In Eagle Mountain, Estate Planning allows clients to address their values, finances and legacy plan progress. For most professionals and entrepreneurs the importance of proper estate planning need not be stressed. When you hear the term estate, it refers to everything that you have worked hard to accumulate. Your home, real estate, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, cars, life insurance, business interests, artwork and jewelry. Without proper planning and based on the amount of total assets that you own there could be a hefty tax bill to upwards of 55%. Additionally, your beneficiaries may also be delayed and inconvenienced with all of the requirements in settling your estate.
When you arrive at the important decision to hire an estate planner you want the best for your family. You will have to consider if you want a traditional estate planner who only focuses on the hard numbers and physical assets or would you prefer a holistic counselor who also incorporates legacy development and planning into the process. Conscientious adults make an effort to bank with the best, invest with the best and associate with the best. When seeking to hire a planner the qualities you need to look for include the following.
Trustworthiness in Estate Planning
The sensitivity of your personal financial matters dictates that you need to have a high level of trust in the counselor who assists you with planning. Most high net worth individuals utilize a team approach that includes their accountant, their financial advisor and an estate planning attorney. Each of these professionals typically are competent and knowledgeable and have earned the clients trust over time and through reputation. The importance of using the team is that most already have these separate advisors in place, in order to keep an orderly ship, communication and collaboration is stressed so that all goals can be working simultaneously toward similar objectives. A separate approach often leads to undesired inefficiencies.
Estate Planning Professionalism
You should hire an estate planning lawyer in Eagle Mountain Utah that is highly professional. Your estate planning lawyer should be a recognized leader in his or her field and typically hold a special certification or advanced legal degree. In many instances your estate planning lawyer will be standing in your shoes as a professional representative of your interests and affairs. It is important that such an important representative properly represent your family’s good will and precious resources. If you have a complicated situation or lots of assets, choose someone experienced with complex situations and issues so they will always be a shining reflection of your initial decision to hire them in the first place.
Estate Ethics
Since estate planning will deal with all or most of your assets, you should hire an estate planning lawyer that is reliable and ethical. This fact can be checked by asking the lawyer if anyone has ever filed a complaint against them in the past. Most will answer honestly, but it is a question of ethics so one should always stay alert. An ethical estate planning lawyer should consider all your needs and best interests above everything else. An ethical planner will always provide sound and legal advice and never recommend faddish or illegal scams to save or hide money.
Commitment To Your Estate Plan
Commitment to a high standard of quality is a good characteristic in an estate planning attorney. Your planner should provide a warm and courteous environment that fosters a sense of security and accomplishment. Attention to the smallest detail in addressing every last issue in your legacy and estate planning process is the trademark of and excellent planning institution. Your planner is willing to stay until the job is complete and will not have problems working with your investment advisor, accountant and insurance professional. In the most productive relationships your planner is a multi-generational partner who will work with you side-by-side through a process that at times can be long and arduous, but is made simple and enjoyable due to their enthusiasm and pride in their work.
When you take the time to consider the long term implications of preparing a solid plan the question of who will prepare my plan becomes far more important. Utilize these tips and you should find a rewarding and securing planning experience just around the corner.
Hiring an Estate Planning Attorney
You should consider several different questions before you sign an agreement with any attorney, but this is even more important when it comes to hiring a wills, trusts or estate attorney. This attorney will address sensitive family and financial issues that range from helping you pass assets on to your children and close family members, to protecting you from unnecessary taxes, to helping you determine the best person to make medical decisions on your behalf. This is why you need to know the answers to the seven questions discussed in this special report.
Does the attorney offer a free consultation and will he explain what will happen at this initial meeting?
An attorney should offer you a free, no hassle consultation. First, meeting him or her will help to put you at ease and will give you a chance to discuss your case in a frank manner. You will also have a chance to ask questions and to determine if this is an attorney whom you can trust to address your legal concerns. Second, it gives the attorney the opportunity to ask you questions and to learn more about your case. You might discover that you do not get along very well with this attorney. Conversely, the attorney may realize that your case is not the type that he wants to take or is not related to his field of expertise. For this type of relationship to work in an effective and productive manner, both you and your attorney need to be able to work together comfortably.
Does the attorney offer a flat fee for the services that he will perform and will this be put in writing?
Every attorney should use a written agreement, which is known as a retainer agreement. In this agreement, the attorney should clearly state the fee that you will be charged and honor this agreement. The attorney should clearly explain the fee, the services that he will perform, and should also clearly explain the options that are available to you to pay this fee. You should not sign this agreement until you understand how much you will be charged, what the attorney will do for you, what information he will need from you, any deadlines involved, and any other obligations that you are required to perform. You should always feel free to ask the attorney questions if you do not understand something in the agreement or otherwise. You should also ask about the expected completion of the work. A flat fee encourages the attorney to work in an efficient manner and also prevents you from receiving an unexpectedly large bill upon the completion of the services. This can happen if it takes the attorney longer to complete the work than he initially thought.
Does the attorney guarantee his service? Will he refund your money if you are not completely satisfied?
Your attorney works for you and is being paid to help you plan your estate. You should not tolerate an attorney that will not refund your money if you are not completely satisfied with the work. Additionally, your attorney should be willing to revise your documents that he is initially drafting. However, after he has drafted them and you have expressed your satisfaction, you should not expect the attorney to revise these documents unless you have kept the attorney on retainer. Please note that no attorney will guarantee results if your matter is being litigated in court.
Will the attorney help you make wise choices about insurance, saving for your children’s college, and retirement planning?
Your attorney should help you make decisions about the most appropriate documents and vehicles to accomplish your estate planning objectives, but should also assist you with buying insurance, saving for college, planning for retirement, and all of the other challenging decisions that will arise. In fact, your attorney should have a team of trusted advisors in place in order to help you make the best possible decisions. If your attorney is unable or unwilling to advise you on these matters, then you should seek out an attorney who will do so. Having such an attorney will prevent you from making expensive and unnecessary mistakes, and will save you time in having to hunt for additional advisors.
5. Does your attorney have a process in place to respond to your phone calls and emails quickly in case questions arise? Will your attorney keep you informed about how your matter is progressing?
Your attorney should be able to answer your phone calls, emails, and questions quickly. You are paying this attorney for service and for professional guidance and attention, not just for the drafting of your estate planning documents. How often have you heard from friends and loved ones about an attorney that takes days, weeks or more to respond to phone calls? Do not tolerate such unprofessional behavior. Ask your attorney about this and if he is unable to convince you that he has such a process in place, then continue your search for an attorney that will get back to you in a time efficient manner.
6. Does your attorney have a process for helping you capture and pass on not only your physical and financial wealth, but also your intellectual and spiritual assets, as well as what is important to you?
Some attorneys recognize that wealth is not measured solely by your net worth, by the value of your brokerage and retirement accounts, but is also measured by who you are as a person. Your intangible assets, such as lessons that you have learned over a lifetime of building wealth, or the wisdom you have accumulated through your life experiences that you would like your children to know more about, are very valuable, almost priceless. These should not be forgotten. When deciding whether to hire an attorney, be sure to select someone who will help you capture, document, and pass on all of your assets, including those intangible ones that are often overlooked.
Will your attorney make sure that your assets are structured and owned in the right way?
You could hire an attorney at the largest firm around and pay him an exorbitant fee, but if your assets are not titled and owned in the right manner, then the plan that he created will not work for you. The attorney that you plan to hire should be willing to ensure not only that your documents are drafted correctly, but also that your assets are structured properly. Do not be afraid to ask these questions before you hire an attorney to work with your family on legal planning matters. When you find an attorney that says yes to these questions, hire him or her quickly before the practice fills up and he or she stops taking on new clients. Asking these questions and hearing the right answers before you engage a lawyer to work on your wills, trusts, and estate will ensure you put in place legal planning for your family that will work when you need it.
Estate Planning Attorney – Advice On Selecting The Best For You
Taking care of what will happen to your estate after you pass on is a very important task to take care of in advance. There is nothing quite so frustrating for relatives to have to work out amongst themselves as that of inheritance. This process can cause additional pain and suffering in an already sensitive time, so you owe it to those whom you love to work out your will to save them the trouble. This type of lawyer is not merely concerned with your will. He or she will help you with issues regarding that of your living will and financial plans. This person is essential if there are wishes you need to be carried out after you are gone. You may want to meet with a few different professionals that deal with this special field of the law. It is best not to sign any documents until after meeting with Ascent Law.
Your decision should weigh in regards to whether your attorney specializes in this legal area or not. There are practitioners that primarily focus on estate planning, so try to choose one that does so. Inexperience and lack of dedication only serve to open up the possibilities of errors occurring. Perhaps pick a firm that spends about half of its time on cases such as these. After your final choice of lawyer has been made, be sure to have them sign a retainer agreement. This will outline the specificities of your relationship with this professional. It is best to obtain a copy of this document for yourself.
You will want to find out specifically who will be handling your documents. Many law offices may advertise under a specific attorney’s name, but a lot of the work is done my assistants and paralegals. If it makes you more comfortable to know that the individual you have been meeting with will handle your business, then clarify if this is to be the case. If the primary attorney at the firm will not be handling your documents, then be sure to make time to meet with the paralegal that will be helping you. It is best to communicate your needs with everyone who takes part in this process.
You will want to check to make sure the primary lawyer double checks the work done by paralegals. This is a requirement of law firms, but asks to be sure. Also, be sure to inform your relatives as to where your will and other documents are to be found, should anything happen to you. Your lawyer will have copies of this information, but it will be easier for everyone if people have this information readily available. Finding a qualified Eagle Mountain estate-planning practitioner is not hard. It can be easy to take care of this process, so long as you have found an individual that is most comfortable to meet with. Planning out the details of your will and finances can be sensitive and require a good amount of though, so take the time to locate the best possible advisor.
Free Initial Consultation with Lawyer
It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. Legal problems come to everyone. Whether it’s your son who gets in a car wreck, your uncle who loses his job and needs to file for bankruptcy, your sister’s brother who’s getting divorced, or a grandparent that passes away without a will -all of us have legal issues and questions that arise. So when you have a law question, call Ascent Law for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you!
8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C
West Jordan, Utah
84088 United States
Telephone: (801) 676-5506
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