Five Questions To Ask Before Hiring An Estate Planning Lawyer

Discussing death, incapacity, and other potentially frightening life events may feel intimidating or even morbid. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Hiring the right attorney to help you make wise decisions for life and death can be the most empowering choice you ever make for yourself and your loved ones. Here are five questions you should ask to ensure that you select an attorney who will provide the kind of service, attention, and care that your family deserves.

01 | How Do You Bill For Your Services?

Your first question to an attorney may be, “How much does it cost?” But that’s typically only because you aren’t clear on what else to ask. Instead, consider asking, “How do you bill for your services?”

The right attorney for you will provide clear answers regarding how they determine their fees and how you’ll be charged. They’ll also guide you through a process of discovery in which they learn about your family dynamics and your assets and educate you about what would happen to your family and assets in the event of death and/or incapacity. Through that process, they will help you choose the right plan that meets your budget and desired outcomes.

At Cedar Counsel, we empower our clients to choose their own flat-fees through our Life & Legacy Planning Session process. During these meetings, we educate you about the law, and you educate us about your family dynamics and assets. Then, you choose the right plan, at the right price, for the people you love.

02 | How Will You Ensure My Concerns are Addressed in a Timely Manner?

People often complain that attorneys are not responsive. We’ve even heard of situations in which clients go weeks without getting a call back from their attorney. It’s unfortunate, and yet it makes sense when a lawyer doesn’t have systems in place to ensure they can serve their existing clients and respond to the needs of past clients. 

To ensure your attorney can be responsive to your needs, ask them how quickly calls are typically returned in their office and if someone will be on-hand to answer quick questions when needed. Ideally, all calls to your attorney should be pre-scheduled with a clear agenda, so you both can be ready to focus on your specific needs.

03 | How Will You Keep My Plan Up-to-Date?

Unfortunately, most attorneys fail to communicate regularly with their clients. As a result, if you’ve created an estate plan in the past, you may have had a “checked off the list and done” kind of experience and not even realized that estate planning means a lifetime of wise legal and financial decisions, not a one-and-done kind of thing.

Many attorneys don’t have their business systems set up for ongoing, proactive communication. Ask your potential attorney how they will proactively support you in keeping your plan up to date. Ideally, the lawyer should get to know you and your family over time so that when something happens, your lawyer can be there for the people you love when you can’t.

04 | Can You Refer Me to Attorneys Who Specialize in Different Areas?

Given the complexity of today’s legal world, lawyers must have specialized training in one or more specific practice areas. You do NOT want to work with a “door law” attorney - someone who professes to be an expert in any legal issue a client brings.

That said, you do want your personal lawyer to have broad enough expertise to consult with him or her about all sorts of legal and financial issues that may come up in your life—and trust he or she will be able to offer you sound guidance and refer you to other trusted professionals who can help.

Because, of course, you wouldn’t want the lawyer who designed your estate plan to handle your personal injury claim, settle a dispute with your landlord, and advise you on your divorce. But you do want your attorney to understand the legal issues that may impact your family or business, refer you to a highly qualified lawyer who specializes in that area, and serve as your go-to legal consultant.

05 | Do You Have a Succession Plan?

Everyone, including your attorney, will die. And he or she may retire before then. Make sure that your attorney has a detailed succession plan to ensure that their clients are cared for no matter what happens to the attorney managing your plan.

Cedar Counsel works with a community of attorneys who serve clients through Life & Legacy Planning.  So if anything happens to us you will be treated with the same level of care and relationship that we provide.

A Lasting Relationship

Although hiring the right estate planning attorney may not seem that important, it’s one of the most critical choices you can make for yourself and your family. After all, this is the individual you trust to serve on your behalf to protect and provide for your loved ones during one of life’s most emotionally challenging experiences.

Should you choose the wrong person for the job, your family could face unnecessary conflicts, expenses, and legal entanglements when they are most vulnerable. Ultimately, estate planning is far more than having a lawyer create a set of documents for you and then never seeing you again or only seeing you when something goes wrong.

Our goal is to develop a relationship with you and your family that lasts a lifetime. Our unique, family-centered legal services are specifically tailored to provide our clients with the care we’d want for our own loved ones. To learn more about our systems and services, schedule a consultation today.

This article is a service of Cedar Counsel. We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love.