The COVID-19 pandemic has brought all of us face-to-face with mortality. Many of us have realized just how fragile life really is, and how quickly things can change. While such revelations can be challenging to grapple with, there are some silver linings. For example, a number of individuals have gotten serious about planning their legacies, taking a renewed interest in estate planning.
If you’re thinking more seriously about estate planning, it might be prudent to meet with a qualified will and trust attorney. You can find a good one from the comfort of your own home, all while abiding by quarantine and social distancing recommendations. We’ll explain how.
How to Find a Wills and Trusts Attorney
1) Ask your friends and family members.
A good place to begin is by asking for personal recommendations.
Reach out to family members, close friends, or even trusted co-workers. Let them know you’re looking to get your estate in order and inquire if they’ve done the same. Have they worked with a good, local living wills lawyer? Is it someone they would recommend? Is it someone for whom they could set up an introduction?
2) Use Google.
What if your loved ones and associates can’t recommend a good wills and trusts attorney in the area?
That’s when you turn to Google.
A simple online search should turn up plenty of law firms, but one thing you’ll really want to pay attention to is online reviews. While reviews aren’t 100 percent foolproof, a high volume of positive reviews should be pretty reassuring. If a law firm has a lot of happy clients, willing to sing its praises, then that says plenty about their standards of service and care.
3) Interview someone from the firm.
You shouldn’t hire a wills, trusts, and estates attorney without actually interviewing them. In fact, we’d really recommend interviewing two or three lawyers, comparing and determining which one best fits your needs.
Note that these interviews can very easily be done via Zoom, Skype, or a simple teleconference. There’s no need to leave the house to make this happen!
As you speak with a living wills lawyer, these are some things you might ask:
- How long have you been an estate planning lawyer? By all means, seek someone with experience.
- What percentage of your practice is devoted to estate planning? Look for someone who focuses on this, not someone who does it on the side.
- Who will I communicate with? Make sure it’s the lawyer, not an assistant, who will be in touch.
- What is the pay structure like? Don’t retain the services of a lawyer without knowing what it will cost.
One more thing: Your estate planning lawyer is someone with whom you’ll be working with pretty closely. As such, you want to find someone whose communication style meshes with your own. If you simply don’t like someone, or have a bad feeling about them, that’s reason enough to keep looking. Don’t be afraid to go with your gut.
4) Stay in touch.
Finally, just remember that estate planning is an ongoing process; it’s wise to review and amend your estate plan once a year or so, and after any major life changes. Be sure you talk with your wills, trusts, and estates attorney about how you’ll stay in touch and keep your plan current.
More About Estate Planning
Ready to find a qualified estate planning lawyer in the State of California? Reach out to Singh Law Firm today. We’d love to talk with you further and to answer any questions you may have.
