• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • WHO WE ARE
    • About Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
    • News and Events
  • Areas We Serve
    • Essex County, MA
      • Andover
      • Beverly
      • North Andover
    • Hillsborough County, NH
      • Manchester
      • Nashua
    • Middlesex County, MA
      • Concord
      • Lexington
      • Wakefield
      • Winchester
      • Woburn
    • Rockingham County, NH
      • Exeter
      • Londonderry
      • Salem
  • Services
    • Asset & Business Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Estate And Gift Tax Figures
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Legacy Planning Services
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Loss Of A Loved One
    • Pet Planning
    • Power Of Attorney
    • Probate and Trust Administration
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Young Families
  • Elder Law
    • Coping with Alzheimer’s
    • Hospice Care
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Nursing Home Planning
  • Resources
    • Elder Law
      • Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
      • Elder law reports
      • Elder Law Resources
        • Elder Law Resources – Londonderry, New Hampshire
        • Elder Law Resources North Andover, Massachusetts
        • Nashua, New Hampshire Elder Law Resources
        • Woburn, MA Elder Law Resources
    • Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning Articles
      • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Reports
        • Advanced Estate Planning
        • Basic Estate Planning
        • Estate Planning for Niches
        • Trust Administration
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Asset Protection Planning
      • Business Planning
      • Charitable Gifting
      • Estate Planning
      • Elder Law
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Incapacity Planning
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicaid Planning
      • Trust Administration & Probate
      • Wills and Trusts
    • Medicaid Calculator
    • Newsletters
    • Presentations
    • Probate and Trust Administration
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • Loss Of A Loved One
      • Probate Resources
        • Nashua, New Hampshire Probate Resources
        • Probate Resources – Londonderry, New Hampshire
        • Probate Resources – North Andover, MA
        • Probate Resources – Wakefield, Massachusetts
        • Woburn, MA Probate Resources
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
    • Published Books
  • Seminars
    • Live Seminars
    • Online Seminars
  • Videos
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us

DeBruyckere Law Offices, PC

Serving Southern New Hampshire & Essex Country, Massachussetts

Call us today(603) 894-4141

(978) 969-0331

Online Seminars
Attend Free Seminar
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.

Download our free Estate Planning Worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube
  • Instagram

Testimonials

DeBruyckere Law Offices, PC footer

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
footer-logo

© 2023 DeBruyckere Law Offices
All Right Reseved.

Attorney Advertisement

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.