EP# 124 - Demystifying Estate Planning with Jeff Grant's Expert Insights
Apr 11, 2024Season 1Episode 124
"Cabo" Jim Schaller
Ever wondered how a legacy is secured, or what goes into the delicate dance of estate planning? Jeff Grant of Grant's Cottrell joins us to unravel the complexities of trust and estate law, offering a treasure trove of know-how that ranges from crafting straightforward wills to strategizing multifaceted estate and tax planning. As a third-generation lawyer, Jeff brings a rich familial heritage into the conversation, along with his specialized focus where law intersects with finance, giving our listeners an exclusive look into building a practice in this intricate field.
This episode isn't just about what's written in the will—prepare to have your assumptions about estate planning challenged as we discuss the virtual shift in legal services post-pandemic. Clients are now looking for convenience in video conferencing and e-signing from anywhere, and Jeff sheds light on how this has transformed client relationships and expectations. Plus, he debunks the myths that often cloud the understanding of estate planning, highlighting his firm's clear-cut approach to pricing and their dedication to making legal processes more transparent for their clients. Join us for an enlightening journey through the often-opaque world of estate law, guided by a seasoned expert who's making a traditionally complex subject accessible to all.
Grant Cottrell, PLLC Jeff Grant 5147 Costello Drive Naples, FL 34103 (239) 649-4848 jeff@grantcottrell.com WEBSITE
Ever wondered how a legacy is secured, or what goes into the delicate dance of estate planning? Jeff Grant of Grant's Cottrell joins us to unravel the complexities of trust and estate law, offering a treasure trove of know-how that ranges from crafting straightforward wills to strategizing multifaceted estate and tax planning. As a third-generation lawyer, Jeff brings a rich familial heritage into the conversation, along with his specialized focus where law intersects with finance, giving our listeners an exclusive look into building a practice in this intricate field.
This episode isn't just about what's written in the will—prepare to have your assumptions about estate planning challenged as we discuss the virtual shift in legal services post-pandemic. Clients are now looking for convenience in video conferencing and e-signing from anywhere, and Jeff sheds light on how this has transformed client relationships and expectations. Plus, he debunks the myths that often cloud the understanding of estate planning, highlighting his firm's clear-cut approach to pricing and their dedication to making legal processes more transparent for their clients. Join us for an enlightening journey through the often-opaque world of estate law, guided by a seasoned expert who's making a traditionally complex subject accessible to all.
Grant Cottrell, PLLC Jeff Grant 5147 Costello Drive Naples, FL 34103 (239) 649-4848 jeff@grantcottrell.com WEBSITE
Speaker 1:
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, cabo, jim Schaller.
Speaker 2:
Welcome Good Neighbors to the Good Neighbor Podcast, episode number 124. Today we have Good Neighbor Jeff Grant from Grant's Cottrell.
Speaker 3:
Jeff, welcome, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, no pleasure. Always good to get to know people here in the community and kind of excited to learn a little bit more about what you do. So why don't we start off by sharing a little bit about what you do over at Grant Cottrell?
Speaker 3:
Sure, we are a full-service trust and estate law firm. We also do a little bit of transactional real estate work, but my practice is trust estate work. We also do a little bit of transactional real estate work, but my practice is trust estate work. So we do estate planning from basic wills and trust to complex high level estate and tax planning for families of all net worth spaces.
Speaker 2:
Interesting. So how did you get involved in that industry?
Speaker 3:
I am to a degree, third generation as a practicing attorney, so I grew up in this space, although I'm probably the first one in my family to kind of specialize in one area. My father and grandfather were both a bit of generalists to a degree, so I grew up with all of this around me, something I always wanted to do, and then my interest intellectually to a degree I've always kind of been in the intersection of law and finance, and doing estate planning fits into that realm nicely.
Speaker 2:
Interesting. So it's a family business. You grew up with it. I always say, starting your own business or even your journey to get to where you are today, there's probably challenges or obstacles, maybe that you went through. There's something that maybe you went through that I kind of say defined you, or you can look back at and say you know what? I'm in a better place because of it.
Speaker 3:
Yes, I mean a handful of things. I mean the two primary ones really are the decision we made to merge the practice we were in before with the cart one we are in now, which is a little bit less of an exciting story, but that was still a big, life-changing decision to do. The other piece is to build a state planning practice. It really is a slogan. You you have to be willing to put in the time to, to teach the classes, to get out to the community, to meet the people who are going to be your referral sources, because the folks who send you business in this space are not relationships that you're going to build in one office. You know these are long-term, you know slow-going things and to get to a point where the practice really is self-sustaining it takes, you know, a double-digit number of years.
Speaker 2:
I would say yeah, it's like you mentioned. It's a slow grow. It's not something that happens overnight. Are you seeing any type of trends within the industry currently, or changes?
Speaker 3:
Yes, I mean, obviously, covid changed everything for a lot of folks. The idea of a virtual law firm is something that a lot of people are playing with. There are a lot of folks who dabble at MySpace because it's something they feel like they can do from home and, to a degree, it is software-driven. So we have some folks playing in that space and often, like in any business, what happens when you deal with folks who don't practice primarily in one area is they make messes and we have to go in and clean them up and that's always fun, right, but but in general, the idea of virtual meetings servicing clients all over the country, clients being more more comfortable with things like e-signing, zoom, and they're more comfortable with knowing, or not necessarily caring, where you are.
Speaker 3:
you know, I happen to have small children, so I'm so I'm glued to the area. But there's a lot of what we do, a lot of the intake work, that I could be anywhere in the country and the client at this point would not care.
Speaker 2:
And that's a nice thing. It makes it convenient for everybody, and you know, you probably get a better service out of that as well too. So are there any myths or maybe misconceptions surrounding what you do that?
Speaker 3:
Absolutely. We try to take the mystery out of a couple of things. One is we're very upfront about our pricing. We do our work on a flat fee. When the client comes to see us, at the consult of which there's no charge for, we'll quote them a cost at the table. We'll know what they're getting into. There's no surprises, right? We want to take the fear out of that entirely. Go to a lawyer. It's going to be an arm and a leg and, yes, there's a lot of work to what we do and there is some cost to it. But we try to take the fear out of it, a fear of the unknown, and oftentimes when we explain what we're doing and what the cost structure is, we get a oh, that's better than what I expected response.
Speaker 3:
The other piece is you know we'll have clients come in and we do a ton of trust planning for clients. It's something we believe in, it's very effective in Florida. But I'll have clients who come and say, well, I don't have much, I'm not a super high net worth individual, I don't need these, I don't need all of this. And generally that is a misconception, because you can walk them through what will happen if you don't do the planning. Walk them through what will happen if you don't do the planning. You can also walk them through that you have an awful lot more than you think you do when you add all the small pieces up that you've accumulated over the years. That if you explain to them what could happen by failing to do the planning, their eyes are open and they've learned something and you've really you've added value to their experience.
Speaker 2:
And that's the important part. So are you from Southwest Florida originally.
Speaker 3:
I am not. I'm from suburban Massachusetts originally, but I grew up here, so I've lived in Naples since the early 90s. Okay, Seen the area have you know, several large growth spurts.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, changed quite a bit, that's for sure.
Speaker 3:
I joke with my kids that where we live now was a farm when I was a kid.
Speaker 2:
Where do you live at currently?
Speaker 3:
We live in North Naples and Raffia Preserve so Vanderbilt and Collier.
Speaker 2:
Okay, all right. I moved down here in 89, and it used to be Fort Myers, naples and Benita was literally I don't want to say a trailer park, because there was nothing there. There was nothing there, you know back in the day, and now it's a whole city. So you know we welcome the growth and the expansion and you know there's a lot of things to offer down here in Southwest Florida. So you mentioned you had kids. Are there certain things you enjoy doing outside of work when you do have some free time?
Speaker 3:
Yes, I mean, I have three kids under under 10, so my free time is a is a bit of an oxymoron to a degree. Um, but we uh, yeah, we enjoy go to the beach. Uh, you know, my kids are in the pool most weekends. Um, you know, we have a good time going to the spring training games and running around with them to their dance competitions and everything else.
Speaker 2:
So they keep us on our toes. It definitely keeps you busy, that's for sure, much more so than when we were younger to their dance competitions and everything else. So they keep us on our toes. It definitely keeps you busy, that's for sure much more so than when we were younger. Yes, so is there one thing that maybe you wish our listeners knew about what you do?
Speaker 3:
that maybe they're not aware of. Yes, I think we do a tremendous job at digging in with our our clients and our families and staying with them Right. When you come to us, what we're trying to offer is a relationship, right? Yes, we're preparing a set of documents for you and, yes, at some point that piece of it does conclude right, there is a beginning and an end, but what we want to be for our families that we work with is a trusted family advisor. We want to have a seat at that table when big decisions are made. We want to get to know the kids and the grandkids and anybody who you might have an issue with. This is how we built the practice. To a degree, it involves us giving away some time, and we're okay with that. It's the right thing to do for the client, it's the right thing to do in the situation and ultimately, it ends up in better outcomes for everybody.
Speaker 2:
And that's what we need nowadays, absolutely. So, how would our listeners go about contacting you if they were interested in learning more?
Speaker 3:
Absolutely Well, they have one of three ways. They can go to our website at grantcontrallcom and fill out a contact form, or they're welcome to email me directly. It's jeff@ grantcottrell. com. Two T's, two L's. Perfect Go ahead, or they can call my direct dial line, which is 239-280-5209.
Speaker 2:
Perfect, Jeff. It's been a pleasure getting to know you and thank you for being such a good neighbor. Any last words for our listeners? No.
Speaker 3:
Thank you for the time and look forward to speaking with everybody. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast, estero. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpastero. com. That's gnpastero. com, or call 239-296-2621.