Finding the right qualities in your estate planning attorney matters, we thrive for excellence.
An estate planning lawyer can help ensure that your family and loved ones are taken care of after you pass. Here are a few qualities to look for in a lawyer.
The United States has around 1,327,910 licensed attorneys as of 2021. While this is a large number, not all of those attorneys will be right for you and your needs. If you're looking for an estate planning attorney, you might be wondering what you should look for.
What kind of qualities should the best estate planning lawyer in Arizona have? What factors should you avoid? Keep reading and learn more about hiring the right estate planning attorneys for your needs.
1. An Arizona Lawyer With a Specialization in Estate Planning
It might seem obvious to choose a lawyer who specializes in estate planning. Estate Planning law is very specific. But many people choose lawyers who only know a little about this field. It is best to choose a lawyer who specializes in estate planning because they are far more knowledgeable.
They can also help you more regarding any questions you have when creating an estate plan. They will have helped hundreds of other people with their estate planning services. They will likely have some advice on how you can make your estate planning as secure as possible.
A more specialized lawyer will also know more about the very niche details of estate planning. They will know a little about business law and real estate law, as well as probate law. This can help improve your estate plan even more. This ensures that you won't end up with a lawyer who hardly knows what he or she is doing.
2. Good Listening Skills
If you're looking for legal counsel, you need to make sure you hire a lawyer with good listening skills. If you see that a lawyer isn't very good at listening to you, you should look for another lawyer. An attentive lawyer will be more interested in your concerns regarding your estate plan.
The right estate planning attorney will care about your specific needs and he/she will create estate planning documents that are right for your family.
You might want to separate your assets in a very specific way. Or you may want particular family members to inherit your assets but not others. If your lawyer isn't listening to you, they might not consider these specifications.
This could ruin your estate plan for you and your family. But this will never happen with a lawyer with good listening skills. Such an attorney will instead hang onto every word you say to make sure that no mistakes are made. Read more about the most common estate planning mistakes here.
This will also ensure that your estate plan is very high-quality. Working with an estate planning attorney with good listening skills is also far less frustrating and stressful.
3. Clear and Consistent Communication
Any good estate lawyer needs to have good communication skills. If your lawyer doesn't know how to communicate with you, you might not know if your estate plan is turning out how you want it. You want a lawyer that will explain every step of the process. Estate planning lawyers need to have great communication skills to talk about things like a living will and an advance healthcare directive. They need to talk to you about estate taxes.
This will prevent you from being confused or frustrated as you create your plan. The lawyer should also be consistent. You don't want a lawyer who communicates with you clearly one day and then not at all the next.
Consistency will keep the estate planning process running smoothly and efficiently. This ensures that your estate plan will be on the right track until it's finally done. Experienced attorneys will manage your expectation well.
Providing legal advice requires extensive experience in different areas of law like estate administration, probate administration, trust administration, retirement planning, etc. Estate planners need to provide professional advice in so many different areas of law.
4. Quick and Efficient
No one wants a lawyer who takes forever to complete different tasks. But several lawyers take longer than necessary to do things. If you're already older, you don't want to wait any longer to set up your estate plan. You want to make sure you avoid probate in Arizona.
You should get your plan set up right away. But this will be a problem if your lawyer is taking their time putting things together. You instead want a lawyer who works quickly and efficiently.
This ensures that the many steps of the estate planning process will be over before you know it. You can then rest easy with your new estate plan protecting your assets.
5. Plenty of Experience
Experience is important for any lawyer. You don't want a lawyer fresh out of law school. While they might know the basics of estate law, they might not know how to solve new and unexpected problems. That is specially important if you need help with estate planning for a blended family.
They also might know the best ways to plan your estate. But this will be easier for a more experienced lawyer. The more years of experience a lawyer has, the better. If you need help with retirement plans having an estate planning attorney with a financial background helps as well.
This is because a lawyer with more experience will know how to better deal with different problems and solutions. Such a lawyer might also give you better advice on how to plan your estate.
6. Guides You Through the Process
A good lawyer will make sure you never get lost in the estate planning process. This is important because this process can be complicated if you've never gone through it before. A good lawyer will explain every part of the process and why each part is significant. If you are a business owner the estate planning attorney will need to know about legal issues related to business law.
The lawyer will also tell you about the different planning options such as different types of trusts. This will make it easier for you to choose the best options for your estate plan. It will also make the process far less stressful and frustrating. Estate planning attorneys are also know as Trust attorneys sometimes.
7. Keeps Your Best Interests at Heart
A good lawyer should always prioritize your interests and requests. A lawyer's job is to advise you in the best way possible. But if you want things done a specific way, the lawyer should respect your wishes. You need to feel confident with the lawyer that you choose.
The lawyer can continue helping you achieve the results you want for your estate plan. Most people want to avoid probate but they forget about their decision makers. The attorney will have to talk to you about power of attorneys, like a general power of attorney, a healthcare power of attorney and your healthcare decisions, as well as living wills.
All About Choosing an Estate Planning Lawyer
Having an experienced estate planning attorney on your side is a great way to make the estate planning process much easier. An Arizona lawyer will guide you through your options and help you make the best decision for your assets. Find the best surprise estate planning attorney today!
Citadel Law Firm is please to help you. We offer a free consultation for you to see if we are the right estate planning lawyer for you. Our law firm always have your best interest in mind and we respect your unique circumstances.
Call today at (480)565-8020 to schedule your free estate planning consultation with one of your estate planning attorneys. We will be pleased to help. Or click here to schedule your free consultation in our office today.
We offer fixed price estate plans for your legal documents. We also offer power of attorneys plans only on a fixed price, which will include a healthcare power of attorney, a general power of attorney and a living will.
To learn more about how it works, check out the legal services we offer.