Walters & Ward

Familiar story. «I attended a workshop». I ended up getting The Trust. My better judgment said TOO EXPENSIVE, but I went ahead with it. Never looked at it again. Received somewhere between 20 and 50 calls over the next 5 or 6 years prodding me to come to another seminar [ NOT! ] finally the calls subsided.
– EDITING BELOW MY ORIGINAL REVIEW AFTER BEING CONTACTED MINUTES AFTER POSTING BY REPRESENTATIVE OF WALTERS AND WARD OBJECTING TO MY REVIEW –
I was told by Mr Walters that the Trust was valid as a Single Woman. «if you get married, this trust is no longer valid». were his words, as I recall them.
Got married recently. Based on what i was told by Mr Walters, the Trust is now void. Called W&W. Explained why I was back [ trust now void since marrying — as I understand per Mr Walters]. We went through the updates in 20 minutes. As we are leaving we heard the representative say: «once I deliver the draft, the fee is non-​refundable» & «it’ll take about 4 weeks». Fair and makes sense. I looked for and waited weeks for the invoice, then forgot about it. Six weeks later I get CC’d on an email to my husband … A «you haven’t paid and I can’t work on it til you do». That was not the conversation either of us recalled. I was also informed in the reply to my posting that in fact I didn’t need to revise my Trust. Now i have conflicting information from the same Firm. Confusing, I am re-​reviewing my Single Woman Trust and will research before making any further decisions.

After seeing one of their work shops, I was informed that my mother whom was on the verge of becoming very ill, I needed a Power of Attorney and Health Directives.
I called Walters and Ward. A nice lady answered. I think her name is Stacy. She transferred me to Michelle who took great care of me by answering my questions and giving me a fair price!
The Attorney, Matt Robinson was very good and pleasant.
Soon after, my mother couldn’t write checks anymore so the bank accepted her Power of Attorney.
The nursing home ask me if I did have her Health Directives. I presented it and my mother was accepted.
Looking back now that my mother just passed away, I am so grateful that I called Walters and Ward. One of the very best things I ever did for my mother!

Partial review:
I attended a workshop in December 2014 (Chula Vista) and was pretty impressed with the quality of the information provided. Understanding that they have to simplify to the lowest common denominator, it was still useful to me. Plus, it got me off my butt, to at least take some action on this important personal financial protection. I have to thank WW for motivating me through thoughtful marketing.
I paid a deposit, but then went home and talked it over with the wife. We decided to go a different route. The process to request a refund of deposit was a simple phone call and it was quick and easy.

I attended a Walters and Ward estate planning seminar on June 14, 2014 in San Rafael. I gave them my refundable deposit of $ 975.00 and SHOULD have listened to my inner bells going off that #1. they do not credit charge cards in case of a change of mind or heart #2. I have called several times since June 17^th for a refund and have been told several different actions that I should take to obtain a refund #3. My certified letter addressed to the local branch office was returned as «not deliverable to this address.» I called three times today and still have not connected with the customer service department despite using two different phone numbers — one from the letterhead and one from my charge slip. Guess I am headed to Small Claims to get my money back — I expect interest!

I attended a seminar and gave them a credit card for a refundable deposit of $ 675 toward preparation of trust. Afterward, I read a lot of negatives about the firm and asked for a refund. My request was by phone and in writing. I was told a credit would be issued to my credit card the following Monday. That was 4 weeks ago and no credit had been issued. So I have entered this as a disputed charge with my credit card company, which will investigate. I’m sorry I ever got involved with Walters and Ward.

The Estate Planning Workshop was excellent. After reading the reviews, I requested a refund for my deposit on 15 May 13. Am still waiting for the refund for the deposit that was supposed to be refundable.
LM

My husband and I decided to get a trust done. We attended a seminar which was very informative so we signed up. Now we have peace of mind. I thank Michelle for her professionalism and immediate reply to my questions.

My husband and I got our trust done at Walters and Ward 8 years ago because we heard Mike Walters speak at a workshop in RB. The firm has been really good about checking in with us when laws change to make sure our trust is up to date. We came back in around 2008 and had an amendment done, and just came in for another review after getting a newsletter from them saying that our documents might need to be updated again because of certain financial laws and regulations that are now in place.
Over the years, we’ve met with Mike Walters and Leann Collins. Both lawyers were very understanding and spent the time to make sure we understood our documents. Sometimes it can be a little difficult getting in to see in the Rancho Bernardo office, but overall it’s not too bad. They can usually get us in in a couple of weeks from when we call.
I’m not sure why there are complaints about Walters and Ward on Unilocal.Since we got our original documents done, we’ve had a few family members and friends use the firm and everyone has been extremely happy with their great service.

If you go to a seminar ask these questions:
— Who will be responsible for doing the actual plan?
— Who is the atty assigned to me?
— What is THEIR experience and awards?
— Does this person work full time in this office?
— Do you require 100% payment up front by the first interview? Will you take installments as work is completed?
— Do you complete the work in the time estimated?
I found out late that whatever this firms priorities are, they are not with the client. Missed deadlines, miscommunication, messages not relayed or «lost». All excuses and no professionalism. Great seminar but terrible followup.

After the informative workshop, this was all downhill!
My assigned attorney left the firm (which I was finally told after 3 months of attempting to contact her) in May. With that delay, plus long periods of inactivity, it has been almost six months since I met with the firm to provide all my info for drafting of the trust, but still nothing — except this have my $$.
Don’t use these folks! They are either incompetent, overworked, or just maybe crooks.

Warning… Don’t do business with Walters and Ward. I went to a work shop paid $ 975 as a 1^st payment for a discount on a will and trust. I was told they would refund the money if I did not want their service. I decided not to use them and requested a refund. After several weeks, phone calls and e mails I still do not have my money. I went to the office on their letterhead (4040 Civic Center Dr., San Rafael, Ca.) to get my money and was told they are not here. Their office is in San Diego. How can you trust people with a phony letterhead.

We attended one of their Wills & Trusts workshops and decided to give them a try.
They required a deposit of half of the full amount just to come to their offices to proceed. We were assured that the deposit was fully refundable for any reason. Turns out that this «half» is more than the «total» charged by many other firms for the same services. After meeting with Mr. Walters we were extremely disapointed with the way he treated us and decided not to retain their services and asked for a refund of our deposit.
Well, three months later we still have not received our deposit. They told us a deposit refund request must be in writing so we complied. When asked why they couldn’t simply credit our credit card we were told all refunds must be by check and then mailed.
We’re still waiting…
Update! They finally sent a check for the full amount the day after I posted this message on Unilocal

Walters and Ward offers very informative and compelling workshops, where if you sign up, you get the ‘special workshop price’ to do your will and trust.
Overall, our experience from start to finish was just OK. I wouldn’t go back if my will needed redoing. (Which they informed me would be likely, about every 10 years — they don’t tell you that in the seminar!)
I got out of it what I needed, but after it was all over, I wished I’d gone somewhere else, mostly due to a rather rude demeanor from people that I interacted with and a blunder that lead to the process taking a lot longer than was promised.