Estate Planning · Branson, Missouri
A plan your family can actually use, decided by a lawyer, priced before any work begins.
Wills, living trusts, powers of attorney and Missouri beneficiary deeds for the families who make the Ozarks home. Many of the people who call us don't need a trust. If you're one of them, we'll say so.
Not a questionnaire, not a salesperson
On the first call, before any work
In our office, or by video
A trust isn't done until the deed is recorded
Start with your situation
Pick the line that sounds most like you. Each one has its own page.
We moved here with documents from another state
Your will probably travels well. Your powers of attorney, health care forms and the deed to your new home often don't.
The Move-In Review →We own property here but live somewhere else
Missouri real estate goes through Missouri probate wherever you live. A recorded beneficiary deed prevents that, and it can be done by video.
Lake Property Protection →I'm helping my parents get this done
Join the design meeting by video from anywhere. Your parents stay the clients, and their wishes run the plan.
The Family Plan →Someone has died and left a trust
Trust administration for successor trustees, one step at a time, with your duties and the timeline explained before you sign anything.
Trust administration →Three plans. One honest conversation about which you need.
Every plan includes financial and health care powers of attorney, a HIPAA authorization and a plain-English summary your family can read. Fees are flat and quoted in writing on the first call.
Essentials
For many Branson homeowners with a straightforward family, this is the whole plan.
- Will
- Durable financial power of attorney
- Health care power of attorney and directive
- HIPAA authorization
- A Missouri beneficiary deed for your home, recorded
- Review of your account beneficiary designations
Trust Plan
For property in more than one state, blended families, or heirs who need protection.
- Revocable living trust and pour-over will
- Certification of trust for your bank and title company
- Both powers of attorney, directive and HIPAA
- Written funding instructions
- Plain-English plan summary
Trust Plan, Funded
The Trust Plan, plus we move the house and the accounts into it and prove it.
- Deeds into the trust, recorded with the county
- Retitling letters and follow-up for every account
- A 90-day funding audit
- Your Funding Verified certificate
After the signing, the Maintenance Plan keeps everything current for a flat annual fee: a yearly review, a check of your beneficiary designations, minor updates, and a family meeting whenever you want one.
From first call to recorded deed in about three weeks
The same lawyer the whole way. Children are welcome at every step.
- STEP 1
A free 15-minute call
The phone is answered around the clock. We book your design meeting for this week or next.
- STEP 2
Design meeting
About an hour with Bobby, in person or by video. You leave knowing exactly what you need and the written fee.
- STEP 3
Signing day
Witnesses and a notary are ready at our office. Missouri now allows signing by live video for those who can't come in.
- STEP 4
Funding Verified
We record the deeds, send the retitling letters and check back at 90 days. You get a certificate; your family gets a plan that works.
What probate really costs in Missouri
You may have heard frightening numbers at a seminar. Here are the real ones. Missouri sets a minimum fee for the estate's attorney and the same again for the personal representative. The percentages apply to personal property and to real estate sold through the estate, not to a house that passes directly to your heirs by a beneficiary deed or a trust.
Missouri Revised Statutes 473.153. Court costs, publication and bond are extra. We will show you the number for your situation, not a scary one.
| Fee base | Attorney minimum | Both minimums |
|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | $3,300 | $6,600 |
| $250,000 | $7,425 | $14,850 |
| $500,000 | $14,050 | $28,100 |
Estate planning services
Each service has its own page with how it works in Missouri and how we charge.
Wills and beneficiary deeds
Who receives what, who is in charge, and a recorded deed that keeps your home out of probate.
Learn more →Revocable living trusts
Management during incapacity, privacy, and probate avoidance across state lines. Funded, with proof.
Learn more →Powers of attorney
Who manages your finances if you can't, in the form Missouri banks will accept.
Learn more →Health care directives
Your treatment wishes in writing, and the person who speaks for you.
Learn more →Trust administration
For successor trustees: the tax ID, notices, retitling, distributions and accountings.
Learn more →Move-In Review
Out-of-state documents checked against Missouri law, re-signed where needed, plus a deed for the new home.
Learn more →Lake Property Protection
A Missouri beneficiary deed for owners who live elsewhere. Done by video, recorded with the county.
Learn more →Common questions
General information about Missouri law, not advice about your situation. The design meeting is where the decision gets made, for your facts.
Do I need a trust?
Often not. In Missouri, a will plus a recorded beneficiary deed on your home and beneficiary designations on your accounts can keep a straightforward estate out of probate. A trust earns its cost when you own property in more than one state, have a blended family, have an heir who is a minor, disabled or not good with money, or want someone to manage things for you during incapacity beyond what a power of attorney provides.
What is a beneficiary deed?
A deed, recorded with the county before your death, that names who receives the property when you die. It takes effect only at death, you keep full ownership while you're alive, and you can revoke it. Missouri law (RSMo 461.025) allows it to name a person or a trust. It covers only the Missouri property described in the deed.
I already have a trust from another state. Is it any good here?
Usually the trust itself travels well. The practical problems come with the powers of attorney, the health care documents and the deed to your Missouri home, which may never have been transferred. The Move-In Review checks all of it for a flat fee.
Can my children be part of this?
Yes, by video or in the room, whenever you want them there. You remain the client, we take direction from you, and the plan follows your wishes.
Can we sign without coming to Branson?
Since August 2025 Missouri recognizes electronic wills signed with witnesses present by live video, and remote online notarization for other documents. We offer it when it fits. For most clients we still recommend signing in our office, where witnesses and a notary are ready.
How do you charge?
Flat fees, quoted in writing on the first call, before any work begins. No hourly billing for a plan, and no surprise invoices.
Your attorney
Bobby Afshar
Bobby is licensed in Missouri and has practiced law for 15 years. After a decade advising companies and families on international transactions, he now does the work that matters closest to home: a will or trust, a power of attorney, a deed for the house on the lake.
Every plan is his decision and his signature. Everything around him is organized so that his hour with you is the whole hour.
Meet BobbyStart with a free 15-minute call
We'll tell you whether you need a plan at all, and what it would cost, before any work begins.