Selecting an Estate Planning Attorney
Selecting the right estate planning firm is one of the most important decisions you will ever make for your family. You will work with the people in that firm many times in the upcoming years as your family and life changes. And your family will work with them during the difficult times after your passing. Make sure you select the best.
How to recognize the best…your family deserves it.
All estate planning documents are not good documents.
Excellent attorneys develop their documents through experience, research and painful attention to detail. Many attorneys attempt to get by through buying their documents from a service, copying them from a generic source like the Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) or copying them from another attorney. Ask the attorney how they developed their documents. The best firms thoroughly understand their documents and continually work to make their documents the best.
Estate planning is not done when you sign the documents.
Being an excellent estate planner requires being in business through the life of your family. Is your estate planning firm doing what it takes to ensure they will be there for you and your family? Is the business well run and are the employees proud to work there? Do they have sufficient attorneys and staff to be profitable? Do they have a succession plan for their firm? The best firms plan for the future.
Estate planning is about people.
An excellent estate planner cares about you and your family and that concern is reflected in every member of the firm. Does everyone in the firm treat you and your family with courtesy, respect, and consideration? Do they have firmwide policies requiring all calls be returned in 24 hours? Do they have a large enough staff to always be able to handle your needs? The best firms know and care about their clients.
The following is provided for informational purposes only. It is not to be construed as rendering legal advice or constituting a binding legal opinion.
