How To Choose a Lawyer for Wills and Estate PlanningREPUTATION COUNTS
Watch video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7CIzRaIB3U
Don’t go for the cheapest.
Forbes had a great article recently How To Find A Good Estate Planning Attorney
Estate planning is a critical part of financial planning, but something many Americans procrastinate about. Yet drafting a Will and a health care proxy or power of attorney, maybe creating a trust, and maximizing your loved ones’ cost and stress are all important matters you don’t want to leave to chance.
Taking care of these key tasks properly limits the potential for family turmoil and possible legal battles should you become incapacitated, as well as after your death. An estate planner can help you prevent crucial missteps and assist you in adjusting your plans as your circumstances, and laws, change.
Here are a few tips for finding one:
Look For an attorney active in organizations that do estate planner, not a general practitioner
Not all attorneys are experienced in estate planning. So, you’ll want to find one whose primary focus is estate and trust law in your state. Does the lecture for State Bar Association?
Does the attorney write articles and books on Estate Planning?
If you don’t know where to begin the search, ask around. See https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2019/09/11/how-to-find-a-good-estate-planner/#14be5bb22541
-Is the attorney an active member of the American Bar Association?
-Has the attorney been in practice for at least 30 years. Don't go to a new lawyer who is inexperienced. You would never go to a surgeon that had only done 9 prior surgeries.
Experience is critically important.
That knowledge and specialized experience comes with being well versed and up-to-date with the laws of your state. Otherwise, your estate plan could be deemed invalid by the court.”
There’s fear in hiring a lawyer. You’re stepping into the unknown. Our firm is a well-known and respected one in Estate Planning and Probate.
You want to hire the right lawyer.
We are not in the practice of law solely to make money. We share a commitment to helping others and believe that by doing our best for each client we help elevate our profession.
Ask What, and How, the Estate Planner Charges
The amount you’ll spend depends on the complexity of your needs, your location and your attorney’s experience level. Fees for wills can range from about $400 for a basic will to one thousand for an in-depth .
Add on a trust, and the cost tends to get much steeper. A trust can help save on estate taxes, avoid probate (proving in court that a will is valid), save on time and court fees and put conditions on the disposition of your assets after you die.
“Often, having a will and trust drafted can cost several thousand dollars,” “I have seen fees in the neighborhood of fifteen hundred dollars all the way up to ten thousand dollars or even more, depending on the complexity of the documents."
If you need an estate-planning attorney to draft a power of attorney (authorizing someone to make financial or legal decisions for you when you can’t) and other advance directives, that might cost about $1,100 or so alone. When combined with a will, a single person might figure on paying closer to $2,600, says Eric R. Goldberg Esq.
Many estate-planning attorneys charge a flat fee. “For a will, the range could be as low as a four hundred dollars to a thousand dollars,”
Some estate-planning attorneys charge by the hour. As a rule of thumb, these lawyers typically have hourly fees of $350 to $550.If you’ll use one who charges this way, ask approximately how long the process will take, so you have an idea of the total cost from the outset.
See https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2019/09/11/how-to-find-a-good-estate-planner/#5a29a792541e Kenneth Vercammen, Esq.– Probate, Estate Planning & Elder Law bio
Kenneth Vercammen is an attorney in Edison, NJ. He is Chair of the ABA Probate & Estate Planning Law Committee of the American Bar Association Solo Small Firm Division. He is the author of the ABA book “Wills and Estate Administration”
He is a speaker for the NJ State Bar Association at the annual Nuts & Bolts of Elder Law & Estate Administration program. He is admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States.
He was Editor of the ABA Estate Planning Probate Committee Newsletter. Mr. Vercammen has published over 150 legal articles in national and New Jersey publications on Wills, litigation, estates, probate law and trial topics.
He is a highly regarded lecturer on litigation and probate law for the American Bar Association, NJ ICLE, NJ State Bar Association and Middlesex County Bar Association. His articles have been published in noted publications included New Jersey Law Journal, ABA Law Practice Management Magazine, and New Jersey Lawyer. He established the NJlaws website www.njlaws.comwhich includes many articles on Estate Planning, Probate and Wills.
KENNETH VERCAMMEN & ASSOCIATES, PC
ATTORNEY AT LAW
2053 Woodbridge Ave.
Edison, NJ 08817
(Phone) 732-572-0500
(Fax) 732-572-0030
www.njlaws.com
The book Wills and Estate Administration” is available at
http://shop.americanbar.org/eBus/Store/ProductDetails.aspx?productId=224827061
