How to Choose the Right Estate Planning Lawyer in New York City
It is possible to build your estate plan from beginning to end without hiring a lawyer, provided that your estate plan is simple. People have the right to represent themselves in many legal matters, including probate, so the personal representative of your estate might be able to settle your estate without a lawyer. Some of the most important parts of estate planning, such as writing a will and making it legally valid or issuing a power of attorney or medical advance directive, do not require going to court. If you have ever been on the receiving end of estate planning documents that someone printed from the Internet and filled in the blanks, you wish that the decedent had consulted a lawyer instead of signing his or her name on legally binding boilerplate. If you are working on your estate plan on your own and starting to sense that you could use the help of a professional, contact a Bronx estate planning lawyer.
Make Sure the Person Is Really a Lawyer
If you pay someone to help you with estate planning documents, that person should be an estate planning lawyer; anyone else who accepts your money in exchange for estate planning help has ulterior motives. Law firms are plentiful in New York City, so unlike in most parts of the country, we do not have the problem of “door lawyers,” which are small law firms that agree to accept every client that walks through the door. Therefore, they spread their attention across dissimilar cases; when they work on your estate plan, some of their thoughts are also busy with the business, family law, and criminal cases they are also representing.
In New York City, though, you will find financial planners who promise that, while enriching themselves, they will help you afford a comfortable retirement and that there will be plenty of money for your heirs to inherit. Don’t hire them unless they are licensed to practice law.
Affordability Considerations
Some estate planning law firms charge a flat fee for the preparation of estate planning document packages. This is an affordable option if your estate is simple. If you have a trust with valuable assets, though, you should hire a lawyer to be the trustee; this is less risky than appointing a family member as the trustee.
Questions to Ask at the Initial Consultation
At the consultation, ask the lawyer if he or she has represented clients whose situations were similar to yours, and what the outcome was. Also ask about payment structures. Since there are so many estate planning law firms to choose from in New York, your instinct about your rapport with the lawyer is a factor in your choice.
Schedule a Confidential Consultation With a Bronx Estate Planning Attorney
An estate planning lawyer can help you draft estate planning documents or provide ongoing representation as the trustee of your trust. Contact Cavallo & Cavallo in the Bronx, New York to set up a consultation.
Source:
actec.org/resource-center/video/how-to-choose-an-estate-planning-attorney/