Estate planning can have its challenges regardless of how old you are. There are different things to consider at different stages of life. But regardless of the questions you may have about how to structure a will, how to protect your assets or what you should leave as inheritances, it is important to have an experienced estate planning attorney on your side.
It is common to receive referrals for attorneys and to search online for them, but when you meet with a lawyer it is important to get to know them as well as you can. As such, this post will focus on a few questions that you should ask before hiring an attorney.
What is your experience handling an estate like mine? – Of course, you will want to know the extent of the attorney’s experience in handling estates similar to yours. Yes, not all estates are the same, but knowing whether the attorney handles multi-million dollar estates can be helpful.
How much is your practice dedicated to estate planning? – This question is an extension to the “experience” question in that it will reveal whether a particular attorney is a specialist or not. An attorney who does not specialize may not have the experience to handle your estate.
Are there pitfalls I should be aware of? – In addition to helping to plan for an efficient administration of your estate, an estate planning attorney should be able to help you understand the issues that can arise and give you some insight on how they should be handled. Some common pitfalls include taxes, battles over inheritances, and lawsuits against the estate.