Questions to Ask an Estate Planning Attorney
For anyone choosing an estate planning attorney or getting ready for a first meeting with one. The questions follow the order the conversation usually takes: the attorney's experience, fees and process, the shape of your plan, documents for incapacity, accounts and tax, then signing and keeping it all current. Each has a note on what a good answer sounds like or what should make you hesitate; laws differ by state and country, so treat the notes as prompts for the attorney, not as legal advice.
The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Experience
How long have you practiced estate planning, and how much of your work is it today?
Why ask it
Both halves matter: many years of mostly other work is less useful than a shorter career spent on plans every week. A figure given without hesitation is a good sign, and so is a short description of the usual client. If estate planning turns out to be a sideline, ask what the main work is and decide whether your situation is simple enough for that.
What kinds of families and estates do you plan for most often, and where does mine fit?
Why ask it
Describe yourself in two sentences first: married or not, children, a house, a business, roughly what you own. A good answer says where you sit among their usual clients and what about you is slightly unusual. An office built for very large estates may sell a modest one more planning than it needs, and the reverse is a risk if yours is complicated.
Are you licensed in the state where I live, and what do you do about property I own somewhere else?
Why ask it
Estate law is local, so the attorney should practice where you live and say plainly how they handle a cabin, a rental or an inheritance in another state or country. The usual honest answer is that they work with a lawyer there. 'It all works the same everywhere' is the answer to worry about.
Do you also handle probate and trust administration after a death?
Why ask it
An attorney who settles estates sees which plans worked and which left the family in court, and that tends to show in the drafting. Ask for one thing they changed in their documents after watching a plan go wrong. If they only draft, ask who their clients' families usually turn to afterwards.
Who will do the work on my plan, and who do I call with a question?
Why ask it
In many offices a paralegal gathers the facts and prepares the first draft, which is normal and can keep the fee down. What you want is the name of the person who decides what goes in the documents and a promise that they read the final version. Notice whether a call back is measured in days or in weeks.
If my spouse and I come in together, do you represent both of us, and what happens if we want different things?
Why ask it
Couples are commonly represented together, and the rules on that come from the attorney's professional conduct rules, so let them explain how it works where they practice. A careful attorney raises this before you do and tells you whether what one of you says can be kept from the other. It matters most in second marriages and wherever one of you owns much more.
Do you sell insurance, annuities or investments, or receive anything for referring me to someone who does?
Why ask it
The plan should be designed around your family, not around a product. Many attorneys take no commissions at all and say so quickly. If the answer is yes, ask for the arrangement in writing and get a second opinion on any recommendation that involves buying something.
Do you carry malpractice insurance, and has the bar ever disciplined you?
Why ask it
It is an uncomfortable thing to say to someone's face, so look first: a state bar's website will usually show a lawyer's license status and any public discipline by name. Insurance is worth raising in person, because a drafting mistake may only surface after you are gone, and whether lawyers must carry cover depends on the state. You are hoping for a calm, factual reply; irritation at being asked tells you something too.
What would you send to another lawyer instead of handling yourself?
Why ask it
Planning for long-term care costs, a beneficiary on disability benefits, a family business or assets abroad can each be a specialty in its own right. A lawyer who names their limits is safer than one who takes everything. Mention anything on that list that applies to you and see whether the answer changes.
Can I see a sample of the documents you write?
Why ask it
You are not checking the law, only whether you can follow a page of it with the attorney beside you. A plan with the names blanked out, or the summary page that goes with one, is enough, and some firms add a diagram of who gets what and who is in charge. Dense pages with no explanation offered mean the explaining will be left to you, and later to your family.
Who looks after your clients' plans when you retire or are away for a long stretch?
Why ask it
Your plan may need attention in twenty years, so the question is fair even if it feels forward. A solo attorney near retirement can still be a fine choice when another lawyer or firm has agreed to take the files. With no arrangement in place, keep your own complete set and expect to start again with someone new.
Fees and process
Is the first meeting free, and what should I bring to it?
Why ask it
Policies differ: free, a flat consultation fee, or a fee credited toward the plan if you go ahead. Ask when you book so the bill is not a surprise. Most offices send a questionnaire, and filling it in properly beforehand means the hour is spent on advice instead of on spelling names.
Do you charge a flat fee or by the hour, and what exactly does the price cover?
Why ask it
Flat fees are common for estate plans, which makes quotes easy to compare once you know what each includes. Go through it item by item: each document, both spouses, revisions, the signing, and any work moving assets afterwards. An hourly quote is not a bad sign, but ask for a realistic range and to be told before it is passed.
What would make my plan cost more than the figure you just gave me?
Why ask it
The answer shows whether the quote was built for you or read from a price list. Common causes are a second trust, a business, property in another state, or a family arrangement that takes several drafts to get right. Any of those that already applies to you should be inside the quote now.
What will I pay to other people along the way, such as recording fees or a notary?
Why ask it
Small costs sit outside most legal fees: recording a new deed, a notary, courier charges, sometimes an appraisal. A firm that does this weekly can list them from memory. Have them written into the fee agreement so you are comparing one total with another.
Will you put the fee and the scope in a written engagement letter before I pay anything?
Why ask it
A yes should come without a pause. Read the letter for what is left out as much as for what is included, especially who is responsible for retitling assets and updating forms. Reluctance to write it down is a reason to try another office.
When is payment due: up front, at signing, or in stages?
Why ask it
Part at the start and the rest at signing is a common pattern, though firms vary. Where the whole fee is due before a draft exists, find out what comes back to you if you stop partway. If the fee is a stretch, ask about stages, since plenty of offices will agree to them.
How long will it take from today to signed documents, and what usually slows it down?
Why ask it
Clients cause most of the delay, by sitting on a draft or not deciding who to name, and an honest attorney will say so. Get the firm's side as rough dates: when the first draft reaches you and how soon a signing can follow your corrections. With a deadline of your own, such as an operation, find out whether the powers of attorney can be signed first while the rest catches up.
How many rounds of changes to the drafts are included?
Why ask it
You will want changes once you see your wishes in legal language, and that is expected. The useful detail is whether a change of mind about who inherits counts as a revision or as new work. If only one round is included, settle the big questions before drafting starts.
What do you charge later for a small change, such as naming a different executor?
Why ask it
A plan gets amended over a lifetime, so the price of a small update matters almost as much as the first fee. Some firms charge a modest flat amount, some bill hourly, and some include minor changes in a yearly program. When every update is priced like a new plan, people stop updating, which is how documents go stale.
Your plan
Based on what I have told you, which documents do you recommend, and what does each one do?
Why ask it
A complete plan usually has a document for who inherits, one for who handles your money if you cannot, and one for medical decisions, but let the attorney say what belongs in yours and why. Have each one tied to something specific about you. A recommendation that arrives before they have asked about your family or what you own is a package, not advice.
What would happen to my family and my property if I did nothing?
Why ask it
The law where you live already has a plan for you: a fixed order of heirs and someone appointed to take charge. Have the attorney apply it to your family by name. Sometimes the default is close to what you want, and hearing that is useful; more often one detail, such as who would manage a child's share, turns out to be the reason to plan.
What is the simplest plan that would do the job for me, and what would you add only if cost did not matter?
Why ask it
This separates what you need from what is nice to have. A fair attorney will describe the modest version without reluctance and then say what the extra would buy. If the simplest version is never offered, you are being sold the top of the range.
Would a will be enough for me, or do you think a living trust is worth the extra cost?
Why ask it
The answer depends on what you own, where you live and how the local courts handle estates, so expect reasons and not a slogan. Ask what a trust would do for you specifically that a will would not, and what it costs to set up and keep in order. An attorney who recommends a trust to every client, or to none, is not really looking at you.
Can you walk me through the month after my death under this plan: who does what?
Why ask it
A plan you cannot picture is hard to judge. You should come away knowing who has authority, whether a court is involved, how the bills get paid in the meantime and roughly when people receive anything. Put the same question again once the drafts exist, because a vague description then means a vague plan.
What is probate actually like in this county, and how much of it is worth avoiding in my case?
Why ask it
Probate is quick and cheap in some places and slow and costly in others, which is why advice that fits one state can be wrong in the next. Someone who files there regularly can give you typical time and cost for an estate your size. Weigh that against what the alternative costs to set up.
Who should I put in charge, and can one person hold several of the roles?
Why ask it
There may be an executor, a trustee, an agent for money and an agent for health care, and they need not be the same person. A useful answer describes what each job demands, so you can match the organized relative to the paperwork and the calm one to the hospital. Get a backup named for every role.
We have young children. What does the plan say about who raises them and who manages what they inherit?
Why ask it
For parents this is often the whole reason for the appointment. There are three things to settle: how a guardian is named where you live, who looks after the money until the children are grown, and at what age they would receive it outright if the documents said nothing. If the conversation drifts to tax within a minute, bring it back.
My family is not a simple one. Which parts of the plan need extra care because of that?
Why ask it
Say it out loud: stepchildren, an unmarried partner, a child you are estranged from, a relative with a disability or an addiction. An experienced planner will have seen your version before and can describe two or three ways families handle it. Be cautious if the response is a standard document with your names dropped in.
I plan to leave my children unequal shares. How do we set that up so it does not start a fight?
Why ask it
What the law allows differs by place, and so does who can challenge a plan, so ask about your state. Beyond the drafting, listen for practical advice: whether to explain the decision in a letter, whether to tell the children now, how notes of your meetings are kept. If you are leaving someone out entirely, raise that here too.
If I own a business or a rental, who keeps it running while my estate is sorted out?
Why ask it
Rent still comes in and staff still expect to be paid while the paperwork catches up, so the plan should say who can act and from what day, in a long illness as well as after a death. Take along any partnership or operating agreement, since it may already say what happens to an owner's share. If the attorney has little to say about succession, you need one who also does business work, or two lawyers who talk to each other.
Which decisions do I have to make at home before you can write a first draft?
Why ask it
Expect a short list: who inherits, who is in charge, who is the backup, who would raise the children. Write it down before you leave, since these are the choices that stall people for months. A good attorney offers ways to think about the hard ones without making them for you.
Is there anything in what I have told you that worries you?
Why ask it
Save this for late in the meeting, when they know enough to answer. The reply shows how closely they were listening: an old divorce decree, a jointly owned account, a beneficiary who is bad with money. 'No, it all looks standard' can be true, but only if they have asked plenty of questions first.
Incapacity
Which documents protect me if I am alive but cannot make my own decisions?
Why ask it
Most people come in thinking about death, and the documents for incapacity may be the ones used first. There is normally one for money and one for medical care, under names that vary by state. Ask what would happen without them, which in many places means a court process to appoint someone.
Does the financial power of attorney take effect right away, or only if I am incapacitated?
Why ask it
Both designs exist, and which are available and sensible depends on your state. One that waits for incapacity sounds safer but can leave your agent having to prove it to a bank at a bad moment. Find out which the attorney prefers and why, and how incapacity would be established.
What can my agent do with my money, and what do you recommend they not be allowed to do?
Why ask it
The document can be broad or narrow, and the sensitive powers are the ones that let an agent make gifts, change beneficiaries or alter a trust. A thoughtful drafter walks you through those choices one at a time. If the form is presented as one size for everyone, ask to see the list of powers anyway.
Will banks and investment firms accept your power of attorney, or do they want their own form?
Why ask it
Some institutions are slow to honor a document they did not write, and practice differs from one to the next. An attorney who has dealt with this will have a routine: sending the document to your bank now, or completing the bank's own form as well. Sorting it out while you are well takes a phone call; later it can take months.
Who makes medical decisions for me, and how do I record what I would want at the end of life?
Why ask it
The names differ by place: health care proxy, medical power of attorney, advance directive, living will. Ask which your state uses, whether they are one document or two, and who gets copies. A good attorney will also tell you the paper matters less than a conversation with the person you name.
Do the people I name need permission to see my medical records?
Why ask it
In the US a privacy release, often called a HIPAA authorization, is commonly signed with the health care documents so doctors can talk to your family. Check whether it is included, who is listed, and whether it works before anyone has declared you incapacitated. It is a small form for a common hospital problem.
What if the person I name is unavailable, or two family members disagree?
Why ask it
Backups in a set order are the usual fix. Naming two people to act together is the choice to ask about, since depending on the wording and the state it can require both signatures or stall on a disagreement. Have the attorney explain what happens if everyone you named has died or declined.
Should I be planning for the cost of long-term care, and is that something you do?
Why ask it
Paying for a nursing home or care at home is a separate field, often called elder law, with rules that depend heavily on the state and on timing. Some estate planners do it, and many refer it on. If a parent or spouse already needs care, say so in the first five minutes.
My child is turning 18. Do they need documents of their own?
Why ask it
Once a child is legally an adult, parents may no longer have an automatic right to medical information or to step in, and the rules depend on where you live and where they study. Many firms offer a short, inexpensive set for young adults. Skip this if your children are small, and put a reminder in the calendar.
Accounts and tax
Which of my assets pass by beneficiary form and not by the will or trust?
Why ask it
Bring a list of every account and policy and expect to be asked who is named on each, because for retirement accounts and life insurance that form, not the will, typically decides where the money goes. People are often surprised by how much of what they own sits in this column. If the attorney never asks, only part of your estate has been planned.
Will you review my beneficiary designations and tell me exactly what each one should say?
Why ask it
The best answer is a written sheet, account by account, with primary and backup wording you can copy onto the forms. Some firms fill in the forms with you, and others leave it to you or your financial adviser. Know which, because this is a step that easily gets left undone.
Should my retirement accounts name people directly or name a trust?
Why ask it
This is technical, and the tax rules for inherited retirement accounts have changed over the years, so you want an attorney who answers with current detail. Ask what your heirs would owe and how fast the money would have to come out under each choice. Hesitation here is a cue to ask whether they work with a tax adviser on it.
I have been told to add my child to my house deed or bank account. What do you think of that?
Why ask it
Joint ownership is a popular shortcut, and attorneys tend to have strong views on it. Ask what it would mean in your state for tax, for the child's creditors or divorce, and for your other children, who may be left out by accident. Bring the question even if you have already done it.
Is my estate anywhere near the size where estate or inheritance tax applies, federal or state?
Why ask it
Tax at death is far from universal: some states have their own estate or inheritance tax, many have none, and the thresholds move over time. The attorney should be able to tell you in a minute how far you are from the line and whether a change in the law could move it. Should the answer be 'nowhere close', be skeptical of expensive tax planning.
From a tax point of view, does it matter which asset goes to which person?
Why ask it
A retirement account, a house and a brokerage account can be taxed differently in an heir's hands, and the rules vary by country and change over time. It matters most if you give to charity or have heirs in very different tax positions. For a simple estate the answer may be that it makes little difference, which is worth hearing too.
Does it make sense for me to give money or property away while I am alive?
Why ask it
Lifetime gifts can be generous and still be a mistake for tax or for your own security, so treat this as a question, not a plan. Ask about gift reporting rules, the effect on an heir's later tax bill, and whether you might need the money yourself. The right first response from the attorney is a question about your own retirement budget.
Will you talk to my accountant and financial adviser, and is that time billed?
Why ask it
The plan, the tax return and the account titles need to agree, and they are kept by three different people. A short call or a shared summary usually does it. Settle who starts the contact and what it costs, and sign whatever permission the attorney needs to share your information.
Signing and upkeep
What happens at the signing, and who needs to be in the room?
Why ask it
Signing rules are strict and local: witnesses, a notary, who may not act as a witness. A firm that does this properly runs it as a short ceremony and brings its own witnesses. For anyone who cannot easily travel, ask whether a remote or at-home signing is allowed in your state.
After signing, what still has to be done, and who does it: your office or me?
Why ask it
Changing titles, recording a deed and updating beneficiary forms often come after the signing, and a plan can fail quietly if they are skipped. Get a written list with a name beside each task. Then find out whether anyone checks a few months later that it was all done.
Where should the originals be kept, and who gets copies?
Why ask it
Options include the firm's safe, a fireproof box at home, or a filing service some courts offer, and the right choice depends on local practice. Ask specifically about a bank safe deposit box, since access after a death can be a problem in some places. Whatever you choose, at least one person you named must know where to look.
What should I tell the people I have named, and when?
Why ask it
Someone who learns they are executor or health care agent in a crisis starts badly. Many attorneys suggest telling people their role, where the papers are and who to call, without necessarily sharing who inherits what. Some firms offer a family meeting or a letter you can hand over, so ask.
Where do I put what the documents leave out, like passwords, funeral wishes and where everything is kept?
Why ask it
A letter of instruction is informal and usually not legally binding, which is why it can hold what a will should not: account lists, logins, who to call, what kind of service you want. See whether the firm has a template. Keep it where your family can reach it without a court order.
How often should the plan be reviewed, and which life events mean I should call you?
Why ask it
Most attorneys suggest a look every few years and a call after anything that changes who is in your family or what you own. Get the firm's own list of those events and keep it with the documents. A plan that names a guardian for a child who is now thirty has not been read in a long time.
Will you contact me when the law changes, or is it up to me to check in?
Why ask it
Practice varies and it is better to know. Some firms send a newsletter or run a paid maintenance program with periodic reviews, and others consider the matter closed once you sign. Neither is wrong, but the second means the reminders are your job.
If I move to another state, does everything need to be redone?
Why ask it
The honest answer is usually 'have a local attorney read it', and a good one says so without talking down the idea of moving. Find out which parts of your plan are most likely to need rewording; the powers of attorney and health care forms are common candidates, because states tend to have their own versions. If you already know where you are headed, ask for a name there.
When I die, is my family obliged to hire your firm, and what would that cost them?
Why ask it
In general an executor or trustee can choose any lawyer, though you should ask how it works where you live and read what the documents say. A firm confident in its work will tell you so plainly and give a rough idea of its fees for settling an estate. Be wary of any wording that names the firm as the required attorney.
How to choose and meet an estate planning attorney
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Getting ready for the consultation
List what you own and how it is titled
One page is enough: the house and whose names are on the deed, each account with a rough balance and who is named as beneficiary, life insurance, any business. Titles and beneficiary forms decide more than most people expect, and an attorney cannot plan around accounts they have not been told about.
Say what you want in ordinary words
Before any legal terms, write three sentences: who should receive what, who should be in charge, who should decide for you if you are ill. Couples should each do this alone and then compare. A disagreement is better found at the kitchen table than in a meeting you are paying for.
Screen by phone or email
Most of the first two groups, Experience and Fees and process, can be put to the office before you book: how much of the practice is estate planning, whether the first meeting is charged, flat fee or hourly. Two or three short calls will narrow the field to the one or two attorneys worth meeting.
Bring the old paperwork
An existing will, trust or power of attorney, a divorce decree, a prenuptial agreement: each changes what the attorney can recommend. Bring copies even if you think they are out of date, because an old document may still be in force until something replaces it.
In the room
Tell the awkward parts
The estranged son, the loan to a daughter, the partner you never married, the account nobody else knows about. A plan built on the tidy version of your family will not fit the real one. If you are there as a couple, ask at the start how the attorney handles what each of you says.
Stop at every term you do not know
When a word goes past you, ask what it would mean for your family in practice. An attorney who explains patiently now will explain patiently to your executor later. Impatience in a first meeting is a preview of the phone call your spouse would get.
Write down the reason for each document
Next to everything the attorney recommends, note the fact about you that it answers: the trust because of the cabin in another state, the guardian clause because of the children. A recommendation you cannot pair with a reason is the one to raise again, and these notes are what you will compare if you meet a second attorney.
Leave with a price, a list and a date
Before you stand up, know what the plan will cost, which decisions are waiting on you and when the first draft should arrive. Then go home and think it over. Unless someone's health makes it urgent, nothing here has to be agreed on the day you first hear about it.
Choosing between attorneys
Line up what each quote includes
For each one, list the documents, whether both spouses are covered, revisions, the signing, help moving assets and the price of later changes. A lower flat fee that leaves the retitling and the beneficiary forms to you can be the more expensive choice once you count your time and the chance of never finishing.
Compare the advice as well as the price
If one attorney suggests a will and another a trust, ask each why, and put the other's reasoning to them. The one who can explain the difference in terms of your house, your children and your county has thought about you. The one who repeats a general case for the product has not.
Weigh who you would actually deal with
At a larger firm the person you met may hand the file to an associate; at a small one the attorney may be hard to reach in a busy month. Neither is wrong. Call each office once with a small question and see how long the answer takes.
Picture your family calling this office
The plan is used when you cannot speak for it, by a spouse or a child in a bad week. Ask yourself which attorney you would want them to phone. That is a fair tiebreaker when the quotes and the advice are close.
Signs to try another office
A product comes with the plan
A free seminar that ends in an annuity or insurance pitch is selling the product, with the documents as the way in. Planning advice should stand up on its own. Take any purchase recommendation to someone who earns nothing from it.
The same package for everyone
If every client leaves with the same set of documents, the questions about your family were a formality. Ask what they would recommend to someone with half your assets, or twice. If nothing changes, the advice was not about you.
Fear as the sales method
Stories about courts taking everything or tax swallowing an estate are meant to hurry you. Ask how the risk applies in your state to an estate your size, with numbers. A real risk survives that question and an inflated one does not.
Nobody asks about your accounts
A will or trust drafted without a look at how the house is titled and who is named on the retirement accounts and insurance covers only part of what you own. If the fee is agreed and the drafting has started and no one has asked for that list, the plan is being written from a form.