How to choose an estate planner

By Martin M. Shenkman
  • It’s not just a lawyer. You need a lawyer to draft documents, like a will, but you need an estate planning TEAM, not an estate planner.
  • Your estate planning lawyer, must coordinate with your investment advisers as to:
    • Title to accounts.
    • Current and future financial condition.
    • Beneficiary designations.
    • More…..
  • Your estate planner must coordinate with you accountant as to:
    • Tax status.
    • How estate planning affects tax returns.
    • And more……
  • Your estate planner must coordinate with your insurance consultant as to:
    • Long term care insurance.
    • Life insurance to protect your loved ones.
    • Life insurance to pay estate tax.
    • And more…….
  • With the understanding of the TEAM you need, you can now best consider how to select an estate planning attorney:
    • The attorney must be a team player.
    • You don’t want an attorney who is selling you insurance, preparing a tax return, or other parts of your planning.
    • The attorney should have a substantial portion of their practice devoted to estate planning. You don’t want someone who writes a couple of wills not and then. Estate planning is much more.
    • Ask what the attorney normally recommends as an estate plan. If the recommendation doesn’t include at least the following, you have the wrong planner:
      • Power of attorney.
      • Living will.
      • Health Proxy.
      • Will.
      • Review of financial status and beneficiary designations.
      • Review of how assets are owned (titled).
    • The attorney should bill either hourly or a fixed fee for routine matters, or a combination of the two. The billing should be clear and not relate to the size of your estate.
    • The attorney should be independent of your other advisers. You don’t want someone getting paid by an insurance agent doing your planning.
    • The attorney should be able and willing to deal with personal, not just legal issues.