Public information is often doled out in snippets such as a 500-word magazine article or a four-minute television interview. Although these brief segments are very valuable in raising awareness of a topic, they are not intended to be thorough investigations of complicated legal issues. They are only overviews. Because the possible family scenarios vary so widely and legal advice changes based on the facts, it may even seem that the information you are hearing in these snippets is contradictory to what you have already heard from other sources.
It can be very confusing and frustrating if you have an abundance of information without any guidance for applying it. You may feel that you are not sure if you need a lawyer or an accountant, or both, and if you do, where you might find the right one. You may not be sure exactly what to ask for even if you do find a lawyer. Do you need advice, and if so, what kind? Which documents do you need? Should you set up a trust? Can you do anything to reduce taxes?
It is difficult to get started on a large project of any kind when you are not sure whether your information is correct or even whether you understand the full picture. The end result for most people is that planning is postponed until they have more free time to deal with something that feels immense. Frequently the postponement turns into cancellation and it never gets finished at all. This might be the stage at which your parents find themselves right now.
To narrow down the flood of information to focus on what works for you, and to find reliable, applicable help, try some of the following tips:
• Ask someone you know (e.g., family member, friend, co-worker, neighbor, long-time banker) for names of lawyers who have helped them with wills or estates in the past.
• Always use experts as opposed to generalists when consulting professionals such as doctors, accountants, and lawyers. For example, if you are going to have a full competency evaluation done for an aging parent, it is better to find a geriatric specialist than a general practitioner.
• Go to lectures or seminars held by local lawyers, accountants, financial advisors, or banks that deal with will planning. They will give you local, up-to-date information and advice that is right for your geographic area, rather than information that may be national or even international in scope.
• If you find blogs for professionals who work in your state, province, or territory, read the blogs regularly and ask plenty of questions online.
• Always look at the location of the person writing the articles, books, or blogs to see whether the information will apply to your geographic area. Remember that the law can differ drastically from place to place.
• Decide whom, of all the people offering you advice, you like and trust. Stick with that person’s information and advice and work with him or her as a team. If you accept advice from too many people at the same time, you are likely to find contradictions. The contradictions arise because professionals sell advice, and their advice will be based on their experience, their judgment, the law, and your interpretation of the facts. Whenever judgment and experience come into play, there is room for a difference of opinion on what is best to do. Contradictions will be confusing and stressful for you.
You have already begun the process of planning by reading this book. You will begin to gather your thoughts as you read, and by the time you are finished, you will have a much clearer picture of what exactly your goals are for yourself and your parents, what specific issues might complicate matters for your family, and what needs to be done.
2. Not Knowing What It Will Cost
Most of us have to budget for large expenses. It can be hard to make room for large, unexpected bills. Many people say they do not have wills in place and have never done proper estate planning because they believe that it will be extremely expensive. They assume that if lawyers and accountants are involved, the planning process will perhaps be so expensive as to be beyond their means.
There can be a lot of uncertainty about the cost of estate planning before things get underway. As discussed in section 1., it is not always clear what steps need to be taken. If you do not know what needs to be done, you certainly cannot estimate what it might cost.
Unfortunately, the cost of not planning can far exceed the cost of planning. When people pass away without having made a will, there can be lawsuits, delays, unnecessary tax liability, and financial losses to the estate. When people lose mental capacity without having put a power of attorney or health-care directive into place, sometimes the only way to deal with pressing issues is to make an application to the court for trusteeship or guardianship. Obviously the cost of a court application is going to far exceed what it would have cost to make a document in the first place.
Keep in mind that the emotional cost (of the turmoil and fighting over an estate) can mount even faster than the financial bills. It is very common for families to fight over estates and that is because estate arguments are about more than money; they are about emotional issues as well. If you fail to plan ahead, you are more than likely condemning your own family to a turbulent situation. It is worthwhile to at least find out the real cost of estate planning and not rely on guesses.
Using this book will help you keep costs down. First of all, it will give you quite a bit of information and background about estate planning and help you decide what exactly you should be doing. At the very least, you will be able to check off items that are already taken care of and then pinpoint those that still need attention. That will help you focus your requests, if any, to lawyers and accountants and save you the cost of spending hours with those advisors. If your lawyer or accountant does not have to spend time educating you about estate law in general, you will be able to use your meeting to zero in only on the issues that pertain to you.
This book will also help you hold a successful family meeting to talk about estate planning. That alone could save you thousands of dollars in fees for mediators or lawyers.
The following are some other practical ideas about maintaining control over costs when dealing with an estate-planning lawyer:
• Ask for a written quote before any work is done. Once you have that, make sure you understand what would cause the lawyer to exceed the quote.
• Understand how you are being billed. It is alright, in fact it is advisable, to ask questions about your costs before the work is done. For example, are you being charged by the hour or for the completed project? If it is for a completed project, make sure you understand exactly what is included. For example, does “estate planning” mean only wills, or are powers of attorney and health-care directives included in the price? Ask whether anybody else, such as paralegals or junior lawyers, will work on your file and what their billable hourly rate is. Also know what taxes will be added.
• Ask whether disbursements are extra and if so, how much they are likely to be for your file. Disbursements are out-of-pocket expenses paid by the law office, such as postage or courier fees. There might also be a set charge for faxes and photocopying.
• Ask if there is any legwork you can do yourself. For example, if the lawyer is going to search the titles to properties, you could offer to get them yourself rather than pay the lawyer to do it.
• If the lawyer calls, writes, or emails you to ask for information or documentation, or you promise to do something, respond as promptly as you can. If you delay to the point that the lawyer has to chase you down, this is likely going to cost extra.
• Understand that requesting rewrites of documents (as opposed to asking that an error made by the lawyer, such as a misspelled name, be corrected) will probably cost extra. The lawyer’s quote given at the beginning of the project is based on the average time it takes to do a project like yours, and if you keep changing your instructions so that the project changes two or three times, you will end up paying more than you were originally quoted.
• If paying a large bill all at once is a problem, ask about payment arrangements. Most law firms