4 Tips for Hiring the Right Estate Planning Lawyer for You
Finding the right doctor, accountant, and even hairdresser can take a little effort. Finding the right estate planning attorney is no different. For example, some might want a very young physician thinking they will be current on the latest medical research. Others might want a more seasoned provider who has a lot of experience. The same goes for accountants and hairdressers. Finding the right estate planning lawyer here in Cincinnati will require a little effort but not a lot. It will be worth it in the end when you find yourself working with an estate planning attorney who has the level of experience you need, the understanding of your goals, and the client service you expect. Here are my 4 top tips:
- Ask for recommendations for an estate planning lawyer. Ask friends, business colleagues, your financial advisor, or your CPA. My guess is you’ll get a helpful earful! But it will be a great starting list you can narrow down using the following tips.
- Find out if the attorney focuses on estate planning or is a “generalist.” Lots of attorneys provide estate planning services but also offer other legal services such as bankruptcy, real estate, personal injury, and more. While sometimes it is good to have a “generalist,” such as your primary care physician, most clients I know appreciate the fact that as their estate planning lawyer, I am focused just on estate planning. They can rely on me to be up-to-date on all laws, state or federal, that might impact their estate plans and, therefore, their loved ones.
- Is the attorney a member of the Ohio State Bar Association? Most are unaware that estate planning lawyers in Ohio are not required to be a member of the OSBA. And while I certainly wouldn’t hire (or not hire) an attorney based solely on this one criterion, I think it is a “good sign” that the attorney is active in the legal community and has ready access to all the resources the OSBA offers.
- Vet potential attorneys online, but be careful. There are a number of “attorney ranking” sites online. Many are simply a list of estate planning lawyers who paid to be on the list. That’s not helpful. You should seek out online resources that are third-party verified where attorneys are ranked on their own merits. One such site is Ohio Super Lawyers.
Finding the right estate planning lawyer here in Cincinnati doesn’t have to be complicated. Using my four tips and narrowing your field of candidates to just a few will be pretty easy. Once you have done that, you might want to have a phone or online chat with each to discuss rates and how they like to work with a new client. Like anything else, it’s probably not the best idea to select your estate planning attorney by going with the least expensive or, for that matter, the most costly, so don’t let that be your only criteria. I would be more than happy to have a conversation with you about your estate planning needs and how I work with new clients. Why visit my website https://davidlefton.com/about/#experience for more information about becoming a client? I look forward to speaking to you soon. Call me at 513-399-7526