Top 5 Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Estate Planning Lawyer

 Before hiring an estate planning lawyer in California to guide you, your family, or your business, you need to mandatorily ask the following questions to ensure that you don’t pay a lot of money for services that aren’t required, or expected, or wanted by you. Choosing an attorney shouldn’t be an intimidating experience. Rather, it can be the most empowered decision you can make for yourself. 

 

1. How Much Will It Cost for the Initial Metting? 

 

At the very outset, you need to call the offices of the lawyers who you will meet with to handle your planning. Don’t call up any Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney by mistake as they don’t handle estate planning. 

 

It’ll be a great opportunity for a first-level screening and to find the right lawyer for your needs. Observe the way phones are answered by the office team. The lawyer should have a live person answering the phone to answer quick questions for you if you're a client. Be sure to ask about the consequences of the initial meeting and whether any charge is applicable for the meeting. 

 

2. Do You Charge Flat Fees and What Are Included in It and What Are Not?  

 

It’s better to avoid any unpleasant surprises in the future. A few attorneys claim to use flat fees. However, then they may tack on extra charges like telephone bills, photocopying, courier, postage, recording fees, and other expenses. Though it is justified in certain instances to add on such fees, you must ensure that you set the proper expectations up front so you don’t end up feeling deceived. 

 

3. Can You Ensure That My Assets Are Titled Properly and my Business Stays in Compliance? 

 

There could be the most ideal business structure and the perfect legal plan set up for your family. However, if your assets are not titled and structured accurately, and if your business fails to stay in compliance, then it’ll be a false sense of security as when push comes to shove and a crisis occurs, those legal documents prove useless. You have to ensure that the lawyer you are coordinating with is not just putting legal documents properly for you, but will also complete the job and confirm that your assets are properly structured and the business stays in full compliance. 

 

4. Can You Help Make Smart Choices Such as Purchasing Insurance or Retirement Planning? 

 

The lawyer you hire should be able to help you make decisions not only about purchasing insurance or retirement planning and all the other tough decisions to come up along the way of your life and your business. Your lawyer must keep you informed about things like hiring and firing, trademarking and copyrighting, and growing your business. They only need to have thorough experience and knowledge and access to the proper resources so that they can be a trusted advisor to you on these issues and help you avoid expensive mistakes. 

 

5. How Will You Communicate with Me? 

 

Maximum lawyers communicate horribly with their clients regularly. The myth is that legal work is transactional and clients will call if something changes. However, this faulty thinking is pure laziness on the part of lawyers. 

 

Choose a lawyer who will proactively communicate with you at least quarterly by mail via an informative, easy-to-read newsletter and monthly by email.  

 

Inference 

 

Never feel shy to ask these questions even before you hire the best lawyer in California to work with your family on your personal and business legal planning. The answers to the above-mentioned questions have to be satisfactory.