Finding an attorney you can trust to guide you through the estate planning process, decisions that will affect you and your family for years to come, is crucial. It can also be difficult to find the lawyer who's the right fit.

You need an estate planning lawyer who has a comprehensive understanding of the various issues involved in putting together an estate plan, such as minimizing income and estate tax liability, making sure your children are raised by whom you want in the way you want, and that your heirs receive their inheritance in a way that does not cause them more harm than good

An estate planning lawyer should have extensive expertise beyond the preparation of a last will and testament. A last will and testament is a good fit for some, but one size does not fit all. An attorney that works in estate law should also be familiar with complex estate planning devices, such as revocable and irrevocable trusts, asset protection, and their drafting and the process of trust administration and probate, which can include potential challenges to trust and will instruments. An estate planning lawyer must be able to appreciate the risks inherent in each client's proposed estate plan, clearly and concisely explain these to the client, and suggest an approach that minimizes risks while ensuring a client's goals are achieved.

Opting to work with a general practitioner rather than someone who has extensive experience in estate law could cause you and your loved ones to lose a great deal of money in the long run or even fail to put a valid estate plan in place at all. If you have tried to seek advice from a general practitioner, or worse an online resource trying to sell you on a one-size fits all approach, chances are something is lacking. Estate law is a nuanced area of the law, one that requires constant education and time to stay abreast of, and you deserve someone that has dedicated their life to it.

Although putting an estate plan in place is transactional in nature, there's of course a signing after which you may forget about estate planning for a while, I hope to form lifetime relationships with my clients. Life changes fast and though the estate plans I put in place for clients are certainly designed to grow with them it's imperative that we see each other every 2-3 years. These bi-annual meetings are simply an opportunity for us to catch-up and make sure that the plan we put in place for you currently is still a good fit in the future.

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