As a San Diego attorney, you likely have a lot on your plate. Staying busy is certainly not a bad aspect of your professional life, and in some cases, you may find yourself unable to take on new clients. Because you pride yourself on running a helpful and reliable firm, you undoubtedly want to give your clients the attention they need when it comes to estate planning.
When you feel that you cannot provide that personal attention to a new client, you may want to refer that person to another law firm that could help just as well as you could if you handled the job personally.
Helping clients
Because estate planning is a crucial step to getting end-of-life affairs in order, you know the importance of getting off on the right foot when starting an estate plan. Some of the first steps you want to make sure a client covers include the following:
- Calculation of net worth: Understanding the worth of an estate can prove immensely useful for individuals trying to find the best ways to allocate their assets and for determining whether their estates may owe any federal estate taxes.
- Financial and family needs: Settling an estate can be a costly affair, and many people do not want a significant amount of their remaining funds going toward probate costs. As a result, it pays to consider ways to avoid probate while also providing for the needs of surviving family members.
- Use of wills or trusts: A number of estate planning tools exist that can help individuals with any type of estate. While wills certainly have their place in most estate plans, some people may also want to consider the use of tools like trusts that could help further protect assets.
- Long-term care planning: You undoubtedly also know that estate plans address much more than property, and planning ahead for potential mental incapacitation can play a vital part in any comprehensive plan.
While these steps of creating an estate plan are important, many other factors will likely also need considering depending on the specific circumstances of individual estates.
Finding the right referral
Because you want to make sure that estate planning clients are well taken care of even if you cannot handle their cases yourself, finding the right referral is undoubtedly important to you. Fortunately, experienced attorneys in your area can help individuals create the best estate plans for their circumstances.
