Legal

Books and taxes for estate planning attorneys.

Flat fee will and trust packages, hourly trust funding work after the fact, and probate cases that open years after the original plan. Gus sorts it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
NovemberExample month
$12,000
what you made

November came in at $12,000. The Delgado trust funding hours came in separate from their original package fee, so I kept them apart even though it is the same family.

  • Torres revocable trust packageFlat fee packages
  • Delgado trust funding hoursTrust funding work
  • Whitmore estate, probate hoursProbate billing
  • WealthCounsel subscriptionDocument drafting software
  • County recorder filing feeCourt and filing fees
Money in$31,000
Money out$19,000
Set aside for taxes$3,000
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Estate planning books go wrong in the same few places.

A generalist sees a flat fee and calls the file closed. Your business is a package fee today, follow-up hourly work months later to actually fund the trust, and a probate case that can open years after the original plan was signed.

  1. 1

    Package tiers blend into one revenue line

    A basic will, a health care directive, and a full revocable trust package are priced very differently, and when they all land in one general fee category, it is hard to see which packages are actually filling the calendar.

    What we doKeeps each package tier in its own line, so you can see which plans clients are actually buying.
  2. 2

    Trust funding work gets missed after the flat fee closes

    A trust package flat fee usually covers drafting the documents, not retitling the house, updating beneficiary forms, or moving accounts into the trust's name, and that follow-up hourly work can go unbilled if it is not tracked as its own service.

    What we doKeeps trust funding hours in their own line, separate from the original package fee, so that follow-up work is never invisible.
  3. 3

    Probate opens years after the plan was sold

    A client from three years ago passes away, and the family comes back for probate administration, an entirely different, usually hourly engagement that has nothing to do with the original flat fee and should not be mixed into the same bucket.

    What we doBooks probate hours as their own category, distinct from new estate planning sales, so the two lines of work stay easy to tell apart.
  4. 4

    A slow month is a normal month here

    New estate plans are not tied to a season, so a quiet stretch between referrals can look alarming next to a busy one, when it is really just how a low-volume, high-value practice runs.

    What we doTracks income against the year as a whole, not a single slow month, so the set-aside stays right even through a quiet stretch.
  5. 5

    Notary and witness costs get lost in office supplies

    Notary fees, witness coordination, and document execution costs are small individually but add up across a busy signing week, and buried in general office supplies they disappear from the picture entirely.

    What we doKeeps notary and execution costs in their own line so they show up as their own small, steady cost.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for an estate planning practice.

Set up once for the packages you sell and the work that comes after. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Flat fee packagesWills, powers of attorney, and revocable trust packages sold at a set price.
  • Trust funding workHourly work to retitle assets and update beneficiaries after a package closes.
  • Probate billingHourly administration work on estates of past clients.
  • Consultation feesPaid initial meetings, when the firm charges for them separately from the package.

Money out

  • Document drafting softwareWealthCounsel, Clio Draft, or a similar drafting program.
  • Court and filing feesProbate court costs and recording fees for deeds and trust documents.
  • Notary and execution costsNotary fees and witness coordination for signing appointments.
  • Staff and paralegal wagesThe people who prepare drafts and coordinate signings.
  • Legal research subscriptionsWestlaw, LexisNexis, or a similar service.
  • Malpractice insuranceAnnual or quarterly professional liability premiums.

What we watch for you

  • Package mix

    Which flat fee packages are actually selling, worth knowing before adjusting pricing or marketing.

  • Unbilled funding hours

    Trust funding work quietly going unbilled after a package closes.

  • Probate share

    How much of the month is new planning work versus probate from past clients.

  • The set-aside

    What the firm will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already know.

Ask Gus

Things estate planning attorneys ask Gus.

Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.

We sold the Torres family a trust package in March and just billed them for funding work in November. Same client, same file?

Same client, but I keep the funding hours in their own line. That way you can see the follow-up work is real revenue, not just a package fee showing up twice.

Does the Whitmore probate work count the same as a new estate plan sale?

No, I book probate hours separately from new planning fees, so you can tell which part of the month came from new clients versus estate administration.

Do I need to send a 1099 to the notary service we use for signings?

If you paid them $2,000 or more this year and they are not on your payroll, yes, a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that running as the year goes.

The tax side

The tax side of an estate planning practice.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing between a package sale and the follow-up work, and a set-aside built on an assumption of steady months this kind of practice does not really have.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Flat fee income is counted when earnedA package fee is income once the drafting work it covers is substantially done, not necessarily the day the client pays a deposit. Trust funding hours billed later are their own separate income.
  • Package sales can push you past the deduction ceilingMost owners can deduct up to 20 percent of business profit, but law counts as a specified service trade, so a busy year of package sales and probate work can push taxable income above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint, where the deduction starts to shrink.
  • Contractor 1099s for notaries and researchersA notary service, contract paralegal, or researcher paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
  • Solo 401(k) for a one-attorney firmA solo practitioner with no other full-time employees can defer up to $24,500 into a solo 401(k), plus an $8,000 catch-up at 50 and over, in a strong year of package sales.

Deductions estate planning attorneys miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Bar dues and CLE
  • Malpractice insurance
  • Document drafting software
  • Legal research subscriptions
  • Notary bond and supplies
  • Court and recording fees
  • Mileage to signings and probate hearings
  • Payment processing fees
  • Office rent and utilities
  • Referral relationship marketing costs
  • Client meeting refreshments
  • Printing and binding for signed documents

General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.

All year, not just April

An estate planning year, kept every month.

New plans come in waves tied to life events, not the calendar. Gus keeps the set-aside steady either way. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for notaries and contract help is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned around package sales and probate work both.

  2. April

    Filed, packages or probate

    Your return is filed and signed, whatever mix of new packages and probate work the year actually brought. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where the firm stands, which packages are selling, and whether the set-aside still fits a year that might include a large probate matter.

  4. October

    Before year end

    A look at any software or equipment worth buying before December, and a check on trust funding hours that may have gone unbilled.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.

Book a call
  • Monthly bookkeeping

    Every transaction sorted into categories set up for estate planning attorneys. You never categorize a thing.

  • An accountant checks every transaction

    Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.

  • Your business tax return, filed

    Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.

  • The monthly number

    What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.

  • Your own bookkeeper

    A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.

  • On your books all year

    Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.

  • Cancel any time

    No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.

Straight answers

Questions estate planning attorneys ask first.

We bundle a will, a trust, and a power of attorney into one package price. Can Gus split that out?

He works from what actually lands in the bank, so the package fee comes in as one deposit under flat fee packages. If you invoice each piece separately, he can keep those as their own lines instead.

How does Gus handle a client who comes back a year later for trust funding?

That work is booked as its own income, separate from the original package fee, so you can see it as real revenue rather than the same sale counted twice.

Does a probate case from an old client count differently than a new estate plan?

Yes. Probate hours are kept in their own category, distinct from new planning sales, so you can tell which part of your income is new business versus estate administration.

My income is lumpy, some months are packed with signings and some are quiet. Is that a problem for taxes?

No. Gus tracks the set-aside against what the year actually brings in, not one month in isolation, so a quiet stretch does not throw off what you will owe.

Do I need to track referrals from financial advisors separately?

Gus tracks the money that lands from the clients they send, the same as any other new client. Referral relationships with other professionals are common in this work and do not change how the fee itself gets booked.

Can Gus show me whether package sales or probate work is actually driving the practice?

Yes. New planning fees and probate hours stay in separate categories, so you can see over time which side of the practice is actually filling the calendar.

Is a real accountant checking my books?

Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.

What does it cost, and can I cancel?

It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.

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Book a call

Pick a time. That's the whole signup.

Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.

  • $197 a month to start
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever