How Long Does It Take to Complete an Estate Plan?

Estate planning gives Michigan families a clear plan for life’s what-ifs, from medical choices to who receives the house. The timing can feel fuzzy, though, and that often keeps folks from getting started.

At Bassett Murray Law Group, PLLC, our team has spent over 30 years helping clients across Michigan build plans that reflect their lives and values. In this article, we outline a realistic timeline, explain what speeds things up or slows them down, and share ways you can move forward with less stress.

Factors Influencing the Estate Planning Timeline

Every plan follows the same basic steps, yet no two families move through them the same way. The pace often turns on facts like your asset mix, your goals, and how quickly information flows.

Complexity of the Estate

The size and nature of your assets can affect the schedule. A plan for one home and one checking account usually lands faster than a plan that covers rental properties, out-of-state real estate, business interests, and layered investments. Each added asset can mean extra deed work, beneficiary checks, titling fixes, or tax questions.

Wishes also shape timeframes. If you want distributions that roll out in stages, set conditions for beneficiaries, or protect a child’s inheritance from future creditors, drafting and review take a bit longer to get right.

When more people are involved, the puzzle has more pieces. Plans with several beneficiaries, charities, or backup decision-makers need extra care to keep everything coordinated and clear.

Once you map the asset picture, the next driver is the family picture. That is where timing can really shift.

Family Dynamics

Blended families often need careful planning to support a spouse and children from a prior relationship. This can involve trusts that balance lifetime support for a partner with future gifts for kids, all while limiting conflict later. That clarity takes more time to draft, and it is time well spent.

Some families have loved ones with disabilities. A special needs trust helps protect benefits and quality of life, yet it requires precision. Gathering medical and financial details for the trust adds steps to the process, and we walk you through each one.

Even in low-conflict families, naming guardians, fiduciaries, and backups still deserves thought. A little extra time here prevents headaches down the road.

Client Preparedness and Responsiveness

Showing up prepared speeds everything. Before your first meeting, gather statements, deeds, beneficiary designations, and a basic list of assets and debts to give your attorney the full picture. A list of goals and requirements, such as who handles finances if you are out of action and how you want health care decisions handled, also keeps the work on track.

• Bring recent account statements, life insurance info, and retirement plan details.
• Collect property deeds, business documents, and any prenuptial or divorce orders.
• List your preferred agents for finance and health care, along with backups.

Quick replies make a big difference. If you respond to document requests and review drafts promptly, the project keeps momentum. Clients who keep the ball moving often finish weeks sooner.

Preparation goes hand in hand with choosing the right plan structure. The type of documents you need affects timing, too.

Type of Estate Plan

Some plans focus on core documents, such as a financial power of attorney and a health care power of attorney, also known as a patient advocate designation in Michigan. Those can come together quickly once decision-makers are chosen. In some cases, the documents can be completed in one appointment. More complete planning is usually done in two appointments.

The first appointment is to gather the information, identify the goals, and design the plan. The documents are then drafted, sent to you for your review, and fine-tuned over a 3-4 week period. At that point, you would come into the office to sign the documents with the appropriate witnesses and notary.  At the end of the process, you would have your completed estate plan and instructions for any further steps to take.  Trust-centered planning usually takes longer at the start, but it can save your family time and money later.

With those factors in mind, let us look at an average timeline and what happens at each stage.

Typical Estate Planning Timeline: A Step-by-Step Overview

Most clients move through several stages, from first call to signed documents and, if needed, trust funding. The time estimates below assume steady communication and an average level of complexity.

Stage	Typical Timeframe	What Happens
Initial Call and Scheduling	1 to 2 weeks	Brief intake, goals preview, and consultation date set.
Consultation	60 minutes	Discuss goals, review assets, discuss options, and design plan.
Information Gathering Document Drafting	1 to 2 weeks	Paralegal sends Retainer Agreement and invoice.  Paralegal gathers any information that is missing. Documents are drafted.
Document review by clients	2-4 days	Client reviews drafts, poses questions, and requests changes.
Revisions/Finalization	2-4 days	Paralegal edits documents and finalizes copies for signing.
Signing and Execution	60 minutes	Notarization and witnesses complete the documents.
Trust Funding	2 to 3 weeks	Clients work to fund the trust with instructions from attorney.  (This step is important!)

 

The table shows an average experience. Some clients finish basic plans in about a month, while trust-based plans can take 6 to 8 weeks or more.

Initial Consultation

At Bassett Murray Law Group, PLLC, the initial call introduces our firm, confirms your needs, and schedules your consultation. The first meeting sets the direction. We talk through your goals, family, property, and who you want in decision-making roles.

Scheduling of the first meeting is often within 1 to 2 weeks, depending on availability. If you need a faster appointment, let us know, and we will do our best to accommodate you. Bringing a short asset list to the consult helps us provide you with trust-planning guidance more quickly.

Once the path is chosen, we shift into gathering details. That step keeps the drafting focused and accurate.

Information Gathering and Planning

Upon setting up the initial appointment, you will be asked to complete intake forms and share copies of deeds, statements, and beneficiary designations. At the initial appointment, the attorney will discuss your goals, your choices for agents, and note any special situations, such as a family member with disabilities.  It is only after we get to know you and your situation that we are able to design an estate plan that will work for you.

With the facts in place, drafting begins. This is where your goals turn into written instructions.

Document Drafting

Drafting often takes about two weeks. That window gives us time to write clearly, complete the legal formalities, and include the terms that match your wishes. Accuracy here prevents confusion later.

Trusts with tax-sensitive features or unusual assets may need extra care. We keep you posted on progress, and we flag any items we need from you to finish the drafts.

After drafting, your role becomes front and center. Your careful review is the final quality check before signing.

Review and Revision

You review the drafts to ensure names, roles, and gifts align with your plan. Questions are welcome, and small edits are common, like adding a backup agent or adjusting distribution ages. Sometimes seeing the written document will help to clarify – or change – something that you initially thought you wanted.  This is the time to make any changes that come to mind.

It is not always possible, but we ask that clients try to review and return their comments within a few business days to keep things moving.  We aim to wrap up edits promptly so you can get to signing without delay.

Once the final language is set, we can move on to the signing appointment. Execution must follow Michigan’s signing rules for trusts to be valid.

Signing and Execution

At the signing session, we provide witnesses and a notary. You will sign the documents will in front of witnesses and a notary. We prepare the package and handle the signing so that the formalities are handled properly.

After signing, we provide the originals and copies as needed. We also explain where to store documents and who should have access to them.

If your plan includes a trust, one more step remains. Funding puts your trust to work.

Trust Funding (If Applicable)

Trust funding means transferring assets into the trust or making the trust a beneficiary, as appropriate. This is primarily done by you in conjunction with your financial institutions and insurance carriers. You will receive written instructions on how to link the assets to your trust.

We take care of preparing and filing deeds and other transfer documents for real estate, assignments for business interests, and assignments of intellectual property.

Bassett Murray Law Group can help if you have questions about accomplishing these tasks.

Strategies that Expedite Your Estate Plan

A few practical moves can speed up your plan without cutting corners. Think of these as small actions that pay off quickly.

• Start a simple asset list with approximate values and the location of each account.
• Decide on your financial and health care agents, and ask them if they are willing to do it.
• Reply to document requests within two or three business days when you can.

With that foundation in place, the rest of the work falls into place.

Preparation is key

Gather recent account statements, life insurance summaries, retirement plan info, individual stocks, and contact info for your decision-makers before the first consult. Bring any court orders that affect inheritance or guardianship, and bring operating agreements for any business you own.  A little prep up-front trims days off the process.

Once you have your documents ready, we can focus on building the plan itself. That keeps the time spent on hunting papers to a minimum.

Having your goals defined also saves everyone time. If you change your mind mid-draft, that is fine, but it is important to have a starting point.

Transparent Communication

Share your goals in plain terms, like protecting a child’s inheritance until age 30, leaving a gift to a charity you love, or keeping the cottage in the family. The more transparent you are, the fewer revisions later. You don’t have to worry about how to make it happen. That is our job.  You only need to tell us what you want the result to be.  If we need to balance goals, we will explain options and tradeoffs in simple language.

Good communication also means letting us know about life changes right away. Marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, or a sudden disability of anyone in your estate plan is potentially important to the planning.  Buying or selling real estate, or starting a new account, can affect the plan, as can an unexpected increase or decrease in your assets.

Timely replies help keep your file at the front of the queue. If you need some extra time, just let us know.

Prompt Responses

Review drafts within a set time window, such as 5 business days. Note changes directly in the document or send a short list by email, whichever is easier for you. The faster the feedback, the sooner we can schedule signing.

If you have a question, speak with your attorney. A five-minute call can save a week of back-and-forth useless activities.

And that leads to the next tip. Do not sit with questions; speak up.

Ask Questions

If you are confused about a clause or a term, get clarification. We would rather explain now than fix problems later. Good questions almost always improve the final product.

We welcome follow-up by phone or in person. Making things concrete is part of our job, and it speeds up the work, too.

How Long Does Estate Planning Take?

No two plans move at the same pace, yet most families can complete a solid package within 4 to 8 weeks once they start. Complex assets or custom trust terms can add time, while thorough preparation and fast replies shorten it. A plan built with care now prevents stress later for the people you love, and that is time well spent.

Ready to Secure Your Family’s Future? Contact Bassett Murray Law Group, PLLC Today

Your peace of mind matters to us, and we work hard to build plans that fit your life today while guarding against tomorrow’s surprises. Call our Ann Arbor office at 734-930-9200 or our Petoskey office at 231-427-2292, or get in touch through our contact page. We welcome your questions and will guide you through each step with care and clear next actions. Our motto: “We are Invested in Improving Lives.”