The Bowman Law Firm

Individual: $750* 

Married Couple: $950*

For medical and financial protection during your lifetime.

This plan helps make sure someone you trust can step in if you are sick, injured, traveling, aging, or temporarily unable to manage your own affairs. Without the right documents, your loved ones may face delays, bank refusals, medical privacy barriers, or even court involvement before they can help.

A Lifetime Decision-Making Plan gives your chosen agents legal authority to manage finances, speak with medical providers, access health information, and make health care decisions if needed — while keeping you in control of who is allowed to act.

What’s Included:

• Comprehensive Durable Financial Power of Attorney
• Advance Medical Directive
• HIPAA Privacy Release Documentation
• Estate Plan Guidance & Beneficiary Designation Advice
• A Folder with Your Original Signed Documents
• Electronic Copies of Your Signed Documents

*These documents are an important foundation for every adult. This plan does not direct who receives your assets after death. If you also need a will, trust, guardian nomination, deed, or probate-avoidance planning, a Will-Based Estate Plan or Trust-Based Estate Plan may be a better fit.

Individual: $1,500* 

Married Couple: $1,950*

Often a good fit for clients with adult beneficiaries and a straightforward estate.

A will-based plan creates a clear legal foundation: it names who should manage your estate, who should receive your assets, and, if you have minor children, who you would nominate as guardian. This option is often best suited for clients whose beneficiaries are adults, whose estates are straightforward, and who do not need ongoing trusts to manage assets for young beneficiaries.

For parents of minor children, a will is still important because it allows you to nominate guardians. However, if minor children would inherit significant assets, a trust-based plan may provide better structure, privacy, and long-term management.

What’s Included:

• Last Will & Testament
• Guardian Nomination (if Applicable)
• Testamentary Trust (if Applicable)
• Durable Financial Power of Attorney
• Advance Medical Directive & Healthcare Proxy
• HIPAA Privacy Authorizations
• Beneficiary Designation Guidance & Coordination
• A Professionally Organized Binder with Your Original Signed Documents
• Electronic Copies of Your Signed Documents
• Essential Care Included for the First Year*

*It’s important to note that a will does not avoid probate. In Virginia, probate can involve additional time, cost, and administrative steps. For some families, a will-based plan can be paired with a Transfer on Death Deed for a home, and updated beneficiary designations for financial accounts, to help most assets pass outside of probate.

*At the end of the included period, Essential Care continues for annual membership cycles unless you choose another membership level or cancel future service.  The annual membership price is billed in monthly installments after each month of membership service.  We will send you advance notice before the first paid month and before any material price or service change.

Individual: $2,500* 

Married Couple: $3,250*

A good fit for individuals and couples who want to simplify estate administration and leave inheritances outright, without continuing trusts for beneficiaries.

A living trust plan helps properly funded assets pass outside of probate while providing a coordinated plan for managing them during incapacity and distributing them after death. Unlike beneficiary designations alone, a trust lets your chosen successor trustee manage trust assets if you become unable to do so. It also brings your instructions for multiple beneficiaries, their shares, and backup beneficiaries together in one document, rather than relying on separate account forms. Assets must be properly titled and beneficiary designations coordinated with the trust.

With the Simple Living Trust Plan, your beneficiaries receive their inheritances outright after your death—or, for married couples, after both spouses have died—and completion of trust administration. This plan does not include continuing trusts to hold or manage a beneficiary’s inheritance, including trusts that distribute at specified ages.

For married couples, this plan includes one joint revocable living trust that continues for the surviving spouse after the first spouse dies, without dividing into separate irrevocable trusts. The surviving spouse retains the ability to amend the trust, including changing beneficiaries and how the remaining assets will be distributed.

If you want an inheritance held in trust for a child or another beneficiary, the Family Protection Trust Plan is the better fit. If you want to preserve a particular beneficiary’s inheritance after the first spouse dies, or need more individualized planning for each spouse, we can discuss whether the Family Protection Coordinated Trusts Plan is appropriate.

What’s Included:

• Custom Revocable Living Trust Agreement
• Pour-Over Last Will & Testament
• Guardian Nomination (if Applicable)
• Durable Financial Power of Attorney
• Advance Medical Directive & Healthcare Proxy
• HIPAA Privacy Authorizations
• Deed Preparation for Your Primary Residence
• Trust Funding Coordination and Asset Guidance
• A Professionally Organized Binder with Your Original Signed Documents
• Electronic Copies of Your Signed Documents
• Trust Care Included for the First Year*

*Additional planning may be recommended for unusual complexity, additional real estate, out-of-state property, tax concerns, or other customized planning needs.  Any additional investment will be discussed with you before work begins.

*At the end of the included period, Trust Care continues for annual membership cycles unless you choose another membership level or cancel future service.  The annual membership price is billed in monthly installments after each month of membership service.  We will send you advance notice before the first paid month and before any material price or service change.

Individual: $3,500*

Married; Joint Trust: $4,500*

A good fit for individuals and couples who want a child’s or another beneficiary’s inheritance managed in a continuing trust rather than distributed entirely outright.

This plan includes the same core documents, probate-avoidance benefits, and incapacity-planning features as the Simple Living Trust Plan, with added planning for how beneficiaries receive and use their inheritances over time.

After your death—or, for married couples, after both spouses have died—some or all inheritances remain in continuing trusts. You choose who will manage those assets and the guidelines for distributions, whether until specified ages or for longer-term support. This plan includes any continuing beneficiary trust, including age-based trusts for children or young adults.

For married couples, this plan uses one joint revocable living trust. If your goals call for a separate trust for each spouse—such as planning for a blended family, preserving intended inheritances after the first death, or addressing separate assets or tax considerations—we can discuss the Family Protection Coordinated Trusts Plan.

What’s Included:

• All Core Documents and Funding Services in the Simple Living Trust Plan
• One Custom Revocable Living Trust for an Individual or One Joint Revocable Living Trust for a Married Couple
• Continuing Trust Planning for Children or Other Beneficiaries
• Customized Instructions for Managing and Distributing Inheritances Over Time
• More Detailed Trustee, Successor-Trustee, and Distribution Provisions
• Beneficiary-Protection Planning Tailored to Your Goals
• Legacy Care Included for the First Year*

*Additional planning may be recommended for special-needs planning, significant tax planning, business ownership, lifetime irrevocable trusts, SLATs, completed-gift planning, Form 709 preparation, GST-exemption allocation, additional real estate, out-of-state property, charitable planning, or other unusual complexity. Any additional investment will be discussed with you before work begins.

*At the end of the included period,  Legacy Care continues for annual membership cycles unless you choose another membership level or cancel future service.  The annual membership price is billed in monthly installments after each month of membership service.  We will send you advance notice before the first paid month and before any material price or service change.

Married; Coordinated Separate Trusts: $5250*

A good fit for married couples who need a separate trust for each spouse, with a coordinated plan for supporting the survivor and providing for intended beneficiaries.

This plan includes the same core documents, probate-avoidance benefits, and incapacity-planning features as our other living trust plans, with two separate revocable trusts designed to work together rather than one joint trust.

We may recommend this approach for blended families, significant separate or unequal assets, inherited or premarital property, business interests, or tax-planning considerations. Each spouse’s trust is tailored to their assets and wishes while coordinating with the couple’s overall plan.

The trusts can be designed to support the surviving spouse while preserving the first spouse’s chosen beneficiaries’ right to the remaining inheritance, rather than leaving those decisions entirely to the survivor. Depending on your goals, beneficiaries may inherit outright or through continuing trusts, including age-based or longer-term trusts.

What’s Included:

• All Core Documents and Funding Services in the Simple Living Trust Plan
• Two Coordinated Revocable Living Trusts—One for Each Spouse
• Planning for Support of the Surviving Spouse and Inheritances for Intended Beneficiaries
• Continuing Trust Planning for Children or Other Beneficiaries, When Desired
• Customized Trustee, Successor-Trustee, and Distribution Provisions
• Coordination of Trust Funding and Beneficiary Designations Across Both Trusts
• Consideration of Federal Estate-Tax and Beneficiary-Protection Planning Options, When Appropriate
• Legacy Care Included for the First Year*

*Additional planning may be recommended for special-needs planning, significant tax planning, business ownership, lifetime irrevocable trusts, SLATs, completed-gift planning, Form 709 preparation, GST-exemption allocation, additional real estate, out-of-state property, charitable planning, or other unusual complexity. Any additional investment will be discussed with you before work begins.

*At the end of the included period,  Legacy Care continues for annual membership cycles unless you choose another membership level or cancel future service.  The annual membership price is billed in monthly installments after each month of membership service.  We will send you advance notice before the first paid month and before any material price or service change.

Starting at $1,000*

Business ownership planning fees are in addition to your trust-based estate plan.

If you own an LLC, corporation, or other business entity, additional planning may be needed to coordinate ownership, successor management, transfer restrictions, and your estate plan. Pricing depends primarily on the number of entities and owners, the condition of the records, and the complexity of implementation—not simply on whether the entity operates a business or holds rental or investment property.

Typical Starting Fees

• One Single-Member LLC Not Taxed as an S Corporation: From $1,000

• One Single-Owner Entity Taxed as an S Corporation: From $1,250

• One LLC Owned Jointly by Spouses: From $1,250

• One LLC with Two Owners Who Are Not Spouses: From $1,750

• One Entity with Three or More Total Owners: From $2,000

• Two Straightforward, Commonly Owned Entities: From $2,000, Plus $750 for Each Additional Entity

These are starting fees, not cumulative charges for overlapping categories. S-corporation tax treatment, multiple owners, transfer restrictions, or other complexities may increase the applicable starting fee, including for multiple-entity planning. Your fee will be confirmed after review of the ownership structure and proposed scope.

What May Be Included

• Review of Available Ownership and Governing Records

• Coordination of Trust Ownership and Transfer Restrictions

• Coordination of Successor-Management and Incapacity Provisions

• Routine Ownership-Transfer and Record-Update Documents Identified in the Engagement Agreement

• An Updated Ownership Ledger, When Appropriate

When a Separate Quote Is Needed

A separate quote is required for layered ownership, entity restructuring, significant operating-agreement or bylaw revisions, third-party or lender consents, incomplete or disputed ownership records, extensive buy-sell planning, out-of-state entity coordination, or other unusual ownership or transfer issues.

*Starting fees assume organized records and routine implementation. Tax advice, tax-return preparation, and S-corporation election filings are not included. Negotiation with non-client owners, their counsel, lenders, or accountants is not included unless stated in the engagement agreement. We will discuss the scope of work and any additional fee with you before beginning work.

Flat Fee: $500* 

A simple way to help your home pass to the people you choose without probate.

A Virginia Transfer on Death Deed lets you name who should receive your home after you die, while you keep ownership and control during your lifetime. It can be a practical, lower-cost option for homeowners with straightforward inheritance goals who want their home to pass outside of probate without creating a revocable living trust.

What’s Included:

• Custom Virginia Transfer on Death Deed for One Property
• Review of Your Current Deed and Property Information
• Coordination with Your Beneficiary Designations and Estate Planning Goals
• Signing and Notarization Instructions
• Submission for Recording, Electronically Where Available or by Another Accepted Method
• Recording and Electronic Filing Fees Included
• An Electronic Copy of Your Recorded Deed

Is a Transfer on Death Deed right for you?

This option is often paired with a will-based estate plan and coordinated beneficiary designations for financial accounts. It addresses who inherits your property—not who can manage it if you become incapacitated—so a financial power of attorney remains an important part of your plan.

A trust-based plan may be a better fit if an inheritance needs to remain in trust, you have minor or special-needs beneficiaries, you want to address blended-family inheritance goals, or you need more detailed beneficiary and backup-distribution instructions. A trust can also provide a coordinated approach to managing multiple assets during incapacity and distributing them after death.

*Pricing applies to one Virginia property. Title problems, lender issues, tax advice, more complex planning, or additional coordination may require an additional fee. Any additional investment will be discussed with you before work begins. A Transfer on Death Deed must be properly signed and recorded during your lifetime to be effective.

Flat Fees are quoted after an initial discussion of your goals, assets, and the planning involved.

Some planning needs go beyond a standard will or living trust. The Bowman Law Firm provides focused guidance for clients whose circumstances call for additional planning, coordination, or document preparation.

Medicaid Asset Protection Trust

For clients concerned about the cost of future long-term care, Medicaid asset-protection planning can help identify planning options, timing considerations, and the effect of proposed transfers or trust planning. This work is tailored to your family, assets, health needs, and goals; it is not a one-size-fits-all plan.

Tax Planning Trust

For higher-net-worth individuals and families, irrevocable trust planning can help move future growth outside a taxable estate, make lifetime gifts, protect assets for children and future generations, or provide for a spouse. Depending on your goals, planning may include a Spousal Lifetime Access Trust, an irrevocable family trust, life-insurance trust, or another tailored strategy. We begin by reviewing your family, assets, existing plan, and objectives before recommending whether this type of planning is appropriate.

Marital Property Agreement

A marital property agreement can help spouses clarify how property will be owned, managed, or treated at death. It may be useful when spouses bring separate assets to the marriage, have children from prior relationships, want to coordinate property ownership with their estate plan, or want greater clarity about their financial arrangements.

Virginia Deed Services

We prepare deeds for estate-planning and ownership changes, including trust-transfer deeds, corrective deeds, and deeds needed to change or clarify ownership. We will first discuss the purpose of the transfer and whether it fits your larger estate plan before preparing the deed.

Fees

Fees for specialized planning are quoted as flat fees after an initial discussion of your goals and the documents or property involved. The fee depends on the type of planning, the number of people and assets involved, the condition of existing documents, the complexity of any trust or tax planning, and the level of coordination or document preparation required. 

*Before any work begins, you will receive a clear scope of services, a flat-fee quote, and an engagement agreement.  We explain the available options in plain English and help you determine whether additional planning is appropriate for your goals.

Flat Fee: Starting at $500* 

For older estate plans, out-of-state documents, or significant changes in your life or family.

An Estate Plan Review is a focused review of your current estate-planning documents to help you understand what still works, what may need updating, and whether your plan remains aligned with your family, assets, and Virginia law.

Review Pricing:

• Single Person—Will-Based Plan: $500

• Married Couple—Will-Based Plan: $750

• Single Person—Trust-Based Plan: $750

• Married Couple—One Joint Trust Plan: $1,000

• Married Couple—Separate Trusts Plan: $1,250

What's Included:

• Review of your complete, organized estate-planning documents and amendments

• High-level review of your will, trust, powers of attorney, advance directives, HIPAA authorizations, and available deed or trust-funding documents

• Confirmation of key fiduciaries, beneficiaries, and distribution provisions

• Written issue spotting and practical recommendations about whether to keep, update, replace, or discuss your plan further

• A clear quote and updated engagement agreement before any additional work begins

This service is a broad-strokes review, not a comprehensive audit of every asset, account, deed, beneficiary designation, or planning issue. Any detailed analysis, document revision, deed work, beneficiary-designation review, or other additional planning will be discussed with you and separately scoped before work begins.

If you retain us for a new comprehensive estate-planning engagement within 60 days after your review is completed, your full Estate Plan Review fee will be credited toward that new engagement.

Already have a will or trust prepared elsewhere? We also offer document-only reviews and limited amendment services when appropriate. Contact us to request our Amendment Pricing Guide.

*The review fee and scope depend on the documents provided and the number of people and trusts involved. If the plan history, assets, amendments, or issues materially exceed the assumed scope, we may recommend a supplemental review engagement. Any additional fee will be discussed with you before work begins.

*If updates are recommended, you will receive a clear flat-fee quote and updated engagement agreement before any additional work begins.

Essential Care

Individual: $295 per year*

Married Couple: $395 per year*

*Billed in 12 monthly installments after each month of membership service.

A good fit for Lifetime Decision-Making and Will-Based Estate Plan clients.

• Annual check-in questionnaire and 30-minute attorney review meeting

• Secure electronic access to your estate-planning documents

• Annual reminders to review fiduciaries, beneficiaries, asset ownership, and major life changes

• One routine update each membership year to a power of attorney, advance medical directive, HIPAA authorization, or similar lifetime document

• Priority scheduling and 10% savings on eligible additional estate-planning updates

• Included for one year with a Will-Based Plan

Trust Care

Individual: $495 per year*

Married Couple: $595 per year*

*Billed in 12 monthly installments after each month of membership service.

A good fit for clients with a Simple Living Trust Plan, Family Protection Trust Plan, or other Specialized Trust Plan.

• Everything in Essential Care

• Annual 45 minute trust and estate-plan review

• One simple estate-plan update each membership year

• Annual trust-funding, asset-title, and beneficiary-designation checklist

• Review of one proposed routine asset-title or beneficiary-designation change before you implement it

• Priority scheduling and 15% savings on eligible additional estate-planning updates

• Included for one year with a Simple Living Trust Plan

Legacy Care

Individual: $695 per year*

Married Couple: $795 per year*

*Billed in 12 monthly installments after each month of membership service.

A good fit for clients with a Simple Living Trust Plan, Family Protection Trust Plan, Family Protection Coordinated Trusts Plan or other Specialized Trust Plan.

• Everything in Trust Care

• Annual 60 minute attorney, family, fiduciary, or financial-advisor meeting

• Up to two simple estate-plan updates each membership year

• Annual trust-funding, asset-title, and beneficiary-designation review

• Annual irrevocable trust coordination check-in, if applicable

• One preliminary review of a proposed contribution to an existing irrevocable trust, if applicable

• A $350 annual credit toward one routine deed

• Priority scheduling and 20% savings on eligible additional estate-planning updates

• Included for one year with a Family Protection Trust Plan and Family Protection Coordinated Trust

*Membership provides defined maintenance and update support; it is not unlimited legal representation.  New estate plans, trust restatements or restructuring, deeds beyond the stated Legacy Care credit, probate, trust administration, Medicaid applications, business succession, tax planning, and other complex legal work are not included and may require a separate engagement.  Irrevocable trust coordination is limited to high-level review and issue-spotting.

*Your original signed documents remain yours.  The membership includes secure electronic access and ongoing maintenance support.  If you do not continue your membership, you may request a copy of your existing documents, but you will no longer receive ongoing review, storage access, update benefits, reminders or membership pricing.

Understanding Your Documents

The Primary Benefit: Complete Probate Bypass and Total Financial Privacy.

How it Works: Think of a trust as a private family vault. While you are alive, you own the vault and control everything inside it. If you pass away or become incapacitated, your chosen successor trustee steps into your shoes instantly, without having to ask a Virginia judge for permission. Because a trust operates entirely outside of the court system, your assets are passed to your loved ones immediately, quietly, and without the public disclosure of your family's net worth or private distribution wishes.

Understanding Your Documents

The Primary Benefit: Securing Guardianship and Directing Asset Distribution.

How it Works: A Will is your voice after you are gone. For parents of minor children in Northern Virginia, this is the only legal document where you can formally designate who will raise your children if the unexpected happens. It also appoints an Executor to oversee your final affairs. 

Note for homeowners: While a Will is an essential safety net, any asset passing strictly through a Will must still go through the public, multi-month Virginia probate court process before reaching your beneficiaries. This is why many home owners bridge their Will with a Living Trust.

Understanding Your Documents

The Primary Benefit: Immediate Incapacity Protection for Your Accounts and Assets.

How it Works: If an accident or sudden medical emergency leaves you unable to manage your finances, Virginia law does not automatically grant your spouse or family access to your individual bank accounts, mortgage documents, or retirement portfolios. Without this document, your family would be forced to endure a costly, public court battle to appoint a conservator just to pay your bills. A Durable Power of Attorney allows you to hand-select a trusted individual today who can step in seamlessly to manage your financial life the moment an emergency strikes.

Understanding Your Documents

The Primary Benefit: Locking in Your Medical Wishes and Giving Your Family the Legal Right to Talk to Your Doctors.

How it Works: This document ensures that if you are hospitalized and unable to speak for yourself, your doctors know exactly who is legally authorized to make medical choices on your behalf. It combines a healthcare proxy (naming your decision-maker) with a living will (outlining your specific desires regarding life-support and end-of-life care). It completely removes the crushing psychological burden of guesswork from your grieving spouse or family during a medical crisis.

Federal medical privacy laws (HIPAA) are incredibly strict. If you are admitted to a Northern Virginia hospital following an accident, doctors are legally prohibited from sharing your medical status, prognosis, or charts with anyone, including your spouse, parents, or adult children—unless you have signed a HIPAA release. This document tears down that wall of silence, ensuring your inner circle can communicate freely with medical staff during a crisis.

Understanding Your Documents

The Transfer on Death Deed

The Primary Benefit: Passing Your Real Estate Automatically Outside of Probate.

How it Works: In a high-value real estate market like NoVa, your home is likely your most significant investment. A Transfer on Death Deed acts like a beneficiary designation for your house, similar to naming a beneficiary on a life insurance policy. It allows you to maintain absolute ownership and control of your home while you are alive, but the moment you pass away, the property automatically and instantly transfers to your designated heirs, completely bypassing the probate court system.

The Trust Transfer Deed

The Primary Benefit: Legally "Locking" Your Property Safely Inside Your Trust.

How it Works: Creating a Revocable Living Trust is only the first step; a trust cannot protect assets that it does not officially own. To protect your home from probate court, your real estate must be formally transferred from your individual names into the name of your trust. This specialized deed updates the local county land records (such as Fairfax or Loudoun county) to reflect that your trust is the legal owner of the property. It completely secures the asset without affecting your current mortgage, property taxes, or primary residence tax exemptions.

Understanding Your Documents

The Prenuptial Agreement

The Primary Benefit: Establishing Rock-Solid Financial Clarity Before Marriage.

How it Works: A Prenuptial Agreement is a proactive financial blueprint designed before your wedding day. In a high-earning region rich with corporate equities, government pensions, pre-marital real estate, and family inheritances, this agreement allows couples to explicitly define what constitutes "separate property" versus "marital property." It protects your independent assets and business interests, shields you from a future partner’s pre-existing debts, and establishes clear, mutual expectations, ensuring your marriage begins with absolute transparency.

The Postnuptial Agreement

The Primary Benefit: Aligning and Protecting Assets After Marriage Has Begun.

How it Works: A Postnuptial Agreement achieves the same protective goals as a prenup, but it is drafted and executed after a couple is already legally married. It is an incredibly powerful tool for Northern Virginia couples who have experienced a significant change in circumstances—such as one spouse starting a business, receiving a substantial family inheritance, or purchasing investment real estate with separate funds. Virginia courts heavily scrutinize these documents, requiring a meticulous, transparent analysis of current marital assets to ensure the agreement remains legally unassailable.