Signs of a Good Estate Planning Attorney

Choosing the right law firm for your estate planning needs is crucial. Here are key qualities that set a great attorney apart:

Warmth

Comfort is paramount in estate planning and administration. It’s not easy to talk about your money, health, end of life decisions, and family. If your attorney is warm and friendly, then you’re more likely to have conversations that allows the attorney to understand your unique situation and tailor their advice accordingly. If your attorney is difficult to talk to, then it will be an impediment to a good outcome.

Non-Judgmental

To reiterate, this stuff ain’t easy. Your estate attorney should be able to 1) recognize where you are in life, 2) offer compassion, and 3) most of all, be helpful. Any prejudice an attorney brings to the table is an impediment to good service. We firmly believe that estate planning is for everyone, and we won’t allow anything to get in the way of helping our clients achieve their objectives.

Impeccable Correspondence

Being an attorney means working in service of the client. We strive to be the communication partner that everyone wants. Our communication is always professional and timely, even when we are delivering hard news. We don’t put off calls that we dread. We bravely confront hard truths and push through difficult times.

Value Proposition

Estate planning is not cheap, but bad planning or no planning is incredibly expensive. Every estate plan we craft should be a value proposition in terms of time and money. Your estate attorney ought to be able to easily articulate and explain the value proposition of your plan from the very beginning.

Specific, not generalized, Trust Funding Advice

Many estate attorneys want to print off a generic “trust funding instructions” document and send the client on their way. Our experience bears out that it’s way harder to action a generalized set of instructions. We provide specific trust funding instructions to our clients based on the assets that they have so that the client can “stick the landing,” as we say.

They are generous with their time

An estate attorney shouldn’t try and fit you in a box. Clients are people who deserve attention and respect (we ask the same in return. Our time is the only thing we sell, after all). At Speedwell Law, we offer additional time to clients after the representation is over to ensure that they have the advice they need to make the plan work.

They help with deed conveyances

Each property is like a mini-representation with its own workflow. It can be a real pain. Sometimes estate attorneys will tell you, you have to find your own local counsel for the deed conveyance. Not us. We coordinate the deed preparation and execution for clients by using US Deeds, which is an external vendor, but their added capability allows us to ensure your estate avoids probate in every state where you have real property.

An attractive, usable final product

The estate attorney should provide an attractive and usable final product that shows respect for the time, effort, and money that went into preparing the plan. We provide an organized and distinctive binder, we digitize the documents (carefully saving each document with an individual and easily recognizable file name), and we provide each to the client on the same day they sign their documents.

At Speedwell Law, we pride ourselves on embodying these qualities, and it makes us the premier estate planning attorneys in our area. Learn more about our process: EP Representation Overview and our approach to being attorneys: SWL Core Values.

Call our law firm today at (703) 495-2767 or use the contact form to speak with a Virginia estate planning attorney.