Since you’ll be discussing topics like death, incapacity, and other frightening life events, hiring an estate planning lawyer may feel intimidating or morbid. But it definitely doesn’t have to be that way. Instead, it can be the most empowering decision you ever make for yourself and your loved ones. The key to transforming the experience of hiring a lawyer from one that you dread into one that empowers you is to educate yourself first. This is the person who is going to be there for your family when you can’t be, so you want to really understand who the lawyer is as a human, not just an attorney. Of course, you’ll also want to find out the kind of services your potential lawyer offers and how they run their business. To this end, here are five questions to ask to ensure you don’t end up paying for legal services that you don’t need, expect, or want. Once you know exactly what you should be looking for when choosing a planning professional, you’ll be much better positioned to hire an attorney who will provide the kind of love, attention, care, and trust your family deserves.
1. How do you bill for your services?
There’s no reason you should be afraid to ask a lawyer how he or she bills for the work they do on your behalf. In fact, questions about billing and payment should be among the very first subjects you bring up when you first contact them. No one wants surprises, especially when it comes to the bill.
If you call a lawyer’s office and they are reluctant or refuse to give you clear answers to questions about how they charge for their services, determine your fees, or what they expect certain services will cost, this is a big red flag. When someone is hesitant to discuss their billing or business practices, you could be in for some major surprises about what things cost down the road.
Find an estate planning lawyer who bills for all of their services on a flat-fee — no surprises — basis, and never on an hourly basis unless it’s required by the court for limited purposes. Ideally, you want a lawyer who will guide you through a process of discovery in which they learn about your family dynamics and your assets, and they educate you about what would happen to your family and your assets if and when something happens to you. Then, they support you in choosing the right plan that meets your budget and desired outcomes.
Our process for your planning begins with a Family Wealth Planning Session, in which we educate you about the law and you educate us about your family dynamics and assets, and then you choose the right plan, at the right cost, for the people you love.
2. How will you respond to my needs on an ongoing basis?
One of the biggest complaints people have about working with lawyers is that they are notoriously unresponsive. Indeed, I’ve heard of cases in which clients went weeks without hearing back from their lawyer. This is all too common, but totally unacceptable in my opinion.
That said, in most cases, these lawyers aren’t blowing you off — they simply don’t have enough support or the systems in place to be able to be responsive. Given this, it’s vital that you ask your lawyer about how they will respond to your needs if you decide to become their client.
Ask them how they will support you to keep your plan up to date on an ongoing basis and be there for your loved ones when you can’t be.
In part two, we’ll talk more about how your attorney should communicate with you and list the remaining three questions to ask before hiring your estate planning lawyer.
This article is a service of the Law Office of Keoni Souza, an estate planning law firm in Honolulu, Hawai`i. 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. That is why we offer a Family Wealth Planning Session, during which you will get more financially organized than you have ever been before and make all the best choices for the people you love. You can begin by contacting our office today to schedule a planning session and mention this article to find out how to get this $750 session at no charge.
Disclaimer: All information on this website is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. You should contact an attorney trained to work with families on estate planning matters regarding your specific situation. Use of and access to this website or any of the email links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between the Law Office of Keoni Souza, LLC, and any users or any other party.
