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Home » Estate Planning Articles » Choose Your Estate Planning Practitioner Wisely

Choose Your Estate Planning Practitioner Wisely

June 30, 2011

Compliments of Our Law Firm,
By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

What comes to mind when you think of estate planning? Perhaps the ideal image is a family relying on an experienced, trusted attorney to guide them through the ups and downs of life, helping them work out the legal issues surrounding illnesses, deaths, and other major life events.

What most of us don’t think about when we consider estate planning is an unqualified, or even unlicensed, individual producing cookie-cutter estate plans that may or may not work as intended. However, this and do-it-yourself software/websites are faces of the estate planning industry.

Estate planning is a unique and highly complex area of the law. It requires knowledge of family law, business law, tax law, real property law and probate practice and procedure, and a laundry list of other areas. For an attorney to truly focus on estate planning, extensive education and training are required.

This begins with seven years of higher education – four years in college and three more years at an accredited law school. Then, a new law school graduate is required to take and pass a rigorous state-specific bar exam to demonstrate their ability to counsel clients before being licensed to practice law. Maintaining that license requires work, too. In most states, attorneys are required to pursue continuing legal education each year. Unethical behavior results in the loss of the license to practice law.

A truly capable estate planning attorney has devoted years of their life to sharpening the legal knowledge and skills required to give clients solid, trustworthy advice and assistance. He or she also spends a considerable amount of time staying up-to-date on new developments in this always-changing area of law. The estate plans they create for clients are customized and individualized based on an in-depth conversation about the client’s current financial situation, plans, and what the client wants to happen after their death.

Unfortunately, not everyone offering estate planning services is well-trained or well qualified. There are licensed attorneys who don’t focus their practices on estate planning, but dabble in the occasional Will or Trust. Even though they are attorneys, these practitioners often are not current on all the complexities involved in effectively counseling clients in this area of the law.

Then there are the non-attorneys. Certain banks, insurance companies, and investment brokers offer “estate planning services,” but their expertise lies in one small area, such as life insurance or annuities. They’re not equipped to look at the larger picture and help clients put together a comprehensive, effective estate plan.

Worse than these organizations are the trust mills. Trust mills are staffed with non-attorneys, and they grind out estate plans that are essentially fill-in-the-blank, cookie cutter documents. Trust mill employees don’t have sufficient legal training, and they are not qualified to counsel clients or answer legal questions. However, they practice law without a license, providing documents to client upon client which are inadequate to meet their needs.

Your estate plan is too important to entrust to someone who is unlicensed, unqualified, or merely a dabbler. An attorney who focuses on estate planning has the knowledge, skill, and experience to take a big-picture view in assessing your goals and putting an effective plan in place to achieve them.

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Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

We need to update our Living Trust and attended Schomer Law Group’s seminar. Afterwards we made an appointment and were impressed by the attention Scott Schomer and Liran Aliav gave to our case answering all questions and making suggestions how to minimize the estate tax. All the office staff is very friendly and we highly recommend Schomer Law Group.

Frank & Jutta R
Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

Mr. Schomer does an amazing job at explaining all the intricacies of establishing a trust. He and his team help you every step of the way so you always know what to expect and what you are preparing for. Best education you can get and the best gift you can give your family.

Paula M.
Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

We put off getting a trust for years. After attending a seminar with Scott Schomer we realized that the time had come to get a trust. We were given very good reasons for why we should get a trust. No pressure, just the plain facts. We are very relieved and happy to finally get our trust. Scott and Cesar were very knowledgeable, helpful and listened to our ideas of what we had to say. Any questions that we have now and in the future they are available to assist us to solve them. I recommend the Schomer Law Group and I wish we knew about them years ago.

Phillip G.
Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

When you’re presented with an invitation to attend in a mailer, you may have reservations, this was a truly gift!! My wife and I were educated and guided through the process of creating a family trust.
Both of our parents had attorney’s that “worked” with wills/trusts, but came up short. Fortunately, the Schomer Law Group was there! This is a group of attorney’s that only specialize in estate planning, law, and financial advice, so you know you’re getting expert and personalized advice. This is the best money we’ve ever spent!! Thank you!

Bob L.
Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

We knew we had to update our 10 year old ( 20 page ) trust. After several detailed meetings, Liran and Cesar produced a large ( 300 pages + ) highly detailed trust document that we have used to make sure our family estate is well managed and clearly understood.
They were all very helpful in answering myriad questions and explaining all the various options…

We would strongly recommend the Schomer Law Group to anyone with an estate of even modest means, to assure proper planning…

Bob S.
Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

We had contemplated updating our will and starting a trust for a number of years. After attending a talk by Scott Schomer we realized we were long overdue and the potential downside of not having our affairs in order was significant. Scott and his excellent team made the process simple and seamless. They were great listeners, addressed all our concerns and even pulled and processed all the paperwork from our financial institutions. If you are looking for assistance with estate planning, wills and trusts, we highly recommend Schomer Law Group.

Robert F.
Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

Very competent & informative – friendly atmosphere – ready to answer the most mundane questions – relaxed.

Joan S.
Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

Mr. Schomer was excellent in getting our family trust and estate affairs in order. My husband and I had put off doing this and Scott really made the process easy! He is very passionate in making sure his clients get all that they need and we really appreciated it. I would highly recommend him and look forward to the many years he will be available to assist our family.

Kim

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