Estate · Trust · Legacy Planning
The people you love shouldn't inherit the things you meant to do.
A plan is not paperwork. It's the one, quiet act of care you get to author for them.
Most of us keep meaning to get our affairs in order, and keep not getting to it — until the delay quietly becomes someone else's burden, at the worst possible moment. It doesn't have to go that way.
Tercet is a small, deliberate practice built on one idea: that planning for your family should feel less like legal paperwork and more like being understood. You work directly with the attorney — unhurried, on a clear flat fee — turning the people, the property, and the wishes that don't fit on a form into a plan that actually holds when it's needed.
The people
Who you'd protect, who would speak for you, and who would raise your children if you couldn't. We begin with them — not the documents.
What you've built
Your home, your accounts, the business you grew — kept where you want them, and spared the cost and delay of probate.
A plan that holds
Wills, trusts, and directives built to do their work in the moments they're actually needed — and to stay current as life moves.
This isn't estate paperwork. It's the structure that speaks for you when you can't speak for yourself — and quietly keeps your family out of a courtroom.
Why Tercet
A tercet is three lines of verse that only become whole together. It's the shape of this work, too — the people, the property, and the wishes that bind them, written as one plan rather than three loose documents.
Tercet was founded by Russ Michaels, an attorney who spent the better part of two decades building and restructuring companies — in real estate, finance, and the turnarounds where structure is tested under real pressure. That's the lens he brings to families now: not only drafting documents, but building something that holds when it's finally needed.
Three ways in — you choose which, not whether
- Last will & testament
- Financial power of attorney
- Healthcare directive & living will
- One review meeting
- Everything in the Will Plan
- Revocable living trust
- Deed & funding guidance
- Avoids probate on covered assets
- Everything in the Trust Plan
- Long-term-care & Medicaid planning
- Tax-aware & business-interest planning
- Coordination with your CPA / advisor
Every fee is flat and quoted before any work begins — so you're choosing a plan, never wondering about the bill.
How it works
- IStart with a conversation. Tell us a little about your situation and pick a time. It's free, and there's no pressure.
- IIWe map the plan together. One focused meeting to understand your people, property, and wishes — and to recommend the right plan.
- IIIWe draft, and you sign. We prepare everything, walk you through it in plain language, and execute it properly.
- IVIt stays with you. Your plan is built to hold — and we're here when life changes it.
When the day comes that a plan is needed, no one ever wishes it had been cheaper, or faster. They only wish it had been done — and done with care.
Areas of practice
Estate Planning
Wills, trusts, and the plan that ties them together.
Trusts & Trust Funding
Revocable and purpose-built trusts, properly funded.
Probate & Estate Administration
Guiding families through administration and the courts.
Powers of Attorney & Directives
Financial and healthcare authority, set before it's needed.
Elder Law & Medicaid Planning
Long-term-care planning that protects what you've built.
Guardianship & Conservatorship
Standing up for those who can't speak for themselves.
Business & Succession Planning
Keeping the business you built intact across generations.