What company value propositions do you feel resonate with your clients most?

The fact that we’re a specialist firm, estate planning is all that I do, all day every day. For me in Arkansas, I get to highlight that our office was the second office Oath opened. We have been doing this around here for a long time now.

I like to tell my clients that I'm one of our firm’s attorney pros. I get a hand in training the new Oath attorneys on how to do what we've been doing here for a long time. I like that I get to help our other offices grow.

What’s unique about your state and what do you think matters?

No estate tax in Arkansas. We are NOT a community property state. Probate is a nightmare in Arkansas, too. Few people understand that a Will does not avoid probate.

Probate is quite nasty in Arkansas. A big selling point of proper estate planning is wanting to avoid probate. It's a really long process. The standard probate in Arkansas is a minimum of 6 months, but can be closer to 9 or 12 months. It's very costly. Certain legal notices have to go into the paper; all heirs of the estate, even the ones you're not including in your probate, have to be notified; you have to notify all of the creditors of the estate; everything has to be inventoried and accounting has to be provided to the judge. If you want to sell real property through the probate process, that all has to get passed through the judge first.

It’s a lot of hassle and ends up costing a lot of money. We have a law in Arkansas that allows probate lawyers to charge their legal fees not based on how many hours they invested, but based on the value of the estate.

What do you like best about your community / clients in your area?

I love NWA! I also have a lot of clients in Harrison and Mountain Home, AR (a bit farther east from us). In Arkansas, we get a lot of retirees moving here from other states. Arkansas is a beautiful place, with good people.

Most folks in our state just want to make it simple. They don't want to burden the family with a probate mess. They want to make sure their people are protected with a proper estate plan.

What do clients in your community ask the most questions about? What do people in Arkansas care about?

Clients ask most about protecting their home / land from taxes, nursing homes, probate, and other creditors or predators.

I continuously hear “We have been meaning to do this for so long. We feel so much better now.” Estate planning gives clients peace of mind.

Why is Oath right for your clients?

Oath is right for Arkansas clients because we provide a complete service and take the guess-work away. We have a comprehensive plan, and I am a very competent attorney who really listens to understand what their goals are, and am able to create an estate plan that does just that.

What story do you tell at your workshops?

I'm an Arkansas native. I’ve hosted hundreds of estate planning workshops and worked with a lot of clients. I work with our attorneys across the company to help them understand why we do what we do, and how we do it, so they can take care of their clients the way we have been doing it here in Arkansas for years.

What are the state specific documents that you prepare for clients, and why?

Living Will (end of life decisions)

HIPAA release (so folks can get access to their medical info)

Medical and Financial POAs (so a guardianship is not needed if you become incapacitated)

What do you estimate the longest possible probate is in your state?

Probate usually lasts 9-12 months on average, but it can take years for a variety of reasons.

How much do you think the most expensive probate might cost in your state?

Probate attorneys, per Arkansas state law, can charge their fee based on the value of the estate. This could make probate very expensive.

What do clients ask most at your workshops and how do you answer it?

1. They want to know "What is the difference between a will and a trust?"

2. How to avoid probate (and how to keep it simple and avoid government involvement)

3. Protecting property from Medicaid and nursing homes

4. Beneficiary designations (Lots of folks think or are told by their financial advisors that this is all they need. I discuss in my estate planning workshop why this simple tool is not sufficient to ensure their estate will pass outside of probate.)

What are your three favorite communities that you visit on your workshop schedule?

Rogers, Bentonville, Springdale, Fayetteville (NWA), Harrison, Mountain Home, and Cabot

What’s the most impactful story you’ve had from one of your clients?

A lady’s husband died unexpectedly, after she created a DIY trust she found off the internet. 5 years later when I met her, I helped her realize it was NOT what she thought is was and that as there was no attorney to advise her, she actually had not set it up the way she had intended. Additionally, nothing was even titled into the trust, and her estate was not protected. She spent several hundred dollars for this DIY trust for nothing. I was able to get her documents created correctly, properly advised on how to fund the trust, and gave her peace of mind that things were taken care of correctly.

Another time, someone had beneficiary designations set up on all of her accounts. She became incapacitated, and her beneficiary died. As she didn’t have the ability to update her beneficiary designations (because she was incapacitated) there was a very expensive probate after her death. This could have been avoidable with a proper trust and estate plan for her situation.

I’ve heard of the wrong folks stepping in to “care” for an incapacitated relative or parent through a guardianship. Those folks took advantage of the parent (as they now had access to all the finances). A comprehensive medical and financial power of attorney would have ensured that the right folks were in that position, and they would avoid the hassle and great expense of the guardianship process.

Have you ever had someone reach out and it was too late to help them?

Although not very frequently, people have reached out when they're already incapacitated and beyond the point where I can help. Of course, when somebody's passed away, we're too late. This is why you shouldn’t procrastinate getting your estate plan in place.