For Professional Advisors

The Estate Planning Team

     As an estate planning attorney, I work closely with other professional advisors, including Certified Financial Planners, Investment Advisors, Financial Consultants, Insurance Professionals, Certified Public Accountants and Tax Advisors. I believe the team approach provides our clients with the most sophisticated, comprehensive and effective estate planning possible. To that end, I encourage my clients to invite their Professional Advisors into the estate planning process. Moreover, once involved, I strive to keep you informed and involved at all stages of the estate planning process.

The Process

Step One: The Initial Consultation

     I offer all prospective clients a complimentary initial consultation. With the clients' permission, I encourage you to attend this initial consultation as well. If this cannot be arranged, I will seek the clients' permission to discuss their estate planning with you afterward.

     During this first meeting, I will spend approximately an hour with your clients. After listening to your clients' needs, plans and goals, I will generally make some estate planning recommendations. If the situation is complex, I will generally schedule a follow-up meeting to present a summary and specific recommendations.

     After making my recommendations, I generally quote a flat fee for design, drafting and implementation of the plans. Your clients then may choose to engage my firm by signing an engagement letter and making a 50 percent deposit; or they may choose to take some time to reflect before moving ahead.

Step Two: Signing the Documents

     Should your clients choose to engage my firm at this point, a follow-up meeting to sign documents and begin implementation of the plan will be scheduled ... normally within a week to ten days. This meeting may be quite lengthy as I will thoroughly explain the planning documents to your clients and to their family members if necessary. I also will explain the trust funding process and provide comprehensive written funding instructions—whether your clients choose to engage our firm in this process, or prefer to complete the process themselves or with your assistance.

Step Three: Follow-Up

     I have an extensive follow-up system, which we believe helps build stronger client relationships. Each of our clients will receive a follow-up letter after their plan is complete, and a continued subscription to Secure Future Quarterly, my estate planning newsletter. Through the newsletter I attempt to keep my clients informed of changes that could affect their planning and to help them maintain an awareness of their estate planning goals. In this manner I hope to ensure that my clients' plans are never out-of-date with their current needs and goals. Every two years they will receive a personal letter encouraging them to come in to review their plans and make any necessary changes.

Resources

Client Education

     Please visit my Client Resource Center for an online library of articles on issues related to estate planning. We have posted a number of articles suitable for use as hand-outs to your clients.

Joint Marketing

     I am happy to work with you to speak to your clients or prospects on estate planning issues, including basic estate planning, charitable giving strategies, generation-skipping and other advanced topics, business succession or asset protection. Please call me if you would like to plan a workshop.