“Losing a parent or grandparent can put into perspective the need for careful planning to avoid surprises, protect young children and spouses and properly execute the decedent’s wishes.”
The Norman Transcript’s recent article, “The right attorney is needed for wills and estate planning,” addresses how to find an attorney who will be a good match for your particular circumstances.
No one enjoys planning his or her estate. After all, who likes to think about not being here? Estate planning entails looking at your own mortality and possible incapacity. It’s not a simple task, regardless of your age. With estate planning, it seems that a person will get more serious about it when the crisis happens. At that point, it may be too late.
The daughter of a senior who develops dementia or another debilitating or life-threatening disease sees first-hand the true complexities of incapacity. It helps the family to understand and appreciate the need and the value of health-care proxies, living wills and powers of attorney. These “life events” happen every day to many people. In order to address this reality of life, you need a plan.
The big question is, who’s going to be helping you?
Young generations will be quick to jump online or look at their phones. However, it is important to understand that estate planning is state-specific. Every state has specific requirements, timelines and deadlines. Your state’s laws will tell you just how estate planning documents must be written and how they need to be signed. A will or power of attorney form that you find online, may not satisfy your state’s requirements.
Remember that the law hasn’t caught up with technology. There is no way that you can execute your will on your smart phone. In addition, many free or low-cost online legal service providers don’t provide state-specific advice or updated information.
When you talk with potential estate planning lawyers, make sure to ask questions to uncover their knowledge in this area of the law. You want an attorney who’s skilled and responsive to your needs, a good listener and a good communicator. There are general practitioners who take “whatever walks in the door,” which gives them a broad yet cursory level of experience with many types of law.
You want to work with an attorney who focuses on estate planning. They will have a much deeper knowledge and extensive experience in this area of practice. Your estate planning attorney might not know how to defend a products liability claim. That’s OK, because he or she definitely will know how to create customized estate plans for their clients.
Interviews are critical and that means face-to-face encounters. You should also look at client references. However, use caution when selecting an estate planning attorney based on a friend’s recommendation. Friends may not know anything in particular about an attorney’s skills and specialties. That can be dangerous because with estate planning, issues don’t come up until after death.
Reference: Norman Transcript (March 5, 2017) “The right attorney is needed for wills and estate planning”
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