USA LAWYERS WEEKLY
House calls: Will-signing parties enliven solo's estate practice

By Nora Lockwood Tooher Staff writer

NORWOOD, Mass. - On a recent Friday evening, Amy Arnpriester cradled her 6-week-old son, Zachary, and headed out to the backyard of her suburban Boston home, where several couples were gathered around the picnic table.

As her husband, Greg, lit patio torches, their older son, Luke, 2, played contentedly on a swing set. The guests sampled barbecued chicken and snacks, and chatted about recent trips to Jamaica and Ireland.

It was a typical late spring evening get-together, except for the will-signing going on inside the Arnpriesters' house. Throughout the evening, seven couples, including the Arnpriesters, each spent about 30 minutes reviewing and signing basic estate planning documents.

James Haroutunian, a solo attorney in Billerica, Mass., launched the will-signing parties earlier this year as a way to supplement his real estate practice during the cold, New England winter. As the father of two pre-school-aged children, he knows the pressures parents are under, and how little time they have.

"I can't take my kids shopping, never mind to an attorney's office," he said. "So that's helped me tap into young consumers' mentality." Modeled after Tupperware parties, the will-signing parties are held in someone's home. The host invites friends and relatives to participate; Haroutunian requires a minimum of five couples or individuals for each party.

Before the party, Haroutunian asks each couple to fill out a questionnaire about their estate planning needs, and then talks with them by phone to answer questions. Each couple reviews a draft of their documents before the party.

Codicils and caveats

At the Arnpriesters' party, each couple met separately with Haroutunian in the dining room to review their documents. When they were ready to sign, another couple was called in to act as witnesses. Haroutunian always meets separately with each couple in a private area of the house to protect confidentiality.

"I try to do the exact same thing I would do in my office - just that now, we're doing it on a kitchen table or dining room table," he said. After they were done with Haroutunian, each couple was free to mix and mingle outside.

Amy Arnpriester, art director for the alumnae magazine at Bentley College in Waltham, Mass., volunteered to host the party after a colleague told her about Haroutunian, who attended Bentley as an undergraduate.

"After Luke was born, we said we needed to do it," she said. "We kept putting it off. It was just too expensive, when you have babies and you're buying formula and diapers and all that." Haroutunian charges $500 for a basic estate planning package, including a will, health care proxy and durable power of attorney for each spouse. The fee is reduced by $25 for each couple that attends the party, with a lower limit of $225.

He recommends the service only for clients with simple estate planning needs. So far this year, Haroutunian has traveled to more than 10 will-signing parties in the Boston area - most at the home of young, married couples like the Arnpriesters.

"We've gotten a lot of calls from folks who knew they needed to have a will, but never had the time to get one," he said. The events have become so popular that he's planning to limit the them to six couples.

"One recent gathering lasted until 12:30 a.m.," he said. "At another will-signing party, "I was at someone's house for about seven hours. There were 12 couples, and a couple of in-laws also came and wanted to meet with me. The first six months have all been learning by experience."

Easy estate planning

Several of the guests at the Norwood party said Amy's invitation encouraged them to take care of important estate planning issues they had been postponing. "I'm really glad Amy did it because it forced me to do it," said Kathy LeBlanc of Littleton, Mass., who was there with her husband, Jerry.

Tom and Patty Bray, of Roslindale, Mass., said the approach made the entire estate planning process less daunting. "We only had a couple of pages to fill out, and they were very basic," said Patty Bray of the pre-party questionnaire.

"Although, it forces you to think a lot," Tom Bray added, such as naming backup health care agents if one party is disabled and the other is unable to make important medical decisions on his or her behalf.

Lawyers throughout the country have expressed interest in the concept, and Haroutunian is investigating a national franchise. But regulations vary from state to state, and the will-signing parties wouldn't be viable in some jurisdictions, according to Haroutunian.

Meanwhile, he has will-signing parties lined up throughout the summer in the Boston area. And the parties have led to other work, including real estate transactions and small-business incorporations for couples who have used him for estate planning.

"It's been wonderful," he said. "The biggest benefit is being introduced to so many young couples."