Why do I need an Estate Planning Attorney?

Would you have your regular doctor do your heart surgery?

Sounds like a stupid question, right? However, the same could be said for choosing the right attorney for your estate planning.  Unfortunately, the legal profession does not have specialties, like the medical profession. You have to guess whether your attorney is qualified to guide you on your estate planning options.

It seems that every brochure or letter you receive from your bank, financial advisor, or brokerage firm asks if you have done your “Estate Plan.” Fact is, your bank, financial advisor or brokerage firm can only help you with the financial planning aspects of your estate. You need a qualified Estate Planning attorney to draft the legal documents that create an Estate Plan for you. At Carrier Law, we want to work with your financial advisor and accountant.  We encourage our families to have us include their financial professionals in the funding of their Trusts. Our team approach brings “peace of mind” to the families we serve because they know we’re working together to ensure their retirement goals are met.

Many attorneys attend a short seminar to learn a certain area of law and then immediately add it to their existing law practice. The intricacies around estate, Medicaid and tax planning are extensive. Not only does the attorney need a thorough knowledge of probate law, estate administration, trust, asset protection and Medicaid laws, they must also have an extensive knowledge of income tax, estate tax, gift tax, generation-skipping tax and excise tax laws. All of these areas intertwine and have a significant impact on your estate plan.

While general attorneys may have some knowledge of the law and be able to guide you through certain parts of the estate or Medicaid planning processes, they will not be aware of the many exceptions and details an attorney who limits his practice to only estate planning will know.

An attorney, who does traffic court one day, divorce on another, business law on the third day and sues for personal injury on the fourth, will not have the experience and knowledge of the loopholes as an attorney who practices exclusively in estate planning. If you’re looking for a divorce, find an attorney that focuses on divorce. If you want estate planning, utilize an attorney that focuses on estate planning.