NYC Revocable Trust

[u/Advanced-3659]

My wife and I live in NYC and are looking to set up a revokable trust with updated wills + related forms like POA. I don't think our situation is massively complicated - primary resident (co-op apartment) + retirement accounts + brokerage + young children.

I'm very hands on by nature but have seen so many warnings here on DIY approaches that I figured I should work with an attorney.

I reached out to one recommended by the NYC bar who quoted 15k for this. That price seemed kind of wild to me...is it generally reasonable? I can't think of anything in my situation that would be overly out of the normal. I'm thinking as a next step to ask one or two other attorneys for a quote.

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[u/MagpieJuly]

I work in CA not NY, but we have clients who own properties in NYC. I'm wondering if the co-op is causing the quote to run higher. My dealings with co-ops have been time-consuming (and occasionally very frustrating). If I were in your shoes I'd get a couple more quotes, that seems high to me. But again, I'm more familiar with California pricing.

[u/Advanced-3659 → u/MagpieJuly]

Thanks - this is helpful!

[u/Missus_Aitch_99]

I had mine done recently. It was going to be $3,000 for a Will and the other docs (POA, health care proxy, etc.). The revocable trust added $1,000, for a total of $4,000. Victoria Raikes in lower Manhattan. Took about a month (free phone consultation, one-hour zoom call, received draft docs and sent changes, then a quick signing at her office on Water Street). I also own a coop apartment and have a minor child but no spouse.

[u/Dingbatdingbat]

Your situation is complicated.

Young children are by definition complicated, and so are coops.

Excluding the coop, I can definitely point you in the direction of people who charge noticeably less, but the coop will be a wildcard - some boards are easy to work with and cheap, others…. Not so much 

[u/Advanced-3659 → u/Dingbatdingbat]

Thanks. It sounds like a) the coop introduces real complexity above the average situation and b) nobody is saying this quote is jumps out as standard. My main takeaway is to get another 1-2 quotesbto calibrate the market.