What to Expect- Your Initial Estate Planning Appointment
By Jenny Rowe, Esq.
IT’S GETTING TO BE COUNTY FAIR TIME in New England, a highlight of summer for many of us. The one I attended as a youngster was the North Haverhill Fair, Grafton County, New Hampshire. What I loved about the fair, and still do, is the overload of enticing choices, all in the same place and all at once. Even the most discerning among us have at least one reason for going to the fair. Some folks go just to eat: French fries with vinegar, maple cotton candy on a paper cone, gigantic deep-fried onions as big as your head. Some (usually different than the folks doing the eating, but not always) get the all-rides pass and go on everything twice, once in the daytime and then again at night, when the lights are on. Some shop the leather goods, or the junk jewelry, or the deals on riding mowers. Some are there to show their horses, or drive oxen, or herd sheep. There’s music. Games of chance. Races. Crafts. You get the picture, and I hope it’s one you have enjoyed for yourself.
Today I am going to discuss an entirely different event, one perhaps lacking the sensory joy of the county fair, but one approached with an equally divergent set of aims and expectations by the clients who attend it: the initial appointment with your estate planning attorney.
There are many reasons you might decide to visit an estate planner. Maybe there is a recent change in your life, such as a new spouse, or a new baby to provide for. Maybe you have specific ideas about who should receive your property, and on what terms. Maybe you are focused on minimizing taxes and want to make sure your affairs are in tax-efficient order. Maybe you know of a recent death among your acquaintances or extended family, and you want those who will deal with your own passing to have a different, or the same, experience. Maybe you want to plan ahead for possible incapacity at the end of your life, including deciding who will handle your finances for you and who will make the medical decisions you would make for yourself if able. Maybe you are concerned about preserving your assets for your family in the event you need expensive nursing home care.
Your attorney will consider your estate–the entire “picture of you”–through all these lenses and more, and this is one good reason not to try to create your estate plan at home, using a kit you saw advertised on TV or a form you downloaded from the internet. To get the most from your appointment, be prepared to explain the reasons that bring you to the meeting, but also, be prepared to consider additional features of estate planning that might not be at the forefront of your mind. For example, many clients requesting a Will or a Trust will be asked if they have a Durable Power of Attorney and an Advance Directive for Health Care in place. It makes good sense to consider and execute these documents along with others you may be signing, so you know that all the pieces of your plan interlock and pull together as they should.
Some attorneys ask new clients to fill out an extensive questionnaire before the first meeting; others find they gain more useful information by asking their questions in person. Either way, the attorney needs to understand three things – Who, What, and How – in order to make your work together meet the gold standard: a valid estate plan that is clear, multi-functional, and true to your intent.
WHO: Who are the people in your life? Names, ages, relationship to you? Of these people, whom do you want to receive your property? Where do they live? What are they like? What help will they need after you are gone? Who are you counting on to help you? Are there charities you care about and want to benefit? It may seem odd, but especially if you have no close family, your attorney will be very glad to have a family tree, going out at least as far as your first cousins or until there are living relations to list.
WHAT: What do you own? What do you expect to receive? You could come prepared with a list, or with a collection of documents: account statements, deeds, life insurance policies, annuity and pension and retirement account information, including any existing beneficiary designations and pay-on-death designations. The advantage of a list is that it’s easily reviewed during discussion, and approximate account values are all that’s needed. The advantage of a stack of documents is that the attorney will eventually need to know exactly what your ownership interest is and how assets are titled, and the documents will show those details. If you are a current or future trust beneficiary, bring a copy of the trust. If you have a business, or a valuable collection of any sort of objects, bring details. A copy of your latest tax return is also very useful.
HOW: This is the practical part of the plan that brings the “Who” and “What” together. Think of an estate plan as made up of layers, somewhat like a deep-fried bacon-topped Oreo.
You will provide the content of the “dispositive” layer: the instructions that tell your executor or trustee how to distribute your assets. There might be assets remaining in trust for a beneficiary who has special needs; there might be a right to reside in your house for one person and eventual ownership of the house for a different person. The possibilities are many. Your attorney’s job for this layer is to listen to what you want, point out solutions you may not have considered, and make sure your instructions, once settled on, are unambiguous and easy to follow.
Your documents may well include a substantial tax planning layer, and perhaps also an asset protection layer. When your attorney knows your circumstances and your concerns, he or she will have a good idea of what needs to be included, and will be able to help you sort through the pros and cons of various options. Other trusted advisors may have suggestions for you also.
While your documents may include, for greater clarity, some basic statements about your intentions, a Will or a Trust is not the place for airing your opinions. Rather, you are speaking by doing when you pass on your assets.
Finally, remember to take the long view: this is your initial estate planning appointment, not your only one. With few exceptions, your documents are not set in stone. A review and possible update is a good idea every five years or so, or whenever there is a major change in your life. Your priorities will shift over time. One day you’ll find yourself sitting in the shade at the fair, munching a corn dog and watching people stagger out of the Gravitron with big smiles on their faces, and you’ll realize that you’re having a fantastic time, even though you haven’t been on that thing in years.