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Questions to Ask Your Attorney Before You Hire Him or Her for Your Estate Plan

By Jennifer Sawday

The local Long Beach legal newspaper, The Reporter, published an interesting article called, "The 6 Questions You Must Ask the Attorney Before You Spend a Dollar on Estate Planning." While we don't want to copy the article verbatim, this post will identify the questions and our answers to the same.

1. How long has the attorney been doing estate plans?

This is an important question. The Reporter said that it takes years to become proficient in this practice area. You want to hire an attorney that knows what they are doing. They have years of experience in this field. They know how to handle probate, related litigation, they know how to administer a trust, and most importantly -- they know what they don't know! If an attorney can spot the issues regarding your situation they can advise you to bring in the expert or seek counsel of a more experienced attorney. At TLD, we have four estate planning attorneys with varying years of experience. We work as a team and for more complex matters, we have ample research materials available and experts on tap if your situation warrants it.

2. Does the attorney understand your needs?

Your attorney should have a real life situation that mirrors yours. In other words, the attorney should practice what they preach. This was posted yesterday -- see the post here. For example, TLD attorneys have gone through the probate process themselves, have kids, have large families, own rental property and a host of other real life situations that you can relate to.

3. Will it cost to talk to your attorney?

The Reporter says to ask how your attorney will bill you. For many clients, our estate planning fees are done at a flat fee basis. So whatever questions you have during the process is captured by the flat fee.

Each of our attorneys are readily accessible by email and welcome such inquiries.

Sometimes a client will have a matter requiring extra attention, specific legal research or addititional work -- for these clients we tell them up front and either quote a second flat fee or charge them hourly. You will not be suprised on how your matter will  be handled from a billing standpoint.

Whether we charge a consultation fee for the initial meeting depends on the attorney you are seeing. You can ask the person who is scheduling your appointment if there will be a fee. If there is a fee, it will be modest and often waived if you retain our firm for services.

4. Is the attorney part of a trust mill?

This is the worst scenario. The attorney runs a daily or weekly ad in the local paper offering estate plans at some low price. This is usually the first indicator that it is a trust mill. There are a few attorneys notorious for running a trust mill in our area. We know who they are.

The Reporter says what is also bad are attorneys who do not do estate planning as a regular part of their practice. The Reporter says, "All they know about estate planning is how to use their software and send out advertising. If you are considering this type of attorney, you're better off with a $100 do it yourself software kit from Office Depot."

5. Does the attorney know about taxes and trust administration?

The Reporter strongly urges that you want an attorney who knows how to handle trust administration when the person has died. The attorney who handles a variety of matters in this practice area will know how to draft trusts, administer them after someone dies, handle related probate and in general help you with strategies to avoid a legal mess later on for you or your loved ones.

Most attorneys do not offer tax advice. But we have close relationships with certified public accountants and can spot tax issues... we can be part of your team that will help address the tax issues arising from your estate plan. We can help explain the tax issues and work with your tax advisor.

We have a strong trust administration practice. See our post on this topic.

6. Will the attorney be there for you, your family and your business?

This goes without saying. But we are saying it... find a firm that has been around. Find an attorney that you like. They can be mutually exclusive.

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Estate Planning, Probate and Trusts involve complex areas of law. Individual circumstances must be considered before any advice can be given.  The general information above is not to be construed as legal advice, which can only be given after consideration of the unique facts of each matter. Please seek the advice or counsel of your attorney, financial advisor or CPA as it may be appropriate.

Full post as published by Estate Planning Practice Blog on August 28, 2008 (boomark / email).