I’ve often been asked …
March 30, 2007 – 7:56 amI thought I’d tell you some stories today that really bring home the importance and value of your relationship with a lawyer.
What I find is that MOST people think they don’t have enough wealth to need such a relationship, but these stories will show you that’s a false belief.
My father-in-law died with a living trust and yet after his death, we were suddenly dealing with the probate court AND his ex-wife. I was in law school at the time, so I didn’t know much about estate planning.
But, I did know that a living trust meant no probate.
Or, so I thought.
My in-laws didn’t have a relationship with their lawyer. They had gone to him for the preparation of documents and that’s what they got. An expensive set of documents at that! And, while there was a note in my in-laws trust binder that said "Congratulations on your new estate plan, now, make sure you transfer your assets!" this lawyer had not taken any action on my in-laws behalf to ensure this was done, or even that they understood how important it was.
I thought the lawyer had committed malpractice! After becoming a lawyer myself, I later found out, it’s common practice.
Later, after becoming a lawyer myself, I was engaged by a woman in New Mexico to seek a conservatorship over her mother, in Pasadena.
This somewhat estranged daughter was very concerned about her elderly mother’s well-being and yet her elderly mother didn’t want her daughter caring for her.
We never did bring the expensive, humiliating conservatorship case because mom had a long-term relationship with her personal lawyer who said, NO WAY are you dragging my client into court. I’ll make sure she gets the care she needs, and he did.
Most recently, I was engaged by a young man whose father had recently died. After a short meeting, I discovered that a number of expensive mistakes had been made before dad died.
First, dad had deeded one of his properties to his sons shortly before his death. That mistake will cost his sons possibly tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in capital gains tax that could have been avoided VERY EASILY with the right guidance.
Second, dad died with another property in his own name, not in a trust. And, that mistake will cost his sons thousands of dollars in lawyer’s fees AND 12-16 months dealing with a probate court. Also, totally and easily avoidable.
The moral of these stories is to look to your lawyer as not only a document preparer, but as a trusted advisor who can help you to make the right decisions for your family and avoid costly mistakes, very easily.
To Your Wealth, Health & Happiness,
~ Alexis
PS - Our monthly Family Wealth Matters call this month was with Jeanne Peters, a fabulous nutritionist who gave us tons of tips for eating healthfully without a huge amount of work. Jeanne shared with us:
If you can’t buy all organic, what’s most important? Quick, grab and go snacks that are easy and healthy. And, so much more.
As a Personal Family Lawyer, I know my job is so much bigger than merely preparing documents, it’s about giving you the tools to live a wealthier, healthier and happier life.