Stetson University; LL.M. in Taxation, University of Miami. Joined the firm in 2014 and handles most of its estate administrations.
§ III
First
One hour with an attorney, at the office, by telephone, or at your home or care residence. No charge, and no obligation to go further.
Second
Within three business days you receive a plain-language summary of what we recommend and a fixed fee for doing it.
Third
We send the documents to read at your own pace, with a one-page guide to each. Revisions are included in the fee.
Fourth
About forty minutes in our conference room, with our witnesses and notary. You leave with the originals in a bound folder, and we keep scanned copies.
§ IV
Ms. Penhallow came to my mother’s apartment at Harbour’s Edge because she can’t travel easily. She spoke to her, not to me, and never once hurried her.
The fee in the letter was the fee on the invoice. Every document came with a page explaining it in ordinary English, which I have since re-read more than the documents.
After my husband died I could not face the paperwork. Mr. Wray’s office sent a short report on the first of each month so I always knew what had been done and what came next.
I called at four on a Friday expecting voicemail. A paralegal named Denise answered, and Mr. Wray rang back before five.
Reviews describe individual experiences. Every matter is different, and past experience does not predict the course of any other matter.
§ V
The office is two streets north of Atlantic Avenue, with parking at the door and no stairs. For clients who would rather not travel, we make house, hospital and care-residence visits throughout southern Palm Beach County without an added fee.
Probate matters are filed in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, in and for Palm Beach County.
§ VI
Telephone the office at (561) 555-0117, or complete the note below and we will reply within one business day.