What Estate Planning Attorneys Should NOT Be Doing | Estate Planning TV 016
I had a meeting with some potential clients the other day and they started off by telling me about a bad experience they’d had with another estate planning attorney.
It wasn’t that the prices were high or that it wasn’t just a good fit.
It went way beyond that.
So today I wanted to go on a little bit of a rant and tell you what I think estate planning attorneys should not be doing when meeting with potential clients or clients.
[1] Dispensing Financial Advice
This one comes with a little bit of a caveat because sometimes I technically give my thoughts on the usefulness of things like life insurance or disability insurance (you should have both).
But that’s about as far as it goes for me.
What I would never do, and what I think is out of bounds, particularly when people have gone to financial planners for help, is to judge the investment decisions they’ve made.
I’m trained to be an estate planning attorney. I’m really good at it.
And yes, because of that I know a little bit about financial planning.
But I’m never criticizing the plans that people have put together. I don’t think my role is the correct one to be doing that.
[2] Judging Your Financial Decisions
Although I think life insurance is important, if you don’t have it or don’t think you want it, I have no problem with that.
If you want to keep all of your assets in cash under your mattress I have no problem with that…
So long as you understand the benefits and costs of what you are doing and are making an informed decision, you are free to do whatever you want with your money.
And any other estate planning attorney that tells you otherwise is simply giving you their subjective opinion on the matter.
The only right answer in each of these scenarios is what you want to do.
[3] Judging Your Estate Planning Decisions
What I always tell people is “I’m going to give you all of the options out there that I think are relevant to your financial and family situation and you can pick the one that best fits your needs.”
Not everyone wants a plan with all the bells and whistles.
Not everyone cares about what their family does with their money.
Not everyone cares about estate taxes.
And so long as you know all of the angles and are making an informed decision, I don’t care either.
My goal is to get you excited to come and talk to me about estate planning. I want it to be a stress free experience.
Yes, hard decisions are sometimes required, but you shouldn’t feel additional anxiety from the judgment of your estate planning attorney.
Rant over!
Cheers.