We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chad Fuss. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chad below.

Chad, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Looking back at the decisions you made early in your career, particularly whether to join a firm or start your own, do you feel you made the right choice for that stage of your career?

When I was first starting out, I was eager to begin working and get into a courtroom. I was fresh out of school, and with my first of three bars passed, I joined the first firm that sent me an offer. They did primarily construction defect, and it wasn’t long before I realized that I wasn’t going to be going to court. But, it was a wonderful first step into the legal field and a chance to begin trying out defense work. This firm was the jumping-off point of my career in insurance defense. I did eventually work for firms that did car accidents, trip and falls, and all sorts of other personal injury cases that brought me into the courtroom. Insurance defense was fun because of the different types of cases and the challenges of learning about traffic, medical injuries, construction, and so many other topics. I became an excellent negotiator and settled cases that seemed impossible, and won many in court. I learned a great deal about insurance, risk assessment, and how to protect yourself through various types of coverage. But, about 12 years in, aging parents, a young family, a move to a new state, and working as a partner in a firm, I started to think that defense work may not be what I was meant to do.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

When our son was a toddler, we planned on going out of town for the first time without our child. That was the moment I realized that something could happen to both me and my wife, and we weren’t sure who would raise our son. There was an easy solution; we needed a will or trust. I called attorneys in our area only to be told that they wanted between $300 and $500 to consult with us, and the cost for a trust would be between $5,000 and $10,000. Who could afford that?

As an attorney, I was shocked at the cost and the lack of care that these law firms offered to potential clients. That was when I decided to start looking into doing estate planning for myself, just as a way to protect us as well as other family and friends. I never thought that this would be the path that I would take as a career, but in 2022, when my wife’s uncle was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I stepped in to help his daughter get his California home, vehicles, and assets into order. I urgently created estate documents and walked them through probate. That was the moment I realized that this was what I wanted to do. I wanted to help people and prepare them for the inevitable. But, I didn’t just want to do estate planning; I wanted to help everyone who thought wills and trusts are just for the super wealthy – people with young families, retirees, people who were working hard to have a house and provide for their kids.

That’s when we created Affordable Estate Planning with the goal to make wills, trusts, and estate planning accessible and affordable for everyone.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

In law it is common to “learn to bill”. This is where you learn to value everything you do by a number of minutes. So, an email may be .1 of an hour (6 minutes), but a phone call may be .2. The reason, is because most law firms charge by the .1. It takes an exorbitant amount of time to keep track of the time you spent working on something. Then, clients are upset by the amount of time it takes to do something and do not want to pay for all that work.

When I started doing estate planning, people would ask what my hourly rate was, and I really hated that concept because just like in defense, there is an expectation that everything you do should take a certain amount of time. But, in most cases, it isn’t the client’s fault that it took me longer to do something or that I have gotten so good at it that I can do it in less time and still charge the same amount. So, I wanted to unlearn this system that I spent 10 years perfecting.

I started by designing my law firm to do flat-rate packages for estate planning. When we meet with a client they know in advance exactly how much it will cost and what is included. There are no upsells or surprise hourly charges. It’s exactly what you expect it to be.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Not only did I change the way estate planning was being billed, I decided to change the narrative for it and that is how I am growing my clientele.

We have been told for generations that only the wealthy need a trust, and that wills are something for the aging community to worry about, but that’s not true. To build generational wealth, to protect your assets, and to care for your kids and grandkids, everyone needs a will, and most people need a trust.

The first obstacle I came across was people thinking you need a lot of money for a trust. We started to do virtual sessions where we explain the benefits of a trust such as avoiding probate, reducing your potential taxes, it remaining private, and controlling how the money is distributed. We have a social media account, blog, and even do community workshops.

The next step was reaching out to younger families to teach them about the importance of a will when they are still young. The biggest factor, of course, is who will care for your children if you are no longer here. This we have been accomplishing by doing in person booths at street fairs, wellness fairs, and other community events. This is a way for us to do a fun activity with kids, and give parents a chance to ask questions and learn more about what we do and why we do it.

Lastly, was making it affordable and approachable. By doing a flat fee for wills and trusts and keeping my overhead low I was able to offer these packages for less than most other attorneys, making the cost more affordable for people. I also started meeting with them virtually or going to their home, allowing them to avoid hiring a babysitter or, in the case of my older clients, finding someone to drive them to my office. I also include a notary and file the deed for them if they are getting a trust created. This makes the process simple and efficient, It also removes most of the barriers that clients have keeping them from getting their estate planning done.

Having a will or a trust isn’t something you do for yourself; it’s something you do to help your loved ones. When you pass away, you don’t have to worry about family fighting over money, about cleaning out a house, about hiring an attorney for probate, about selling property, or who takes care of your kids or dog. It’s the people you leave behind who have to figure that out and live with the decisions that the court often makes. But, you could avoid that and protect your family and your legacy by getting everything in order before you need it. That way, you know that they will be taken care of even when you’re gone.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://AffodableEstatePNW.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/affordableestateplanning/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pnwtrusts

Image Credits

Taylor Balfour Photography