Welcome to Aiston Law.

If you’re feeling a bit sheepish about being behind on estate planning, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Around 75% of adults don’t even have a will in place.

But even worse—for those that do have some estate planning in place, around 70% of those plans will fail. Yes, even plans prepared by a lawyer.

The problem is that death and incapacity are difficult subjects to think about, and that makes estate planning not only easy to put off, but also easy to forget about when you feel like it’s checked off your to-do list. Life moves forward, change happens, and most people don’t think about how that impacts their estate plan. And sadly, most lawyers don’t have a system to ensure their clients’ plans get updated to reflect their current stage of life. They prepare the estate plan and wrap it up by sending a CYA letter to ensure they’re not held liable if the client fails to update their plan over the years and then they move on to the next client. Then 10, 20, 30 years later, the probate lawyer is posting on the listserve: “Searching for the will of so-and-so. Family remembers they met with a lawyer 20 years ago, but no one can find the will or remember the lawyer’s name.” 

We want different results for our clients, so our process is different from other lawyers. It’s about giving you real peace of mind—not the false peace of mind you get from creating a bunch of documents online or with a lawyer that you don’t understand and checking “get a will in place” off your to-do list and never thinking about it again. Our clients have true peace of mind, knowing our systems ensure their plans will work when they are needed and that we’ll be there for their families when they can’t be.

And by the way, legal planning doesn’t have to feel like a trip to the DMV. Believe it or not, our clients often tell us that our meetings are enjoyable and meaningful. Some even go so far as to say they had fun. I know, fun talking with a lawyer is hard to believe, but we try to keep things engaging and interesting to the extent possible. We welcome any feelings and coping mechanisms you bring with you to this process, especially humor. Estate planning might come with some emotion behind it if you’ve lost someone, or as you contemplate how your loved ones will handle your death or incapacity one day. Or, it might just feel like a set of adulting to-dos you are way behind on that you haven’t put a lot of emotion into. But what estate planning is really about is you and your life. It’s a process where we pause time to take inventory of everything you’ve built over the years and what you still hope to build. It’s about the people, things, and dreams you care most about in this world, and it’s about doing everything in your power to protect and provide for them. We’re here to hold your hand through that process.

Working with us feels like having a lawyer in the family.

Candice Aiston grew up with a lawyer in the family—her dad, whose footsteps she followed in when she became a lawyer and started her own law firm. She saw how different her experiences with the law and legal planning were from her friends who did not grow up with a lawyer in the family, and she often offered her dad up as a lawyer to friends who got traffic tickets or had other legal issues. Watching her dad draw pictures and tell stories to simplify complex legal concepts for clients inspired Candice to carry on that feeling of having a lawyer in the family with her own clients.

We practice primarily in the area of estate planning, but we also do estate administration (probates, etc.), elder law (mainly getting people qualified for Medicaid to pay for assisted living), guardianships, conservatorships, and business planning (start-ups, transactions).

And don’t worry—you don’t have to have everything figured out before you meet with Candice, and we have tissues if you cry during a meeting. It happens. You may even find yourself laughing at certain points. We guide and support our clients through every stage of life, so when the time comes that our plans are put to the test, there are no surprises. Working with us is truly like having a lawyer in the family who is always looking out for you and the people you love.