Estate planning website guide

How to make a ashby & pell website

A ashby & pell website needs 12 core pages (Home, Practice areas, Where to start, How much does a will or trust cost?, Workshops, About the firm, Towns we serve, FAQ, Blog, Book a free consultation, Careers, Privacy policy), a separate page for each main service, a click-to-call button on every screen, real reviews, and LegalService structured data so search engines and AI assistants understand exactly what the business does and where. Below is the full structure, section by section, based on what the Groundwork Ashby & Pell kit ships with.

1. The pages to build

• Home /: Your pitch, proof and phone number, in the order people decide.
• Practice areas /practice-areas/
• Where to start /where-to-start/
• How much does a will or trust cost? /cost/
• Workshops /workshops/
• About the firm /about/: Who you are, your credentials and why people can trust you.
• Towns we serve /service-areas/: The towns you serve, with a page for each area where you have real local detail.
• FAQ /faq/: Direct answers to the questions people ask before they call.
• Blog /blog/
• Book a free consultation /contact/: Phone, email, address, hours and a clear next step.
• Careers /careers/
• Privacy policy /privacy-policy/

2. Home page sections, in order

1. Hero: The title page: the headline centred over a photograph, with The Trust Plan across it: 8 documents checked and the flat fee.
2. Trust bar: The firm's facts in one line of the serif, every figure in old-style numerals.
3. Services: Every practice area as a card in a sideways strip, grouped by the moment that brings people (planning ahead, caring for a parent, after a death), each linking to its own page.
4. Feature: One question people search, answered beside a photograph, with the two answers side by side.
5. Process: 3 steps under roman numerals, each with its typical time.
6. Moment: One full-width photograph with a single line from the business on it.
7. Team: The people customers will meet, with credentials.
8. Testimonials: Reviews from real customers, ideally pulled from your Google Business Profile.
9. Workshop: The free workshop: when and where, beside a photograph, with a button to save a seat.
10. Service areas: The towns you serve, linking to a page for each area with real local detail.
11. Call to action: One closing line, a sentence, and two buttons: the call and book a free consultation.

3. Services that deserve their own page

People search for the specific job, not the trade. These are the ashby & pell services with the most search intent behind them:

• Wills

  Who gets what, who looks after your children, and who settles it all.

  Cover: A will for each of you, written for your family, not from a form; Guardians named for your children, and a backup; An executor named, and a backup; Durable powers of attorney and healthcare directives, in the Will Plan; Signing here with two witnesses and a notary; One binder, and a copy kept in our vault.

• Living trusts

  A will that skips probate, and keeps your affairs private.

  Cover: A revocable living trust, written for your family; Pour-over wills, powers of attorney and healthcare directives; The deed that moves your house into the trust, recorded for you; A letter for each bank and brokerage on retitling your accounts; A review of every beneficiary designation; Signing here, and one binder.

• Power of attorney lawyer in Springfield

  Who pays your bills and signs for you if you can't.

  Cover: A durable financial power of attorney, effective when you choose; A backup agent named, in case the first can't serve; The powers your agent needs spelled out: real estate, retirement accounts, gifts; A short letter to your agent on what the role means; Signing here with a notary.

• Healthcare directives and living wills

  Your wishes for care, and who speaks to the doctors.

  Cover: A healthcare power of attorney naming your agent and a backup; A living will in your own words, not only boxes to tick; HIPAA authorizations for the people you choose; Copies for your doctor and your hospital; Signing here with witnesses and a notary.

• Irrevocable trusts

  For taxes, life insurance and giving.

  Cover: A conversation about whether you need one at all; Irrevocable life insurance trusts; Charitable remainder trusts, with your accountant; Trusts written into a will for young children (testamentary trusts); The trustee's instructions, in plain English.

• Special needs trust attorney in Springfield

  Money for a child or relative with a disability, without losing benefits.

  Cover: A third-party special needs trust in your plan, for a child or relative; A first-party trust for an inheritance or settlement in their own name; A letter of intent: routines, doctors, what makes a good day; A trustee named, and guidance on what the trust can pay for; Coordination with the guardianship, if one is needed at eighteen.

• Estate and gift tax

  Federal and state tax on what you leave and what you give.

  Cover: A plain answer on whether estate or inheritance tax applies to you; Gift planning, and the annual gifts that need no return; Estate tax returns after a death, with the estate's accountant; The portability election that preserves a spouse's exemption; Advice on inherited property and its tax basis.

• Elder law attorney in Springfield

  Paying for a nursing home without losing everything first.

  Cover: A written plan for paying for care, at home or in a nursing home; Protection for a spouse who stays at home; Powers of attorney and a healthcare directive for your parent; The Medicaid application, and answers to the agency's questions; The veterans' Aid and Attendance application, where it applies.

• Guardianship attorney in Springfield

  When a court has to appoint someone to decide for a person who can't.

  Cover: A plain answer on whether a guardianship is needed at all; The petition, the medical evidence and the notice to family; Representation at the hearing; Emergency guardianship when a decision can't wait; Guidance for the guardian on the yearly reports.

• Probate attorney in Springfield

  Settling an estate through the court, from the first week.

  Cover: The petition, and letters testamentary for the executor; The inventory, the notice to creditors and the estate bank account; Every court filing and deadline, on time; The estate's final tax returns, with its accountant; The final account and the distribution to the heirs; A small estate affidavit instead, when the estate qualifies.

• Trust administration

  Helping a successor trustee carry out the trust, without a court.

  Cover: A written list of the trustee's duties and deadlines; The notice to beneficiaries the state requires; Retitling accounts and the deed out of the trust; Final and trust tax returns, with the accountant; An accounting the family can read; Continuing trusts for children or grandchildren, if the trust sets them up.

• Will contests and estate disputes

  When a family disagrees about a will, a trust or an executor.

  Cover: A plain assessment of whether there is a case, and what it would cost; Will contests, for the heirs or for the estate; Demands for an accounting from a trustee or executor; Removing an executor or trustee who isn't doing the job; Mediation, and a hearing when mediation isn't enough.

4. Trust signals to show early

• 45 minutes
  The first meeting, free, in the office or by video
• 1994
  The year the firm opened on Chestnut Street
• Flat fees
  For every plan, quoted before we start
• Second Tuesdays
  A free workshop at the Springfield Public Library

5. Questions your site should answer

• Is the first meeting really free?
• Do I need a will or a trust?
• How much does a will cost?
• How long does it take to get a plan done?
• What should I bring to the first meeting?
• Do you handle probate if you didn't write the will?
• Can we meet by video?
• Do you keep a copy of our documents?

6. Local SEO checklist

• ✓Add LegalService structured data (LocalBusiness subtype) with the exact business name, phone, address and areas served.
• ✓Use the same name, address and phone number on the website, Google Business Profile and every directory listing.
• ✓Give each high-value service its own page, with the phrase people search for as the H1.
• ✓Only create city or location pages where you can write genuinely local content; templated city pages can hurt rankings.
• ✓Put a click-to-call button in the header and repeat it after every major section.
• ✓Answer common questions in plain language on the page, and mark them up as FAQPage structured data.
• ✓Show real reviews and link to your Google Business Profile; ask happy customers for reviews regularly.
• ✓Keep the site fast on phones: compressed images, no page builder bloat, and text that is readable without zooming.