What To Expect When Meeting With An Estate-Planning Attorney

10 November 2016 by Jonathan Phillips

If you have never created an estate plan, you might be wondering what to expect. It can seem scary to meet with an attorney and go through the entire process of putting your estate together. However, it can be a very positive experience and can give you peace of mind when you know that you have everything in order just in case something were to happen to you. Here are some things you need to know about putting together your estate plan.

The First Meeting

At the first meeting you will sit down with an attorney and talk about your specific needs. If you have children, you will name guardians over them if something were to happen to you. You will chose power of attorneys—these are the people who will make legal, financial, and medical decisions for you in case you are unable to. And you will list your assets and your finances so that you can open trust accounts and decide how best to protect them from creditors, taxes, and other situations. In this first meeting the attorney will take notes to know how to organize your estate plan. Then you will set up another appointment to go over everything that you have done together.

The Second Meeting

The second meeting will be the time for you to look over all of the contracts. The attorney will take all of the information that you have given them and will put it in contracts that you will sign. These will be notarized and witness contracts so that they are legally binding. This will protect you in the case that someone tries to fight you on your decisions. If there are any problems with the contracts, they will be addressed and fixed before signing.

Subsequent Meetings

Once you have finished creating the estate plan, you won't be done forever. You should revisit the plan every couple of years or after major life changes. This will help to ensure that everything that you initially chose is still what you want. It is recommended that you meet with an attorney often to ensure that your estate plan meets the criteria for certain tax laws, accounts for the birth, marriage, or death of children and kin, and anything else that could be important.

As you can see, meeting with an attorney about an estate plan is nothing to be worried about. It can be a positive experience and will leave you feeling confident about the future. For more information, contact local professionals like Skeen Law Offices.

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