• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
< class="site-title" itemprop="headline">Flood & Masiuk LLC | Southampton Estate Planning Attorneys

Attorneys At Law

  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • About The American Academy
    • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
    • Speaker Connection
  • Estate Planning
    • Asset Protection and Business Planning
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Incapacity Planning
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning Services
    • Trust Administration and Probate
  • Elder Law
    • Are You A Caregiver?
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Emergency Medicaid & Nursing Home Planning
    • Guardianship & Conservatorship
    • Hospice Care
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Veteran’s Benefits
  • Resources
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law Resources
      • Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
      • Elder Law Reports
    • Estate Planning Resources
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Needs Checklist
      • Estate Planning Reports
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Legacy Wealth Planning FAQ’s
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning FAQs
      • Trust Administration & Probate FAQs
    • LGBTQ Resources
    • Newsletters
    • Special Needs Resources
    • Trust Administration & Probate Resources
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • Loss of a Loved One
      • 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
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
Home / Estate Planning Articles / What to Expect at Your First Estate Planning Consultation

What to Expect at Your First Estate Planning Consultation

March 15, 2013 by Marianne Flood, Estate Planning Attorney

Compliments of Our Law Firm,
By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys
www.aaepa.com

Your first meeting with an estate planning attorney may seem a little daunting,
especially if youve never consulted an attorney before. Theres no need to
worry, however. This meeting is just a conversation in which your attorney will
find out about you, your family, and your goals. After youve shared this
information, your attorney will be able to recommend a range of estate planning
tools, helping you tailor a plan that meets your needs.

Getting to Know You

At the start of your consultation, your estate planning attorney will ask you
questions about you, your family, and your finances. Some of the areas of your
life that you may need to share about are those that can impact the type of
planning youll need to protect your assets and family, including:

  • Whether you’re married,
  • How many children and grandchildren you have,
  • Whether youve had any previous marriages,
  • Your age and the ages of the people in your family,
  • What assets you own, the value of those assets, and how theyre titled,
  • Whether you currently have a Will, a Trust, or other estate planning
    documents, and
  • Which people you want to put in charge of your money, your children, and
    other important aspects of your life in case you die or become disabled.

Sometimes, clients have personal situations they are hesitant to share with
anyone even their attorney. If this is your situation, the questions your
attorney asks may seem uncomfortable or intrusive. The reason these questions are
asked is so that your attorney knows what issues to anticipate. This way, he or
she can help you plan around them.

For example, you might be reluctant to talk about a child born out of wedlock
years ago. First and foremost, remember that the information you tell your
attorney will remain confidential unless you give permission to disclose it.
Second, the reason your estate planning attorney needs to know about this child
is to design a plan that accomplishes your goals. If you dont want that child to
receive part of your estate, your attorney needs to include language in your
estate plan disinheriting that child. Otherwise, he or she may be entitled to a
portion of your estate that youd planned to leave for your spouse or your other
children.

Making the Right Choice

Your initial estate planning meeting is also a chance for you to decide
whether this particular attorney is a good fit for you. Youll want to find out a
little about your attorneys background and education, paying special attention
to whether he or she meets the states continuing education guidelines.
Organizations like the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys
(www.aaepa.com) require that their members meet continuing education requirements
that are often more stringent than the standards imposed by the state. You may
choose to begin your search for an attorney on their website.

You also want to be comfortable with your attorney. Does he or she put you at
ease? Do you get to do enough talking, or does your attorney cut you off or talk
over you? Do you feel that your questions are taken seriously and answered in a
way that you fully understand?

One of the best ways to ensure youve chosen the right attorney is to make
sure that youre comfortable talking to him or her and you feel that he or she
respects you and takes your concerns seriously.

Putting Your Plan in Place

After your attorney gathers all your information, he or she will review your
goals with you and discuss the best strategies for achieving those goals. The two
of you will agree on the appropriate strategies, and your attorney will put
together a set of documents that carries out these strategies. For example, your
attorney may draft a living trust to help you maintain control of your assets
during your lifetime, while keeping those assets out of probate at your death. He
or she may also draw up powers of attorney to designate who will make financial
and medical decisions for you, if you become unable to handle these matters for
yourself.

Your attorneys job is to put together a plan that achieves your goals, and to
ensure you understand how it works. When you leave your initial meeting, you
should know the basic framework of your estate plan as well as the basic purpose
for each part of your plan. You should also know what to expect from the estate
planning process: the next steps and whose responsibility they are.

After you choose the right estate planning attorney and establish an estate
plan tailored to your needs, youll be able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing
your future is secure!

About Marianne Flood, Estate Planning Attorney

As the founder and managing partner of the Southampton, Pennsylvania law firm of Flood & Masiuk, LLC, Marianne Flood oversees a practice devoted to providing clients with personalized service and counsel in all aspects of estate planning.

Primary Sidebar

Is Your Plan Outdated?

Change is inevitable! See if your plan is outdated and if you need to take action to protect your loved ones.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Flood & Masiuk LLC | Southampton Estate Planning Attorneys

112 Lakeside Park
Southampton, PA 18966
Phone: (215) 322-6330
Fax: (215) 322-9199

MAP

map for Flood & Masiuk LLC office

Opening Hours

Monday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Footer

  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.

All Rights Reserved.
Attorney Advertisement

footer-logo
  • fb
  • twitter
  • linked-In