Common mistakes estate owners make is taking estate planning with levity and considering it to be a DIY activity. An estate plan covers a lot more than just handing out inheritance after your death, it offers assets evaluation, asset protection, tax planning, healthcare provisions and insurance. A properly prepared and well-suited estate plan oversees the proper management of your assets, and final bequest of inheritance to designated beneficiaries.
What makes a great estate planning attorney?
The success of your estate plan is reflective of the professionalism of your estate planning attorney, he his highly instrumental to the preparation and execution of your plan. The first step to take before making your estate plan is to seek a New York estate planning lawyer when you decide to plan your estate and there is no better time than now.
Various attributes or qualities define the level of professionalism of an estate planning lawyer. In fact, these qualities will greatly influence your plan and reflect measures taken to achieve them. They include;
Effective communication skills:
An estate planning lawyer should be really sound, coherent and articulate. They must be able to convey the most of vital information in the simplest format understandable by the estate owner. In addition, it is essential for courtroom sessions, as they need to argue convincingly.
Great listening skills:
Lawyer have to make you comfortable to share intimate information with them, which goes a long way in successfully creating the best plan you deserve.
Research and analytical skills:
Law practices require absorption and comprehension of massive quantity of data and as such a professional lawyer must be able to critically make the most of it by processing them into useful information that helps the estate plan.
Judgment:
Decisiveness is also a part of judgment. A professional lawyer must be able to draw logical assumptions and conclusions from limited information. A good sense of judgement makes it possible for best decisions to be made without being watered down by sentiment.
Perseverance:
Seeing an estate plan to a successful finish is not a walk in the park, there are bound to be several rough paths. Depending on the complexity of your estate plan, the processes of probate and litigation can become overbearing and as such you will need an attorney who is able to initiate workable and effective solutions to any dispute that may come up.
Integrity:
This is an essential quality to look out for in your potential estate lawyer. Dishonesty and various types of unethical approaches can be uncovered in legal proceedings most times a means to bring the process of planning up to speed or to win a case. These shortcuts when critically accessed can yield serious legal implications. To avoid this mishap, it is best you hire an estate planning attorney that cares so much about upholding moral standards and values as much as you do.
Legal soundness:
State and federal laws that govern estate affairs change with years and are dynamic, what works ten years back will most likely not work this ten years later. A great attorney is one who is well versed and up to date with these changing laws. This attribute also influences ability to address a court room of your best interest regarding your estate.
How can an Estate Planning attorney help You?
An estate planning attorney helps in several stages of the estate planning process. Even after the event of incapacity or death, they continue to oversee the desires of the estate owner. Below are some of the benefits of hiring one.
Prepare important estate planning documents
A great estate planning attorney will help you prepare wills, living trust, durable power of attorney, healthcare proxy, tax evaluation and every other document that not only mirrors your best interest and affords you several benefits but also documents that are legally deemed worthy and in compliance with state and federal law that govern estate affairs in New York.
Recommendations of great estate planning attorney will come from colleagues, friends, family relative and even online. Check with these options to find one with the aforementioned qualities, but it is essential that you hire one from a reputable firm in New York, to begin a suitable estate planning for you and your loved ones, contact us today.
