Preparing to Consult an Estate Planning Attorney

Estate planning attorney consultation tips can make the difference between a smooth, productive meeting and one that leaves you overwhelmed and unprepared. The saying “those who fail to prepare should prepare to fail” may sound like a cliché, but at the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, we see its truth play out in legal matters every day. When it comes to something as important and personal as estate planning, good intentions aren’t enough. Without preparation, even the most well-meaning efforts can result in costly mistakes or missed opportunities that impact your family’s future. That’s why following key estate planning attorney consultation tips is essential for ensuring your time with your attorney leads to a solid, effective plan.

When it comes to meeting with an estate planning attorney for a consultation, you may not have the foggiest idea of what you should be preparing for. Unlike a family law or other civil case, it is not as if you are going to be filing a case against another person or that another person has sued you (likely). Rather, you are getting in touch with an attorney to take the first steps toward learning more about the estate planning process. In your mind, you will be relying upon the lawyer to perform most of the heavy lifting for you. You brought your checkbook, ready to write the check and make it happen.

Planning now shapes your legacy later

While you wouldn’t be the first person to go about the process of estate planning in this way, you also wouldn’t be the first person who would potentially suffer the consequences for having done so. You can wander your way into a meeting with an attorney, but it is difficult to just wander out and simultaneously accomplish all your goals. Goal setting is an important part of this discussion, but if you don’t know where to begin, it is difficult to imagine a scenario where you could effectively create goals for yourself. How do you get from Point A, where you are now, to Point B, where you want to get to with your estate plan?

A great deal of that discussion has to do with understanding that at some point in time, you and I will no longer be living. That is to say that we will die. This is an unavoidable part of life and one that you may ponder from time to time. Every person knows that our time on earth is finite. However, many of us don’t stop considering the consequences of this unavoidable truth. The actions we take now and the steps we follow to plan for end-of-life scenarios directly shape how our families and beneficiaries will be supported when that time comes. If we choose to be proactive and plan for the end of our lives, then those people will remember our legacy as such. However, if we choose to be idle and do nothing regarding end-of-life planning, then there can be consequences for those we care about the most.

What is a consultation?

Simply put, a consultation with an attorney is an opportunity for you to share information about your circumstances, receive information about the law, and discuss any questions you may have about estate planning. In some cases, this may be your first experience ever talking to and turning to a legal matter. Going to an unfamiliar office to speak with an attorney, or even speaking to one over the phone, can be a bit of an intimidating experience. This is not even to mention how the subject matter that you will be discussing is extremely personal and can be uncomfortable to discuss as well.

Fortunately for you, an inexperienced estate planning attorney will understand this and can help guide your discussion in a productive direction. Do not go into these consultations with the assumption that the attorney is going to judge you or think less of you because you may not have a great understanding of the world of estate planning. On the contrary, the attorney understands that most people do virtually nothing in their entire lives when it comes to estate planning. Rather, most people wait until the very end of their lives to get their affairs in order. The fact that you are being proactive and even thinking about this subject when you have an opportunity speaks volumes about your character as well as your desire to leave a strong legacy for your family.

Be prepared with the basic information for your family

When you schedule a free consultation with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, be ready to provide basic information if we request it. We ask for this information only to prepare for your consultation—not to store it or use it for any other purpose. Our estate planning attorneys want to be able to understand your family on a basic level, as well as your financial situation. When we understand the makeup of your family and your financial circumstances and goals, the attorney who meets with you can better provide you with information that may be of assistance to you when it comes to estate planning.

Ultimately, our office does not want to waste your time. We aim to share information with you as efficiently as possible, ensuring you feel well-guided without wasting your time. The more specific you can be with the information you provide to our office, the better information we can give you as far as what might be in your best interests in that of your family, considering your goals. Incomplete or less than accurate information means that our office can only provide you with a limited amount of benefit in this consultation. Since we want to make it worth you’re while, the more thorough you can be, the better for you and our attorney.

Begin to gather important documents

Whether you get them ready for a consultation with one of our attorneys or for the process of drafting the will itself, you will need to begin to collect important documentation that is critical to the estate planning process. Do not expect an attorney from our office to sit down with you and pour over the details of each of these documents. However, the sooner you can locate these documents, the better off you will be. It can be quite frustrating to be ready to draft a will, only to find that you cannot locate one document or another. Rather, spend the time locating these documents now so that you will not have to do so later in the process.

If you plan to move property into a trust, gather all deeds and confirm how the property is titled. You’ll need the exact ownership language and legal description. While you can find this online, having a physical deed is essential. If it’s not filed with the courthouse, take care of it during estate planning.

More simple financial documents include bank statements as well as investment account statements. Bank statements include accounts like checking, savings, and money markets that you may have at your local credit union or bank. Investment accounts include brokerage or retirement savings like your IRA or 401K. Your statements must clearly show where each account is held, along with the account numbers and current balances. You can download a PDF that includes all this information. Your attorney will use these details to prepare a complete list of your assets for inclusion in your will.

Things to keep in mind if you are a business owner

Being a small business owner or entrepreneur means that you have a few other considerations to keep in mind as you plan for end-of-life scenarios and general estate planning. Owning a small business requires you to invest time and effort into building its structure and developing a solid business plan. Once you hire an attorney for estate planning, provide them with any business agreements or documents that outline how your business is organized. This includes any leases or other agreements that purchase property or other assets related to a business.

Include any documents in your estate plan that outline what should happen to your business or property interests after your death. These documents are crucial for detailing whether to sell or transfer ownership and must appear in your will or trust. Your business partners will depend on your estate planning to protect their interests and ensure a smooth transition when you pass away.

What to do if you already have a will or trust

If you have already created a will, trust, or other power of attorney document and you should bring those with you whenever you meet with the attorney, even for a first appointment. Whatever you and your new attorney decide to do as far as amending a document, it is important to make sure that you are following any terms laid out in any of the prior forms. You can revise a will easily, but other documents may require updates based on prior terms.

At this stage, you should also decide whether you want to keep the same executor or other persons with the power of attorney for your case. Talk with your attorney about who in your life is best suited to serve as your executor. You may need to update your choices. While it is not necessary to update your executor or other persons in estate planning documents, it may be worth considering the length of time between now and the last time you updated these documents.

Many people assume that they should choose their oldest child to fulfill these responsibilities. Rather, you should take stock of your family and choose the person who you think is most capable of fulfilling these roles. It may be that it is your oldest child who is in the best position to share the responsibility. However, it might be someone else completely different that you had never considered previously. Either way, you should put some serious thought into this subject and then make sure to contact the proposed executor or trustee to make sure that he or she is comfortable and competent to fulfill their role as a part of your estate plan.

How do you want to divide your assets out of the estate?

This is probably the most intentional you need to be during the entire estate planning process. Being able to select what property of yours goes to which person is one of the great rights that we as Americans hold. The alternative is that a probate court judge would make those decisions for you. Imagine a family member, friend, or another person who could stand to benefit from your generosity and property, who would go without because you were not intentional about creating an estate plan.

Start thinking about who gets what

When you first meet with an estate planning attorney, it would be wise to think about what you want to do as far as dividing property. It doesn’t have to be a final draft or even all that well thought out at this stage. All you need to do is sit and think. Who could stand to benefit most from your property after you pass on? Who do you want to receive the property? Sometimes the answer to these questions is the same person. Sometimes it will be a different person. Either way, it pays to have some idea of what you want to do before meeting with an attorney. That way, the attorney can provide you with their basic impressions of your plan and at least give you some things to consider.

Being comfortable enough to ask questions of your attorney is a key part of this entire process. Remember that you are there to learn. The attorney that you meet with should be prepared to act as a teacher and listener rather than someone who spends the entire meeting talking. While you will need an attorney to provide you with feedback, that can only occur once he or she has spent a fair portion of a meeting doing some listening. Only then can you get a fair idea of what the attorney thinks about your plan.

What to expect from your attorney

One of the most basic questions that I think more people should ask, but rarely do, is how we as attorneys work on cases. How an attorney works on a client’s case may differ a great deal from how you work on a project at your job. Understanding the timeline of a case, how much work goes into drafting documents, how many times you can expect to meet with the attorney before your documents are ready, and a host of other steps can be learned simply by asking. I find that people are a lot more understanding of delays and more trusting of us as attorneys if you know what we are doing with our time and your money. When you have an open line of communication with your attorney, then you can stand to accomplish a great deal as a team. That all begins at the initial consultation.

Otherwise, there is not a whole lot that goes into a consultation with an attorney for an estate planning matter. Simply sitting down and going over what you think is important, what you worry about the most, and what your circumstances are is what the meeting will amount to. No magic happens in one of these consultations. However, you can find yourself in a stronger position because of meeting with an attorney. Information is power, and that is where a great attorney is worth their weight in gold. If you don’t believe me, you can give our office a call right now to put my theory to the test.

Conclusion

In conclusion, following smart estate planning attorney consultation tips ensures you make the most of your time and investment. By organizing your documents, outlining your goals, and understanding your family’s needs ahead of time, you give your attorney the tools to build a strong, personalized plan. Preparation empowers you to ask the right questions, avoid common mistakes, and create a strategy that truly protects your legacy. With the right approach, your estate planning consultation becomes a powerful step toward peace of mind and long-term security for your loved ones.

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