One of the primary reasons to turn to an attorney when you look for estate planning help is to gain a better understanding of estate taxes and how they impact your estate – without careful planning, taxes can take a large part of your estate.

While there are estate tax and gift tax exclusions that can be taken advantage of and accounted for, in general there will be taxes on the value of your estate. The value of your estate can be determined by looking at the current value of your estate and then subtracting the following:

• administrative fees
• funeral costs and expenses
• certain debts such as your mortgage
• the value of bequests to your spouse

The value of taxable lifetime gifts that you have made will also need to be added in and accounted for in the value of your estate.

Other Taxes that Affect Your Estate

In addition to the Federal Estate Tax, your estate planning attorney will be able to help you learn more about the following taxes (explained more in the Estate Planning Institute Glossary):

• The Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax
• Capital Gains Tax

Planning Strategies That Can Reduce Taxes Charged

While it may not be possible to avoid estate taxes altogether, working with an estate planning attorney can help you to reduce the taxes charged against your estate in a number of ways.

• Credit Shelter or By Pass Trusts can be used.
• Couples can prepare a Two-Trust Estate Plan.
• A Credit Shelter Trust can be implemented
• A Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) Trust can be put into place.
• Lifetime Gifts to family and friends will allow you to distribute your assets to your heirs while you are living and can help avoid estate taxes.
• Charitable Gifts can support non-profit organizations and help to reduce the amount of your estate.

Working with an estate planning attorney is something that can help you to understand more about the process of estate planning – and can make sure that, when the time comes that the documents are necessary, everything is accounted for and done correctly. While it is not necessary to work with an estate planning lawyer, you will find that there are a number of benefits.

When you are working with an estate planning attorney, you will find that you’re working with someone who understands tax planning and other issues that will come into play.

Benefits of Working with an Estate Planning Attorney

There are a number of benefits that you will quickly recognize when you work with an estate planning attorney:

• You will be working with someone who understands your situation and your needs.
• An estate planning attorney will be able to answer the questions that you have along the way – whether your question involves the different between a will and a trust or the question is related to whom you should give power of attorney if necessary.
• An estate planning attorney will ask you about points that you may not have thought about..

In other words, what you are going to find is that working with an estate planning attorney will help you to see the big picture clearly.

The Costs of Working with an Estate Planning Attorney

When you do make the choice to work with an estate planning attorney, you need to be sure that you understand the fee structure. You should ask whether the attorney’s fees are based on an hourly rate or a flat rate as this will affect the price that you pay for services.

Once you have come to an agreement with an estate planning attorney that you are comfortable with, make sure that you are able to get a written agreement so that there will not be any surprises down the road.

One of the best options that is available to you when you are looking for estate planning assistance is to look into working with an estate planning attorney. Because an estate planning attorney is someone with whom you will be sharing all of your personal information, the first thing that you are going to want to think about is whether or not you are comfortable working with someone. Sure, your estate planning attorney is going to be someone who is bound to not give that information to anyone, but you are going to be able to get more out of the process if you are working with someone who you believe that you can trust.

Seek References from Family and Friends, Along with Past Client References

To find an estate planning attorney who will be able to help you through the process, you might want to turn to people who you know who are in a similar income bracket and who have needs similar to your own to ask them for a recommendation. You may also want to talk with family members, or with those who you deal with on other levels – your minister, for example – to help guide you in the right direction.

However, make sure that you are also getting past client references from those who have worked with an estate planning attorney in the past – people who you do not know. By looking at client references, you are going to find that you are able to get an honest assessment from someone who has nothing to gain or lose by giving you their opinion.

Choose an Attorney Who Specializes in Estate Planning

Would you ask your veterinarian for advice if you were having chest pain? Would you go to your family physician if you had a toothache?

When you start to look into finding an estate planning attorney, you are going to want to make sure that you are working with someone who specializes in estate planning. Simply put, an estate planning attorney will be well-versed in the laws that regulate estate planning in your state whereas a divorce attorney may know a little bit about estate planning but not necessarily enough.

Whether you are planning for disability or you are looking into estate and gift tax planning, whether you are looking into planning a living trust or a living will, it’s important to know that you are working with someone who will be on your side and who will recognize your needs.

Should You Look for an Estate Planning Attorney with a CELA designation?

In many cases, estate planning attorneys do not have special qualifications and, in many states, they do not need to have them. However, if you look for an estate planning attorney who has been certified by the National Elder Law Foundation as a Certified Elder Law Attorney, you will be able to be confident that your attorney is familiar with health and long-term care planning, power of attorney and guardianship issues, wills, trusts and probate issues.

Certified estate planning lawyers will have been in practice for more than five years, and, during the past three years they must have spent 16 hours a week or more working on elder law cases. In addition, to be certified, an attorney must have continuing education credits in elder law. Every five years, there is a renewal of their certification.

Because certification and a CELA designation are not mandatory, you may find that an attorney without the designation is as qualified to help you through the process. When you are comparing estate planning attorneys, you are going to want to look at:

• How long the attorney has been practicing.
• How much of the attorney’s practice is committed to helping clients with estate planning needs.
• The experience that each attorney has had providing estate planning services, and how much of his/her experience is related to the estate planning assistance that you need.
• Whether or not the attorney is certified (and, if not, why not).

By addressing these questions, you are going to find that you are in a better position to choose the estate planning attorney who will be best for your needs.

While it is possible to find products that will enable you to focus on doing your own estate planning, there are many people who find that extra help is a valuable tool. As a result, they turn to estate planners for the support that they need.

What should you do when you are choosing an estate planner?

Finding Background Information About an Estate Planner

The most basic steps that you are going to take when you start to look at an estate planner will involve learning a bit about the person’s background. If the estate planner has a web site, you’re likely to be able to find this info online; in not, you’re going to want to make a phone call to a few listed estate planners in the phone book.

The answers that you’re going to look for are fairly simple:

• How long has he or she been in the estate planning business?
• What qualifications does he or she have for offering estate planning services?
• Does he or she have a license in a related field?
• What type of estate planning clients does he or she typically work with?
• Have they ever been disciplined in relation to an estate planning service that they provided?
• How much time will they have to spend with you?

In other words, the background information that you are able to obtain about an estate planner will just give you a feel for his or her experience, education and qualifications.

Look for Client References

While it may seem awkward to call someone who you do not know, it’s important to know whether or not the estate planner that you are thinking about working with will help you to meet your needs; one of the best ways to gather this information is by talking with those clients whom they have worked in the past.

Client references will allow you to get a sense of whether or not a past client would make the same choices again, whether or not they are satisfied with the advice that they were given and the attention that they received throughout the process, and about the estate planner’s strengths and weaknesses.

Specialization, Qualifications and Licensing

Some estate planners specialize in providing services to those who have amassed a great deal of wealth, others will focus on providing those on limited income to establish a living will. In other words, there are a wide variety of ways in which estate planners specialize. It’s important to choose someone who offers the services that you are looking for. Some will be more qualified than others to provide services, and in some areas, you will need to ensure that the estate planner is licensed to provide the services.