Planning for the future is part of living an enriching, fulfilling life. It's a part of life to anticipate certain events, and planning ahead a part of being a responsible person. Yet, you don't need to plan your whole life alone – sometimes,
you need to reach out for help.And to help you plan for the final stage of your life, you can hire an estate planning lawyer. These are attorneys who spend most of their professional lives helping clients plan ahead for future, working with them to create trusts and wills. Their jobs are to communicate the wishes of their clients to families and friends.
It's one of the most important roles anyone can have. They are arbiters for their clients' final wills and can act as conduits for families to continue feeling connected to loved ones. They don't just handle the legal paperwork surrounding death — they also work with the living to make the whole process easier.
So, it's vital to have an estate planning lawyer who will work with you to plan for the future in a way you're comfortable with. Keep reading to learn more about what they do!
Your Estate Planning Lawyer Plans For the Future
Navigating the world of estate planning means more than just preparing wills and drafting trusts. There are estate taxes to account for, which can change how much gets passed down to your family. Your estate planning lawyer will also need to help your family navigate probate court, so they don't get lost in the legal system.
And that's just the start of what estate planning lawyers do. Beyond the hard legal work, they also practice soft skills to learn about their clients' individual needs.
First, They Learn About Your Current Situation
When you start working with an estate planning lawyer, they'll ask plenty of questions about your current life. They'll ask about your family, the size of your estate, and how you built it up. This is more than just courtesy. By having these conversations, they learn about the situation they're dealing with.
These kinds of conversations help your estate planning lawyer connect with you on a deeper level. And when they connect deeper than a professional level, they can make sure your wishes are honored.
By learning about clients' families, estate planning lawyers can record exactly how they want their estate passed down. And by learning about how their clients built their estates, they'll be able to anticipate taxes or other legal barriers. Most of the time, they learn about these things just by talking with client
Estate Planning Means Anticipating Change
One of the most crucial abilities any decent estate planning lawyer must have is the ability to anticipate change. Life is full of possibilities, and any of them can change the way your estate is left behind. You could have a new grandchild or a new cousin that you want to include in your will, for example.
Your estate planning lawyer should understand that and should stay in constant communication with you. It's a way to stay prepared in case you need to open a living trust alongside your will, or any other change. They should regularly check-in for updates on your life just like friends and family!
Finding the Right Attorney is Vital
Just like in any industry, there are good estate planning lawyers and there are bad ones. Only, in this field, it's vital to find a good lawyer. It's one thing to get a bad mechanic or a poor cook – their mistakes can be repaired.
Yet, you won't be around to undo any mistakes your estate planning attorney may make. It's up to you find an attorney that you can trust, and who will handle your estate exactly how you want it. Finding the right one can be a challenge, though — all lawyers will try to make themselves look as good as possible.
Here are a few tips on how to
find an estate planning lawyer you can trust. Find a Lawyer That Has Experience
The first thing you should look for when considering any estate planning lawyer is whether they have experience. Most lawyers will feature prominent clients they've worked with before on their websites or in their offices. Sometimes, it can be hard to find evidence that they have experience, though.
When you first sit down with a lawyer you're thinking about hiring, ask about who they worked with before. Make sure to ask questions about how they handled clients and their process for creating plans for clients. Also, ask about any difficult situations they faced and how they handled them.
That way, you'll learn about how they face adversity. People's true personalities shine when facing a challenge and your estate planning attorney is no different. It will tell you about how they do business, and if you can actually trust them to handle your estate well.
Research Their Reputation to Learn if They're Trustworthy
Part of a being any kind of lawyer is to cultivate a reputation for yourself. Lawyers market themselves through what people say about them, and that means it should be easy to do research on any potential lawyer. There's bound to be an abundance of information about them on the internet.
Research their firms online before walking into their office. Read reviews that people leave about the firm, and most importantly of all ask around your community. Lawyers are prominent in their communities, and their clients will have a lot to say about them.
Asking questions will quickly establish if someone is worth working with. It's the basis for any kind of research!
Your Estate Planning Lawyer Should be Like Family
When you hire an estate planning lawyer, you are basically bringing in a new member of your family. They will learn all there is to know about how your family works, Remember, it's their job to get close.
If they don't, they won't be able to create an estate plan you're satisfied with. You only get one shot at passing your estate down correctly, so you don't want to use a template, cookie-cutter plan. You want one tailored for your unique situation.
That's what you'll end up with when you
hire an estate planning lawyer.
And to learn more about how the estate planning process works, just keep reading our section on it! There, you will find all the information you need to plan your estate!