Should I change my 25% estate lawyer???

R

Rosedala

New Member
Hello, I think I made a mistake in hiring an "estate" lawyer about 2 years ago or so since he only has 25% experience in estates. His principal subjects are immigration and another one I can't recall now. Do you all think this is sufficient experience? Although I've been reading a lot on the subject, I'm sure that, as a layperson, I need to be asked (and told) a lot of questions about my estate planning.

I've been getting dizzy debating within myself whether or not go and hire a lawyer totally dedicated to estates. I'm alone and have a very simple estate, yet I don't want to do it myself, I need an experienced lawyer despite the fact this would be the 3rd time I'm paying for the same thing. For many years I had a good estate lawyer but she retired. That's when I hired the present 25% estate lawyer.

Thanks ever so much for your opinions. :)
 

If the only thing that changed concerning the distribution of my estate and my wishes was the retirement of the original attorney I wouldn't see a reason to create a new will.

The attorney that created my original will died and the original will is still valid/on file with the law firm that he worked for.

I should update my will for various reasons but if I don't get to it the old will is still valid.

Good luck!
 
I think that a very experienced and dedicated estate lawyer are many times be the most inexpensive way to go. I have been involved with some poorly written wills as well as estate planning that was very expensive to fix. And sometimes the errors / omissions / can't be "fixed".
 
It all depends on how complicated the estate is, or if there expected complications,

For a very simple estate, you don't need a superstar lawyer. Most estate law is very cut and dried.

For myself, I have arranged things to avoid probate altogether, using transfer-on-death documents, so an estate lawyer will not be needed at all. Heirs will just need to present death certificates at appropriate places, i.e., the bank, the county clerk, etc.
 
C'est Moi said:
If you have a substantial estate then certainly find a lawyer that specializes. We have wills and financial planners but no estate lawyer.
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Thank you, my estate is very simple but I still wish an experienced estate lawyer to take care of everything necessary while I'm on the way out and and after I'm gone. :)
 
mathjak107 said:
I only use the most experienced estate attorney I can find ...we already had two issues in our lives dealing with amateurish poorly constructed wills
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I'm beginning to see this very thing mathjak! Thanks but problem is searching for a competent one and be able to realize whether he/she is or not before hiring them...is so difficult! If anybody happens to know one in NYC please let me know?
 
Aunt Bea said:
If the only thing that changed concerning the distribution of my estate and my wishes was the retirement of the original attorney I wouldn't see a reason to create a new will.

The attorney that created my original will died and the original will is still valid/on file with the law firm that he worked for.

I should update my will for various reasons but if I don't get to it the old will is still valid.

Good luck!
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Aunt Bea (I love your name, reminds me of the charming TV Aunt Bea) :) As to your case I'm surprised it's still valid (and I'm not even a paralegal) since the late attorney's name must be all over the Will, even though done at the same firm, I'd think you'd need to renew it. But you must've consulted with that firm so you must be sure your will is valid. But you'll have to change it for other reasons so you're ok. :)
 
Butterfly said:
It all depends on how complicated the estate is, or if there expected complications,

For a very simple estate, you don't need a superstar lawyer. Most estate law is very cut and dried.

For myself, I have arranged things to avoid probate altogether, using transfer-on-death documents, so an estate lawyer will not be needed at all. Heirs will just need to present death certificates at appropriate places, i.e., the bank, the county clerk, etc.
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Oh you're very lucky, yes, I know of TODs but they are good only for individuals not for charities. Yes, that would've simplified my life enormously! But you give me some hope of not having to search again since my estate is very simple with the exception of also having a Living Revocable Trust so this is why I need a lawyer; however, I don't have business so I stipulated that my accounts at banks and credit unions be immediately closed, creditors paid and distribute the rest to my charities. However there's more work for the lawyer, like arranging cremation, etc. etc. etc. Things that usually family does.
 
Getyoung said:
I think that a very experienced and dedicated estate lawyer are many times be the most inexpensive way to go. I have been involved with some poorly written wills as well as estate planning that was very expensive to fix. And sometimes the errors / omissions / can't be "fixed".
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AND....in my case with no family or close friends, who will fix any problem??? Yes, I agree with everyone here who says a competent lawyer should be a priority, so back to the drawing board and start dragging my poor feet from lawyer to lawyer trying to find that elusive competent estate attorney.... yet it isn't always easy to discover a good one. Sigh... :)
 
THANK YOU ALL for your opinions which I'm sure will help me take a right decision. However, one question: Does anyone know why i haven't received any emails announcing your answers? I was wondering why I didn't get them so I came to this site and found many kind replies. I would like very much in the future to receive emails announcing anyone's answers. What do I have to do? Thank you. :)
P.S. I forgot to say that I keep receiving an email saying:

"Rosedala, in order to complete your registration or reactivate your account at Senior Forums, you need to confirm your email address by clicking the button below.
Confirm your email"

and I've been doing this like 5 times and nothing happens, but it did accept my postings. But it doesn't email me the answers. What do do please? thanks again.
 
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Rosedala said:
and I've been doing this like 5 times and nothing happens, but it did accept my postings. But it doesn't email me the answers. What do do please? thanks again.
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Open your Profile and click on Preferences..
.
Screenshot-2019-10-25-at-6-25-40-AM.png
 
Rosedala said:
Aunt Bea (I love your name, reminds me of the charming TV Aunt Bea) :) As to your case I'm surprised it's still valid (and I'm not even a paralegal) since the late attorney's name must be all over the Will, even though done at the same firm, I'd think you'd need to renew it. But you must've consulted with that firm so you must be sure your will is valid. But you'll have to change it for other reasons so you're ok. :)
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A will does not need to be changed because the attorney who drafted it dies. A will stands on its own as a legal document and is valid until the testator rescinds it.

The only reason you would need to change it is if the attorney was named as trustee or personal representative (executor), in which case you would have to name a new one unless you had named a successor trustee/executor in the original will. In that case the successor would take over the duties.
 
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Rosedala said:
I'm beginning to see this very thing mathjak! Thanks but problem is searching for a competent one and be able to realize whether he/she is or not before hiring them...is so difficult! If anybody happens to know one in NYC please let me know?
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Not sure my suggestions are helpful, but here goes=

1. Do a search on YELP.com

2. If you have available or are a member of Nextdoor.com, you can ask for recommendations from your nearby neighbors. I'm a member of one and my neighbors's recommendations are immensely helpful. https://nextdoor.com I managed to find two good doctors, a handyman, and an electrician through their recommendations from personal experience.
 
Rosedala said:
I'm beginning to see this very thing mathjak! Thanks but problem is searching for a competent one and be able to realize whether he/she is or not before hiring them...is so difficult! If anybody happens to know one in NYC please let me know?
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we found one of the best in nyc ... we use fatoullah associates . they are in manhattan , queens , brooklyn and long island


https://www.elderlaw-newyork.com/
 
You said you have a very simple will/estate. No close family. No complicated beneficiary dealings. Nothing complicated. Some CD/MM funds to be dispersed between a few charities when you pass away.

You could do this on the back of a napkin and have it notarized and be fine.

According to another site you posted that you have been through 3 different attorneys. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist do this. You just list what you want done with your estate. They put it in a legal document, memorialize it and it’s done. What are you worried about? You have been posting the same thing for 2 years. You are probably driving these poor attorneys crazy.
 
Floridatennisplayer said:
You said you have a very simple will/estate. No close family. No complicated beneficiary dealings. Nothing complicated. Some CD/MM funds to be dispersed between a few charities when you pass away.

You could do this on the back of a napkin and have it notarized and be fine.

According to another site you posted that you have been through 3 different attorneys. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist do this. You just list what you want done with your estate. They put it in a legal document, memorialize it and it’s done. What are you worried about? You have been posting the same thing for 2 years. You are probably driving these poor attorneys crazy.
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What can be easier right . Well we inherited a house ...we went to refinance it and the title company asked to see the will .... they read the will and stopped the closing ....the will said “ to my child Beth I leave my house and possessions....it is missing a word ..the word is ONLY ..as in only child .....we had to pay the title company ,the bank attorney and the co-op attorney for the day and lost our interest rate ....we needed affidavits from relatives stating she was an only child ...that was my ex wife .

my current wife was involved in a situation with her deceased husband’s families business....it turns out the general practitioner never made provisions for what happens if her now deceased husband ,predeceased his parents which he did ...the court ruled the document defective ....that missing sentence cost us 500k because we had to buy out two estranged step children who were mentioned by name to get nothing .but because this amateur mistake made the document defective they had to be notified ....it ended up in a long court battle ....

never assume because you don’t have much that these documents don’t have to be near perfect ...your death can be the result of an accident, a medical malpractice case , a wrongful death suit,etc.

first thing our current attorney said when he spotted these errors in the little test we gave him was , these kinds of error and omission are a big part of his work , which is spent trying to fix things after the fact , which can be expensive and difficult once people try to do this stuff saving a few bucks
 
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Rosedala said:
e I'm surprised it's still valid (and I'm not even a paralegal)
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The attorney name on a Will is irrelevant. What the court's look for when probating a Will would be names appointed for Executor/Executrix. And that the Will has been witnessed and notarized. In Alabama, each page of a Will must be signed by each witness and by the person who's Will it is. I've done Wills for just about everyone in my family; they just take them to their bank, UPS or a mail center to have them witnessed and notarized.

As for finding an estate lawyer, contact your City or State Bar Association. They can give you some names. Or check with the Clerk in the Probate Court. I was a paralegal for almost 20 years and when I would do Wills or Trusts I would make several originals for signatures. One, of course, for the party getting the Will, one for each of their children, an original for our files and, if needed, another original for the party getting the Will so they can keep a copy in a safe deposit box or at another location. Different States have different requirements for Wills.

I advise to always add a statement declaring any other Wills or Codicils made prior to the one you're making at the time be declared to be replaced by the new Will. That way you don't have to gather up the originals of the old Will. And also name a secondary Executor/Executrix in case something happens that the first one can't or doesn't want to see your Will carried out.
 
Suzy623 said:
The attorney name on a Will is irrelevant. What the court's look for when probating a Will would be names appointed for Executor/Executrix. And that the Will has been witnessed and notarized. In Alabama, each page of a Will must be signed by each witness and by the person who's Will it is. I've done Wills for just about everyone in my family; they just take them to their bank, UPS or a mail center to have them witnessed and notarized.

As for finding an estate lawyer, contact your City or State Bar Association. They can give you some names. Or check with the Clerk in the Probate Court. I was a paralegal for almost 20 years and when I would do Wills or Trusts I would make several originals for signatures. One, of course, for the party getting the Will, one for each of their children, an original for our files and, if needed, another original for the party getting the Will so they can keep a copy in a safe deposit box or at another location. Different States have different requirements for Wills.

I advise to always add a statement declaring any other Wills or Codicils made prior to the one you're making at the time be declared to be replaced by the new Will. That way you don't have to gather up the originals of the old Will. And also name a secondary Executor/Executrix in case something happens that the first one can't or doesn't want to see your Will carried out.
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Hi Suzy, (1) the attorney name on a Will is very relevant if s/he happens to be the executor/rix and successor trustee.

I know all about preparing all these legal docs., copies, originals, signatures, etc. This isn't the problem I brought to the forum. Also you forget or don't know that i have a Living Revocable Trust and both docs have successor entities. However, I decided I do not want to do it myself, I want an attorney and this is what I did. I made a mistake in selecting the right one for me and this is the problem I came to the forum to help me with. However in another forum, I've already received very constructive advice which i intend to follow. thanks very much for your help.
 
mathjak107 said:
What can be easier right . Well we inherited a house ...we went to refinance it and the title company asked to see the will .... they read the will and stopped the closing ....the will said “ to my child Beth I leave my house and possessions....it is missing a word ..the word is ONLY ..as in only child .....we had to pay the title company ,the bank attorney and the co-op attorney for the day and lost our interest rate ....we needed affidavits from relatives stating she was an only child ...that was my ex wife .

my current wife was involved in a situation with her deceased husband’s families business....it turns out the general practitioner never made provisions for what happens if her now deceased husband ,predeceased his parents which he did ...the court ruled the document defective ....that missing sentence cost us 500k because we had to buy out two estranged step children who were mentioned by name to get nothing .but because this amateur mistake made the document defective they had to be notified ....it ended up in a long court battle ....

never assume because you don’t have much that these documents don’t have to be near perfect ...your death can be the result of an accident, a medical malpractice case , a wrongful death suit,etc.

first thing our current attorney said when he spotted these errors in the little test we gave him was , these kinds of error and omission are a big part of his work , which is spent trying to fix things after the fact , which can be expensive and difficult once people try to do this stuff saving a few bucks
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GREAT ANSWER Mathjack! Some people forget the small but terribly consequential details if not attended to. :)
 


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