Experience

How long has the attorney been doing estate plans? It normally takes years to become proficient in estate planning as there are a number of specialties within the estate planning field such as probate, related litigation, trust administration, valuations, taxation and tax appeals, insurance arrangements, business succession, and more. It is also very important that the estate attorney know what they don’t know! Only years of experience allows an attorney to spot those areas where further expertise may be needed.

Does the attorney have ample and available resources and expertise to handle any complex issues that may arise? No one attorney is expected to know all the answers, but experience is the best way for an attorney to learn where and how to obtain any needed answer. Remember, experience is not always measured in length of time.

Understanding Clients’ Needs

Can the attorney relate to the client? If the attorney does not have the same values and similar life experiences as the clients, it is difficult for them to understand the needs and feelings of the clients. Estate planning is a very personal, feelings-based process, but uses complex and detailed techniques and approaches. For the attorney to get the complex stuff right, they must understand the underlying emotions with which these techniques handle. If the attorney’s real life situation mirrors yours, have they done what they are asking you to do? Do they practice what they preach? The client should always feel that if the estate planning attorney were in the identical situation, he would take the same advice he is giving the client.

Costs

How is the attorney paid? There is not a standard arrangement or fee, but the client needs to know how, when, and how much before starting the process. A clear understanding at the beginning assures no later surprises. The fee may be only a small fraction of the savings afforded the client’s family, which can still be a sizable dollar amount. Questions clients should ask:

• Is there an initial consultation fee? Often there is a charge made for the first meeting in which both the clients and the attorney are determining if they want to continue the estate planning process with each other. If the client cannot relate with the attorney, or the attorney realizes that he cannot fulfill the needs of the clients, this minimizes everyone’s time and costs.

• Is the initial fee waived if the estate planning services of the firm are retained? Often, the initial fee is applied to the overall cost.

• Is there a flat fee if the estate planning services are retained? And, what exactly does it cover? Are telephone or email inquiries included? Many estate attorneys charge a basic flat fee that includes the entire process. Some charge for the initial consultation, and an hourly charge thereafter, as well as any special services such as appraisals, etc.Special rates when referred by specific financial advisors are often quoted. Based on the completeness and quality of the advice the client may have already, or is in the process of receiving, from a financial advisor, allows the estate planning attorney to reduce the normal fee. As the legal partner within an estate planning team, the attorney knows that they will be primarily responsible for the legal work, but will not need to take the primary role in all aspects.

• What additional charges may be expected? Special legal work or research may be required that will require special attention and additional fees or hourly charges. These matters and rates should also be disclosed when rates are being discussed.

• When are any fees payable? Are the fees payable in advance, monthly throughout the process, or half now and half upon completion? A clear understanding at the start of the process prevents the costs or billings from distracting from the planning process. Experienced estate planning attorneys welcome these inquires.

Taxes and Trust Administration

What experience does the attorney have with trust administration at a client’s death? An attorney who has administered trusts at death is better able to draft the clients’ trusts so that they are easily administered. Estate taxes, state inheritance taxes, probate, income taxes for the estate, gift taxes, and trust taxation are not your ordinary taxes. The estate planning attorney must be knowledgeable with all of these taxes as the drafting and execution of many legal documents will affect these directly. Also, they must be able to explain the tax issues and their effects on various planning strategies techniques. However, most attorneys don’t offer specific tax advice and refer that to certified public accountants.

Will the estate planning attorney be available and able to help with any trust administration at death? Many strategies and techniques involve the creation of trusts at the client’s death. Will the estate planning attorney be there to help the beneficiaries of the trust and the trustee make the strategies work? The experienced estate planning attorney has helped with trust administration many times and is better able to draft trust documents that work as planned.

Be There for You

Will the estate attorney be there for you, your family, and your business? The client needs to be able to answer this question, “Yes.” The best one to administer an estate plan at death is the one who helped create it. If the attorney is not there, will the firm be there? The estate plan represents a lifetime of work and love for his or her family. The client should always have the trust and confidence that his or her wishes will be carried out in the manner they have chosen.

By getting these questions answered, and finding an estate attorney they can trusts, clients can have the confidence that their wishes will be the result of their planning.

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Advisors seldom overlook the most expensive planning needs. Great care is taken so that the estate minimizes transfer costs and taxes. Care is taken to be sure the intended heirs get what the client intends for them to get. Coordination between the Will and the ownership of the property controlled by the Will is examined. Arrangements and insurance are arranged in the event of long-term illnesses prior to death. A living will is offered to allow them to make any desired directives concerning final life supporting decisions.

Sometimes it is the small things that can cause big problems. For example, all the life insurance policies are in the safe deposit box. This can delay the filing of the death claims until the safety deposit box is inventoried by the executor. The lack of directives or instructions for the client’s funeral arrangements can cause a great deal of stress within the surviving family. These little things may add a great deal of stress to the family at a time that is already extremely stressful.

Now there is one other small item that may cause a great deal of stress – especially if the client is not married. This overlooked item is especially important to widows and widowers, as well as couples living together but who are not legally married. Although this is applicable to same sex couples, there are many couples living together. For many elderly people, they choose to live together without a legal marriage to protect each of their Social Security benefits or other financial arrangements. This overlooked item for non-married individuals is the client’s directive to receive the client’s medical information.

Why is a directive to receive medical information important? Often, prior to death, the client has a stroke, heart attack, fall or accident that leaves them unable, or not mentally competent to make legal decisions. Due to the HIPAA regulations (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and its “privacy protection,” the healthcare or medical team is reluctant to share medical information with someone other than a spouse unless there is a directive authorizing the release of the information. With massive lawsuits and large federal fines, the medical and healthcare community takes the HIPAA regulations very seriously. (It would have been nice if the federal government had exerted the same zeal in creating and enforcing regulations to protect our investments as they have to protect our privacy.)

As an advisor helping a client with planning for their estates, clients expect you to provide advice in all areas. A directive to receive medical information is a small item, but one they should discuss with their attorney. They may not know to ask about it, if you don’t suggest doing so. Having a loved one is a condition that they cannot authorize the release of their medical information to a loved one is stressful. For a loved one not to know what is happening can be even more stressful. Don’t let small things in your planning process cause big problems.

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