Do I need an Estate Planning Attorney?/ Who Needs an Estate planning Attorney?
Answer: Yes/ Everyone
An estate planning attorney’s primary purpose is to create and implement a plan that protects you during your life and incapacity, and to protect your spouse and other beneficiaries when you aren’t around to do it anymore. The estate planning attorney shields your legacy from plaintiffs, creditors’ claims, divorcing spouses, imprudent beneficiaries, and the government.
The law is too voluminous for you to do it yourself. The attorney must have a deep understanding of the current and prospective tax and non-tax law. That includes income, gift, generation, probate, and death taxes. Each year the firm spends many thousands of dollars just on tax-research-databases alone.
The attorney should have litigation experience to better understand how plaintiffs choose their prey, trial/ litigation attorneys choose their clients, and how judges evaluate claims. This insight goes beyond merely understanding the law, but actually understanding the business of being a litigation attorney and the practical realities of the judicial system.
Estate planning is not a transactional exercise. It is ultra complicated and the consequences can be disastrous. You wouldn’t have your general practitioner perform your brain surgery, and you certainly wouldn’t buy a hatchet and do it yourself. That is why everyone needs to consult an estate planning attorney.