Choosing The Right Estate Planning Lawyer
The most common ways that people find the estate planning lawyers who will eventually represent them are through word-of-mouth referrals and Google searches. The rapidly aging young folks are approaching the age where they will need estate planning lawyers, too, and way things are going, they will probably ask their chatbot colleagues for a recommendation, at which point the bot will give a mono-response based on the way it has been programmed to synthesize the data available to it. It matters which questions you ask, though. The best lawyer for your neighbor’s cousin is not necessarily the best lawyer for you. Yes, you should read the law firm web pages and the online reviews that you find in your Google search, but what should you look for in them? As scary as it is to think about this, how does a chatbot determine what is best? After you consider the basic criteria, a subjective feeling about your rapport with the lawyer can help you choose an Orlando estate planning lawyer.
Don’t Choose a Door Lawyer
Florida has lots of affordable, quiet places to live. It also has lots of law firms, but the law firms and the affordable places to live are not near each other. If you chose your Florida retirement destination based on cost and based on it not being near the major metropolitan areas, you are unlikely to find an estate planning law firm nearby. Sure, there might be one law firm close to you, but it is also the only law firm close to anyone in your quiet corner of Florida.
Small law firms in rural areas tend to practice “door law.” This means that they are willing to represent any client who walks through the door. This means that they are juggling your estate plan with all the family, business, and criminal cases they are also handling. It is worthwhile to drive to the big city for a lawyer who only does estate planning and probate.
And Don’t Choose a For Profit Financial Planner
It’s not hard to find offices that claim that their only business is to advise you about your retirement savings so that you can afford housing, healthcare, and long-term care and still have some money left over for having fun in your old age. Beware of entrusting your estate planning decisions to for profit financial planners, no matter how much they cater their business to retirees. They are not lawyers and do not have the legal knowledge that lawyers have.
Is Nobody a Good Choice?
What about not hiring an estate planning lawyer at all? It is possible to draft a legally valid will and other estate planning documents such as a power of attorney and medical advance directive, without a lawyer. You should hire a lawyer, though, if you own valuable property or if there is a potential for disputes over your estate.
Contact Gierach and Gierach About Starting the Estate Planning Conversation
An estate planning lawyer can help you prevent conflict over your estate. Contact Gierach and Gierach, P.A. in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.
Source:
actec.org/resource-center/video/how-to-choose-an-estate-planning-attorney/
