Although we may not enjoy talking about it, planning for your death or disability is an incredibly crucial part of your financial plan. That’s why it is so important to have a clear estate plan in place and the right people filling each role so that when you’re gone, your wishes are carried out the way you intended. After you have spent some time thinking about where you want your money to go and who you want to be making financial and health care decisions when you are unable to, it is important to find a qualified estate planning attorney to document your wishes and ensure your wealth passes efficiently to future generations or charity. 

In this blog post, we will discuss the top five things you should look for and do before you choose an estate planning attorney.  

#1 –  How Do I Find a Good Estate Planning Attorney?

A great place to start is searching for an attorney who focuses on estate planning and is part of an organization in this field. Two such organizations are the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Both sites have a handy “Find a Lawyer” button on the homepage to begin your search. There are capable, competent and effective estate planning attorneys who are not members of either, but this may be a good starting point. 

# 2 – Explore Estate Planning Attorneys’ Websites

In the digital era, information is right at our fingertips at any moment of the day. After you have found a few potential attorneys, be sure to do a quick Google search before asking to set up an appointment. Taking the extra five minutes to search for an attorney can help weed out any potential unqualified individuals. Have they had any complaints against them? How long have they been practicing? Do they work in other fields aside from estate planning? These are some important questions to ask, and a quick search can help answer them. 

Next, find out whether the attorney has a website. Does it look professional, and does it clearly show what they do? While a fancy-looking website shouldn’t be an immediate sell, having a disorganized, unprofessional website could be a sign of how the attorney handles their business as well. It is a best practice to review what they do and who they work with. Do they specialize in certain needs, the highly affluent, or just basic wills? Although the attorney might be qualified, that doesn’t mean they are the best fit for your needs. The website can help clarify the services you can expect and whether the attorney might be right for you. 

# 3 – Make Sure Your Estate Planning Focuses on Your Goals

Estate planning and the legal jargon associated with it can be overwhelming. When you meet with a potential attorney, do they speak over your head and leave you with more questions than answers? It is important to work with someone who helps you understand how the legal documents work and how they fulfill your goals. It is also vital that they listen to your wishes. For instance, did the attorney have tunnel vision about saving taxes, when your main concern is simplicity and/or probate avoidance instead? You want to work with someone who understands your goals and finds the best way to achieve them.  

# 4 – Make Sure Your Estate Planning Attorney Helps You Avoid Probate

Probate is an expensive, time-consuming, and public process by which the courts distribute anything passing through your will. If you don’t leave a will, the probate courts will divide your assets according to state law, and the process may take longer than if you had a will. 

This is why a good estate planning attorney will tell you they focus on probate avoidance, incapacity planning, and distribution of your assets in accordance with your wishes. Probate is easily avoided by naming beneficiaries on all your assets and including a revocable (aka “living”) trust (which will own your assets) in your planning if warranted. 

While there are limited circumstances where you may want to let your assets pass through your will (and therefore probate), this is generally not good practice in most situations and should be considered a potential red flag. 

# 5 – Insist That Your Estate Planning Attorney Also Focuses on Incapacity Planning

One of the most important reasons to update your estate planning documents is to handle circumstances where you might be incapacitated and unable to handle your own affairs. As an example, a revocable trust can be a critical part of this kind of planning, as it is much easier in practice to change trustees than it is to ask a financial institution to work with an old durable power of attorney document. If the attorney you are interviewing is solely focused on probate avoidance and not incapacity (disability) planning, you may want to look elsewhere. 

Coordinate with Your Financial Advisor When Working with Your Estate Planning Attorney

Your financial advisor should be able to help you find an estate planning attorney, prepare for the meeting, explain the issues, and review the documents. While not all financial advisors are versed in estate planning, they should be familiar enough with any red flags and at the very least should understand your wishes. The financial advisor may be able to review the documents and understand whether they meet your goals. If you’re having trouble finding an attorney, your financial advisor may be able to refer you to someone in your area whom they have worked with before. As a plus, some advisors (such as Milestone Financial Planning, LLC) will even offer to attend the estate planning meeting with you. That can be a useful safety net because what you don’t know can hurt you, and your advisor may have a better idea of what questions to ask than you do.  

Summary 

A complete estate plan could be one of the most important things in your financial life! While these tips are not the end-all of everything that you should do, it’s a good place to start. If you have a financial advisor, they should be working with you on your estate plan and can make this process much easier. Although there is a lot to consider when choosing an estate planning attorney, you don’t have to do it alone. If you need assistance with your tax planning or retirement planning in general, please reach out to our team.