The 3 Important Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Estate Plan Attorney

Identify the Right Attorney for Your Needs with 3 Easy Questions

When finding an attorney to help you with your will or estate plan, not just any attorney will do. It’s extremely important, both for your peace of mind and for making the process run smoothly, that you identify the right attorney for the job. These three questions are a great place to start when talking with attorneys to identify the right person to work with you!

If you have more questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. We are here to help.

What You’ll Learn FROM THIS VIDEO

• The importance of identifying an attorney who specializes in estate planning.
• How to identify an attorney who will take the time to listen to you.
• Why hiring the wrong attorney can leave you a mess you have to unravel later!

HERE IS THE TRANSCRIPT FROM THIS VIDEO

Margaret Barrett: If you are watching this video, you’re wondering what to say to an estate lawyer that you’re considering hiring to do your will. You’ve probably never had this conversation before. You’re afraid to ask the wrong questions, or even worse, you might hire the wrong person.

I understand, you’ve probably never done this before. You are not alone. A lot of people feel this way before calling us and we understand. We are here to help you and I’m going to give you three questions that you should ask any estate attorney that you’re interviewing.

Not knowing where to start is one of the reasons that people put off ever even starting their estate plan, so let me give you the first question that you should ask.

The first question is “How much of your practice is estate law?” Estate planning is a complex area of the law. You want someone who focuses in that area. There are attorneys who do a little estate planning on the side , and I have unfortunately worked hard to clean up some messes that were caused as a result. Their families were not happy with the hassle and the expense that was left. So make sure the person you’re working with does estate law as the main part of their practice.

Now the second question you should ask the attorney is “Will you take the time to listen to me and to educate me on my options without charge?” You want a confidential free meeting that is focused on you, with someone who is going to ask the questions to find out what’s important to you. “What’s worrying you that brought you into our office?” “What are your goals with your estate plan?” “What’s your family situation?”, etc. Then they can educate you on your options and the pros and cons for your particular situation. Then you will be empowered to make the best decision for you.

Going forward the third question to ask an estate lawyer is “What can I expect, and what’s the process, the timing, and the cost?” At our office we show you our smooth sailing system and take you through it every step of the way explain all the details so you know what to expect.

If those three tips were helpful, we actually have a list of 10 questions to ask an estate lawyer that you’re interviewing. If you would like that, please click the link below and we would be happy to send it to you!