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Many people believe estate planning is only for the wealthy, but that just isn’t true.
Everyone has an estate – it’s everything you own; your home and other real estate, your business (if you own one), your investment accounts, your checking and savings accounts, your collectibles, and other personal belongings, which may include heirlooms passed down from family members.
An estate plan directs what happens to all those things you care about after your death. You might think that can be determined with only a Last Will & Testament, but a well-rounded estate plan does much more. And that’s why it’s worth consulting with an expert to make sure you have the right plan for your unique situation.
Just like how finding the right financial advisor can give you peace of mind when it comes to retirement, finding the right estate planning attorney can provide you with peace of mind that the assets you worked so hard to accumulate won’t go to the government or other predators, that your family won’t be left in legal limbo, and that they will be able to live the kind of life you want for them after you’re gone.
Here are 5 tips for choosing the right one.
- Work with a licensed attorney
Would you hire a general practitioner to perform brain surgery? Or a doctor who wasn’t properly licensed? No, of course not. The same holds true when you’re looking for a professional to create an estate plan for you. Financial advisors can help with estate planning, but they can’t do it alone. An estate planning attorney knows the laws of your state and stays informed on changes to those laws. A financial advisor cannot draft the legal documents required; that’s something an estate planning attorney must do. At Oath, all of our attorneys are licensed in the state they work in and specialize in estate planning.
- Don’t work with a solo attorney
This has nothing to do with a solo practitioner’s level of skill or expertise. It’s a practical consideration. What if you did go to an estate planning attorney who worked in solo practice, and something were to happen to them? Maybe they had a debilitating accident or illness or died suddenly. If they don’t have a contingency plan for their clients, you could be left in a bind and have no choice but to start the entire process over, including the search for the best estate planning attorney for your needs. That’s not to say that developing a close relationship with your estate planning attorney isn’t beneficial. The better they know you, the better they can serve your specific needs. But there should be others in the practice who can help you and your plan make a seamless transition should that be necessary. Oath is staffed with a team of estate planning attorneys and the support staff that make a practice run smoothly for us and our clients.
- Make sure they can do more than just draft legal docs
The best estate plans are holistic. That means you’re not being sent to multiple professionals in multiple practices when creating an estate plan. When the parts of your plan come from different places, it’s easy to overlook things or take a one-size-fits-all approach, even if multiple parties are communicating. It also makes creating a plan more expensive and time-consuming. The right estate planning attorney isn’t just crossing i’s and dotting t’s on legal documents. They’re also creating a financial plan and helping to manage your investments inside the legal framework of an estate plan so that your estate is insulated from things like market risk, inflation, unnecessary taxes, and excessive fees. Oath is a one-stop shop for your estate planning needs, both the legal aspects and the financial planning aspects.
- Get multiple planning options
Estate planning is not a template. Every person who needs an estate plan has unique circumstances. A plan for a couple with a special needs child will be very different from the plan for a person who has been married twice and has children from both marriages. And as a client, you should have multiple planning options to choose from, each based on your circumstances and goals. At Oath, we take the time to develop a relationship with each of our clients so we can serve them with the personal touch real estate planning requires.
- Look for a firm with attorneys in multiple states
States have different laws that govern estates, so it’s best to choose an estate planning attorney with offices in other states than just your own. Moving doesn’t mean your entire plan needs to be scrapped and started from scratch, but a move will require some tweaking. Again, you want that line of continuity so your estate plan can transition from one state to another as seamlessly as possible. Or, what if you own property in another state? Oath has offices located across the country to serve our clients and their families.
Helping families prioritize and make the most out of what they have is our passion. It’s incredibly rewarding to see the doubt and stress lift when a client knows they’ve built an estate plan to ensure their wishes are carried out, and their families will be provided for. Our fees are upfront and transparent, with payment plan options available to everyone. There is no hourly billing which can often cost thousands more than you expected. All of our attorneys are licensed and specialize in estate planning. You will have a comprehensive estate plan tailored to your needs in just three meetings.
Sign up for one of our free estate and retirement planning workshops at www.oath.law/workshops or request a free consultation.
