3 Factors to Consider When Choosing Estate Planning Attorneys

Passing down your life’s work to your family is no small thing. This is a hugely important and often complicated gesture that no individual should have to handle alone.

Many individuals planning for their futures hire estate planning attorneys to help manage the often tricky legal requirements of this kind of work.

If you’re looking to hire estate attorneys for this very reason, you may be curious about how to find the best lawyers for your own situation. What traits and qualities are important in an estate planning attorney?

There are a few factors that you’ll want to consider when hiring. Read on and we’ll walk you through what you need to know.

1. Experience Matters

If there’s one quality you’ll want to ensure exists in your ideal hire, it’s a background filled with experience. An experienced estate planning attorney, like those at Citadel Law Firm, will have handled cases just like yours many times in the past.

This experience has likely provided them with the know-how to navigate tricky situations that could easily provoke confusion among those who don’t know any better.

There are no laws that prevent attorneys from advertising themselves as estate planners, even if they’ve just started doing this kind of work. In order to ensure you’ll be getting quality service, you’ll want to ask about how many years the attorney in question has been doing this kind of work.

The more years of estate planning experience, the better.

2. How Do They Charge?

Another major factor you’ll need to consider when hiring an attorney is how they plan to charge you. There are some firms that charge by the hour, while others offer a flat fee for their services.

You’ll need to decide which you would prefer and how much the rate you’re facing appeals to the method the attorney suggests. Some by-the-hour attorneys are incentivized to work slower due to the pay structure.

However, if you decide to go with a flat fee estate planner you’ll want to ensure what exactly this flat fee covers. Ensure the fee is itemized so you can actually determine what it is you’re paying for.

Some law firms might also suggest a mixture of hourly charges and a fixed fee, which can work just as well. When comparing attorney fees from firm to firm, ensure you get clarity on where these charges are arising from.

3. Personality and Communication

You may find it funny to think the personality of an attorney is a major factor to consider, but it really is. You are putting a lot of trust and faith in this individual. You will also be spending a lot of time working with them.

The last thing you want to do is put yourself in a situation where you’re working with someone with who you don’t get along.

Make sure you can get along and communicate clearly — it will save you a lot of trouble and frustration down the line.

Hiring Estate Planning Attorneys the Right Way

If you’re struggling to determine which of the many estate planning attorneys to hire, the above information can be quite helpful. You’ll want to make sure the individual or firm you consider has the above qualities. This way, you can rest easy knowing your estate is in the proper hands.

Need more legal advice or information? Keep scrolling our blog for more.