Questions you might want to ask your estate planning attorney at your first consultation.
Every adult needs an estate plan that is curated to his or her specific needs. This means that you should meet with a qualified and reputable estate planning attorney in your area. Your estate planner will go over a variety of topics with you, but what should you be ready to ask about your estate plan?
(Yes, I am an attorney, but I am not your attorney. Nothing in this post should be construed as legal advice or to create an attorney-client relationship. The information in this site is purely informational and educational. Please consult with your own attorney regarding your personal circumstances.)
(If you want to know what your estate planner will ask you, check this post out.
If you are looking for an estate planning questionnaire, check this out.)
WHAT QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT YOUR ESTATE PLAN?:
Here are several questions that you should ask your estate planner at your initial estate planning consultation.
1. How much does it cost?
Probably your biggest fear about talking to an estate planning attorney is the cost. However, in my office, I make every effort to accommodate the budgets and financial constraints of all of my clients.
You might even be pleasantly surprised that it is not nearly as expensive as you thought!
However, before you leave, or even before you meet, you should know the basic cost of an estate plan from your chosen estate planner.
Although your cost will vary drastically depending on your needs, assets, and family situation, an estate planner will be able to give you an estimated cost after your initial consultation.
Many estate planners don’t charge anything just to talk with them.
Before you leave, don’t hesitate to ask your attorney: “How much will this cost?”
2. How long will it take to prepare?
For some, time is of the essence when it comes to estate plans.
But, the fact of the matter is that your attorney not only has other clients, but he has to take the time to actually prepare the documents.
Contrary to popular belief, your personally tailored estate plan isn’t readily waiting on the shelf or online. Instead, your estate planner will take the time to make sure that the details of your estate plan accommodate your needs and wishes.
This all takes time.
Before you leave your attorney’s office, you should know about how long the entire process will take and when you can expect correspondence from your attorney.
Further, if you have an upcoming trip, a planned medical procedure, or other reason why your estate plan needs to be rushed, tell your estate planning attorney. These and other reasons are extremely relevant to your plan, and your estate planner may take measures to accommodate your schedule.
3. Are there other options?
As an estate planning attorney, I am often guilty of skipping straight to the point.
I collect my client’s information and their family information. I assess their situation and deduce a plan that best fits the client.
However, sometimes I fail to explain to my client that there are other options.
If your estate planner has suggested an estate plan for your needs and family, ask if there are other options.
A good estate planning attorney will be happy to discuss the different methods of estate planning with you and explain to you why he settled on your plan.
4. What is the best plan in your opinion?
In the same vain, ask your estate planner why he settled on this particular plan for you.
If there are 2 or 3 ways to achieve the same goals, ask why this plan is the best.
Sometimes my clients wonder why I recommend a trust or why I recommend beneficiary planning instead. I am happy to discuss with them that the type of assets they own, the jurisdiction, or even their blended family all require consideration of different plans.
To read more about why you might want to consider a trust, click here. LINK
5. Does this plan provide Medicaid planning?
Even if you will never qualify for Medicaid, many people still want to know whether or not their plan has Medicaid protections in it.
Most people want to at least discuss long-term care costs, the consequences of a clawback, and alternate methods of transferring wealth.
Therefore, it is important to understand whether your trust, estate plan, or beneficiary planning takes Medicaid into account.
For many clients, Medicaid planning is not appropriate. For many others, their plans can be changed at anytime to prepare for Medicaid. In any event, you should ask the question and find out how Medicaid fits into your estate plan.
6. Does this plan provide against potential liabilities?
Spendthrift trusts, business planning, joint ownership, and more –all estate planning considerations that provide protection against potential liabilities.
(To read more about why I never recommend that you make a non-spouse a joint owner, click here.)
Neither your will nor your power of attorney will protect you against judgments, creditors, or accidents. However, an LLC, a corporation, or some types of trusts will ensure that your children don’t lose all of your money, that your creditors don’t take your children’s money, and more.
You can limit your liabilities with a variety of estate planning techniques. If liability is a concern for you, then you should ask your attorney how your plan protects you or your family from potential liabilities.
7. Does this plan give me the most autonomy?
In my office, I often describe estate planning techniques on a scale from complete autonomy to complete loss of control.
While many clients want to protect against taxes, Medicaid, creditors, and every other conceivable expense, they are more reticent to relinquish any control.
In order to achieve complete protection, you are more likely to have to give up control over your assets. Most people don’t like that.
Therefore, you should understand what restrictions your estate planning puts on your control. Do you have to run all decisions through a trustee? Do you need to file a separate tax return? Will you be able to sell your property or mortgage it?
8. Will I owe tax?
Most people also want to know whether they or their beneficiaries will have to pay income, estate, or gift taxes.
While the 2021 lifetime exclusion amount exceeds $11.7 million dollars, there are still other tax consequences for you and your family.
Although you will always want to discuss your tax consequences and the particulars of your income, gifts, assets, and capital investments with a tax professional, your estate planning attorney can help guide you.
Your estate planner will be able to talk about the taxability of transfers to an irrevocable trust, filing against your lifetime exclusion, and how to keep your beneficiaries from paying any estate or inheritance taxes.
Be sure to ask your attorney about the tax consequences of your estate plan.
ASK YOUR ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEY ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE
Every adult needs an estate plan, and every parent needs to have at least these 4 documents.
However, you should also have the space and the opportunity to ask questions of your estate planning attorney. If you don’t know what to ask, start with these!
Leave me a note in the comments if you have other recommendations for good questions to ask an estate planner!