My advice would be to take a deep breath… it doesn’t have to and shouldn’t be that way. After designing their plan, my clients often tell me that they were nervous and had those exact feelings, but that the process was much easier than they thought it would be and that they felt a great sense of relief, confidence and peace of mind once we were finished.
Hiring a lawyer to help you navigate designing your estate plan and to make wise decisions in planning for life and death can be the most empowering choice you ever make for yourself and your loved ones. The way I explain it to my friends and family is, “estate planning isn’t about planning for your death, it’s about making the wisest decisions possible when planning your life and the legacy that you will eventually leave behind.” So, with that in mind, let’s talk about how to choose an estate planning attorney, because we aren’t all cut from the same cloth.
In today’s day and age, you can generate a basic and generic estate plan inexpensively on whatever website of the day is paying for commercials on your TV and web browser. These documents aren’t terrible, and they can be comparable to an inexpensive plan you may receive from an attorney. What you need to understand is that even before these sites were developed, estate planning has always been referred to as “transactional law.” I always tell my clients that the traditional estate planning experience has been referred to as “transactional” because lawyers were trading documents for money. In the traditional model, the quicker a law office can push you through their process, the greater profit they can make. Once your documents are given to you, your relationship with that law office ends and the “transaction” is complete. They don’t follow-up, they don’t help you understand your plan, how to properly implement it, or work with your family (ideally while you are in good health) to involve them in your estate plan. That’s not how we practice at Family Wealth & Legacy Legal Solutions (FWLLS). It is our mission to develop a life-long relationship with our clients and that is why we pride ourselves on being your “Family Lawyer for Life.”
This is what sets estate planning lawyers and web-based estate planning apart. The right lawyer will be there for your family when you can’t be. That’s why it is so important to understand who the lawyer you are selecting is as a person, not just an attorney. Of course, you’ll also want to discover the services your lawyer offers, how they run their business and if they have developed a proven “process” to take their clients through.
Here are six questions to ensure you don’t end up paying for legal services you don’t need, expect, or want. Once you know exactly what you should be looking for when choosing an estate planning lawyer, you’ll be much better positioned to hire an attorney that will provide the kind of attention, care, and trust your family deserves.
1 | How Do They Bill For Their Services?
Your first question to a lawyer may be, “how much does it cost?” But that’s typically only because you don’t know what else to ask. Estate planning is not like buying a product and comparing the price on Amazon versus Target and Walmart. So, we’re going to give you an upgrade and better understanding of what to ask today.
The first question to ask isn’t “how much does it cost,” but rather, “how do you bill for your services and how do you determine the cost of a plan for each of your clients?”
The right lawyer for you will have a clear answer that helps you understand how they determine how much you’ll be charged. They’ll set clear boundaries and expectations around fees – so there are no surprises. Personally, I would ask if they have a standard price sheet and if you will be presented with one at the first meeting. The fact that they have a document or standard pricing sheet ensures they aren’t making up a price on the spot or charging you more based on your finances. At that meeting, your lawyer should also be explaining their process, learning about the dynamics of your family and assets, while they educate you about what would happen to your family and assets, if and when something happens to you. Through that process, they should help you choose the right plan (identified in their standard pricing model you are presented with), while considering your budget and desired outcomes.
More importantly, when you’re working with an estate planning lawyer, I would recommend that you find a lawyer who bills for their services on a flat fee, no surprises, basis —and never hourly. As a recovering divorce attorney, I know all too well how the hourly billing model works and it is never a pleasant experience for the client because it results in high bills, unexpected charges, and it disincentivizes the client from having thorough and open communication with a lawyer. Clients are watching the clock and trying to get off the phone as soon as possible to keep the bill down, while the lawyer is incentivized to spend more time billing for their services.
At my firm, all of our estate planning plans are billed at a flat fee, agreed to in advance, and you choose your fee in your Family Wealth & Legacy Strategy Session™. During our process, we will educate you about the law, and you will educate us about your family dynamics and assets. Then, you choose the right plan, at the right price, for the people you love.
2 | Are they Competent?
(*Disclaimer: If you’re scrolling you can’t ask an Attorney this question, but there’s a few below to help you answer it for yourself*)
Self-Admittedly, I am a perfectionist, neurotic and (a bit crazy) obsessive over doing things the right way. My father always told me that if you aren’t going to do something right the first time, then don’t do it at all. With that mindset seared into brain and now a part of my identity, as I embarked on transitioning my firm to estate planning…I spent years studying, enrolling in courses, attending seminars, asking a million annoying questions of my friends and colleagues, and shadowing experienced attorneys during their client meetings. In doing so, I learned that there are several different types of estate planning attorneys:
1) The Jack of All Trades: As the old saying goes, “a jack of all trades, is a master of none.” As I was learning estate planning and asking my attorney friends questions at the courthouse, I quickly learned that a lot of them “do a little bit of estate planning work.” They use estate planning as an add-on-service. Meaning they will do your Will or Trust for $1,500 or less, as they are finishing up your divorce, or after the closing on your house. What you don’t know…is that most of them don’t know the first thing about estate planning. They got a form years ago, ask you a handful of stock questions, and literally – copy and paste your name and your cookie-cutter form answers into their one-size-fits-all documents they “draft” for everyone else. In order to avoid accidentally hiring a “Jack of All Trades Attorney,” call their office and before you tell them why you’re calling or what you want, ask the person who answers what their firm primarily focuses on and what they specialize in. If they name 5 things, or they don’t mention estate planning – run. If this is the case, you may be better off turning to a much cheaper, online option for your estate planning needs.
2) The “Old School” Attorney: There are many lawyers who have been practicing for decades and provide a great service to their clients, but may have gotten comfortable doing things their way. Often referring to themselves as “old school” or “old fashioned,” they like to discuss the good old days and what it was like before the age of the internet. Yet, trust, probate, and tax laws are constantly changing and evolving with time and technology. Those same lawyers admit they aren’t as familiar with the latest technology, laws, or developments in planning as they would like to be. Estate planning is a cutting-edge area of the law that changes quickly to keep up with the world we live in and estate planning lawyers must stay on top of the latest trends to provide extraordinary service.
That’s why it’s extremely important to ask an attorney what organizations they are a member of and what drafting software they use. No firm can keep up with all of the ever-changing federal, state and IRS laws, cases and private letter rulings. Experienced estate planning lawyers rely on drafting software to do this for us. These companies have armies of lawyers and staff who specialize in keeping up with these constantly changing laws and drafting techniques. That’s why I would tell my family and friends to ask a prospective attorney what drafting software they use? We use Wealthcounsel, which is the largest and primary drafting software used by estate planning attorneys. Others that are commonly used are Adapt, Inter Active Legal, Fore Trust and LexisNexis.
3) The Experienced Estate Planning Attorney: If you find an attorney that is competent, specializes in estate planning, keeps up with the ever-changing laws / issues surrounding estate planning, and they use a premier drafting software…you are most likely dealing with an experienced estate planning attorney. The next thing to address is their process. As we’ve began discussing and will get into a bit more, the problem with the traditional estate planning model is a lack of education, direction and follow-up. Meaning:
a. Lack of Education: The client isn’t educated on the many options available to them. As a result, they aren’t aware that there was a better option for their specific circumstances, so in the end, they don’t have the plan that would best suit their family.
b. Lack of Direction: At the conclusion of most estate planning signings, you’re typically provided with written instructions that describe what you need to do to properly implement your plan and when it is necessary to update your documents. Those instructions then sit neatly on your shelf, tucked away in your estate planning binder, until your family is the first to read them after they sat for years collecting dust. Due to a lack of direction, education, or follow-through on your part, it’s often too late to follow those instructions. I can’t tell you how many of my friends and family members have trusts but didn’t realize they had to change the title of their property and accounts for their trust to do what it was intended to do.
c. Lack of Follow-Up: Most lawyers charge by the hour, some charge a flat-fee, but all lawyers charge you for their time. If you call, you typically get a bill, and most people avoid calling as a result. There isn’t a built-in system in place for periodic communication between the lawyer and client, so as their life changes, their plan does not change with it. In the end, their plan either fails, or requires litigation at a far greater expense than it would’ve been to simply update it as they had new children, sold property, moved out of state, got married, or divorced. Estate planning is not a “set it and forget it” exercise, it is a plan that must evolve with you over time.
3 | How Will Your Lawyer Respond To You When Needed?
Consistently, the number one complaint about working with lawyers is that they don’t call back. We’ve heard that some have gone days, or even weeks, without getting a call back from their lawyer. It’s unfortunate, and yet it makes sense when a lawyer doesn’t have systems in place to ensure they can serve their existing clients and respond to the needs of past clients.
So, to ensure your lawyer can be responsive to your needs, ask them how quickly calls are typically returned at their office and if someone will be on-hand to answer quick questions when needed.
Ideally, all calls to your lawyer should be pre-scheduled with a clear agenda, so you both are prepared and ready to focus on your specific needs. In our office, if you choose to move forward at your Strategy Session, we book all of the subsequent meetings with you right then and there. You will be given specific tasks to complete in advance of each meeting and if you need to reach us for any reason in between, someone will return your calls and address your concerns within no more than 24 hours.
4 | How Will Your Lawyer Proactively Communicate With You & Your Family Over Time?
Sadly, most lawyers fail to communicate regularly with their clients. As a result, if you’ve created an estate plan in the past, you may have mentally “checked off” estate planning on the responsible “adulting to-do-list” and not even realized that estate planning requires a lifetime of wise legal and financial decisions, not a one-and-done task.
Unfortunately, most lawyers don’t have their business systems set up for ongoing, proactive communication. They don’t have the time to get to know you or your family and then keep your plan up to date throughout your life.
Work with a lawyer who has systems to keep your plan updated to ensure your assets are protected (throughout your life) and who will communicate with you regularly.
Additionally, ask them how they will proactively support you in keeping your plan up to date on an ongoing basis and be there for your loved ones when you can’t be.
Think of it this way: Your estate plan includes a set of documents, but your plan is far more than those documents. Your plan is an inventory of your assets, which changes throughout your life. Your assets, your family and their needs will grow and change over time, it’s necessary for your plan to evolve right along with them. That way, your plan will be there and work for your family when they need it most and something happens to you.
As such, you want to work with a lawyer with systems to keep your documents up to date and ensure your assets are owned correctly throughout your lifetime. Ideally, the lawyer should get to know you and your family over time so that when something happens, your lawyer can be there for the people you love. There will already be an underlying relationship and trust. That is why our office schedules a plan review with our clients at no charge, every three years, to ensure they are updating us about their assets and family, while we educate them on any developments in the law. Not to mention, we bring their family members into those meetings over time and when appropriate, so they also develop a relationship with our office and know who to call when they’ll need us.
5 | Can You Call About Any Legal Problem Or Just About Matters Within Their Specialty?
Given the complexity of today’s legal world, lawyers must have specialized training in one or more specific practice areas, such as divorce, bankruptcy, Wills and Trusts (estate planning), personal injury, business, criminal matters, real estate, medical malpractice, or employment law. You do NOT want to work with a “door law” attorney – a lawyer who professes to be an expert in whatever random legal issue walks through the door.
That said, you do want your personal lawyer to have broad enough expertise to consult with them about all sorts of legal and financial issues that may come up in your life—and trust he or she will be able to offer you sound guidance about whether you have a legal issue, or not. And while your lawyer will not be able to advise you on all legal matters, he or she should be able to refer you to other trusted professionals who can help you.
Trust me, you wouldn’t want the lawyer who designed your estate plan also to handle your personal injury claim, settle a dispute with your landlord, and advise you on a medical malpractice claim. But you do want them to be there to hear your story, refer you to a highly qualified lawyer who specializes in that area, and overall, serve as your go-to legal consultant.
In this capacity, you can consult your personal lawyer before you sign any legal documents, any time you have a legal or financial issue arise, or whenever anything that might adversely affect your family or business comes up. It is invaluable to have someone in your corner to make a trusted referral and get excellent guidance in a time of crises.
6 | What Happens When They Die Or Retire?
We all die, including your lawyer. And they may retire before they die. So be sure to ask what the plan is for your plan and your family when they do.
This is a critically important—and often overlooked—question to ask your lawyer and any service professional before beginning a relationship. Sure, it may be uncomfortable to ask. A client-centered professional will have a succession plan to ensure their clients are cared for no matter what happens to the lawyer managing your plan.
Look for a lawyer with a detailed plan that will ensure that someone warm and caring will take over your planning without any interruption of service.
Here at our law firm, we work with a community of lawyers just like us who serve clients as a Personal Family Lawyer® with Life & Legacy Planning. We have a network of successor attorneys who practice with the same morals and model as we do, so if anything happens to us you will be treated with the same level of care and relationship that we provide.
A Lasting Relationship
Although hiring the right estate planning lawyer may not seem that important, it’s one of the most critical choices you can make for yourself and your family. After all, this is the individual you trust to serve on your behalf to protect and provide for your loved ones during one of life’s most emotionally challenging experiences.
Should you choose the wrong person for the job, your family could face unnecessary conflicts, expenses, and legal entanglements when they are most vulnerable. Ultimately, estate planning is far more than having a lawyer create a set of documents for you and then never seeing you again or only seeing your family when something goes wrong.
With us as your Personal Family Wealth & Legacy Lawyer™, we develop a relationship with you and your family that lasts a lifetime. Our unique, family-centered legal services are specifically tailored to provide our clients with the kind of care, attention, and trust we’d want for our loved ones. We are experienced in estate planning, family law, certified in mediation and collaborative law, so that we can serve our clients and their families with a comprehensive set of services for your family during life’s most common legal problems: death, incapacity and divorce. To learn more about our one-of-a-kind systems and services, schedule a Family Wealth & Legacy Strategy Session™ today.
This article is a service of Family Wealth & Legacy Legal Solutions (FWLLS). We do not just draft documents; we ensure you make educated, informed and empowered decisions for yourself and the people you love. That’s why we offer a Family Wealth & Legacy Strategy Session™, during which you will get educated and begin to prepare to avoid life’s most common legal problems and get a plan in place to make the best possible choices for the people you love. You can begin by calling our office today to schedule a Family Wealth & Legacy Strategy Session and mention this article to find out how to get this $750 session at a significantly discounted rate, or even for free.