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BUILDING OR ENHANCING YOUR ESTATE PLANNING PRACTICE
by John V. Kitzke and Thomas E. Masson, II

Introduction

Why are so many attorneys moving or considering the move to the estate planning field or expanding their existing estate planning practice? Reasons include the following: it is less stressful than or other areas of law; it offers a more person-to-person practice; or it has the potential for trillions of dollars due to our aging population. The lawyers see estate planning as a growth area, as bankruptcy and environmental law were seen in their times.

Whatever the reason, estate planning is becoming the focal point of many law practices. This move does not ensure automatic success or profit. Too often, those who make the move don't attract business volume and the traditional networking methods fail to bring in sufficient clients or income. There are no guarantees, but the following suggestions can help you build and enhance an estate planning practice.

Define the Goal

Estate planning often consisted only of the good old will. Today, the number of document options and strategies available for even small estates can be overwhelming to the attorney, let alone the client. Not recognizing this can do great damage to the client and invite malpractice for the counselor. The real task of the estate planning attorney is to point out the more practical and affordable choices, leaving the more exotic and expensive options for those clients with adventuresome tastes and an estate to match.

Initial Considerations

Deciding to make the transition to estate planning, or to expand an existing estate planning practice, is serious business and not to be taken lightly. Before making that decision, you should take the following steps:

Upgrade your technical knowledge. Attend quality seminars and workshops on estate planning. Explore continuing legal education courses available in your state and make use of CDs, the Internet, and other modern resources at our fingertips.

Consult the "gurus" of estate planning. Learn what resources and research materials they recommend. Try to establish informal think tanks, what we called study groups in law school. Many colleagues willingly swap helpful ideas and "war stories" that can help you gain a new viewpoint or perspective on a problem. Also take advantage of "lists" (from the ABA and elsewhere) of attorneys who converse via the Internet on various estate planning issues.

Choose which specific areas of estate planning you wish to serve. These include the elderly, those only needing basic planning, those needing advanced services, etc.

Determine which geographic area(s) you wish to serve. This may dictate the areas of your practice and inspire your marketing efforts.

Choose between franchise operation and independent operation. Franchises provide products and forms that you can adapt to your estate planning practice - a quicker approach but sometimes expensive. With the latter, you must find your own sources for the products you need, such as the State Bar, colleagues, or members of your think tank.

Consider changing your methods of practicing law. These changes may need to be drastic and may affect all other decisions.

Give up Control of the Process

The estate planning process is a team effort. The other team players usually consist of the accountant, the insurance adviser, and the investment adviser. In some cases, where no serious income, capital gain, or estate or gift tax issues are present, the accountant may have a lesser part. However, insurance and investment advisers are almost always necessary. They perform many administrative functions (generally at no charge), freeing up attorney time and reducing the ultimate cost to the client.

Lawyers may not be the best "quarterback" on the team. Let someone else on the team fill that position. In many cases, you come in with limited knowledge, whereas the other adviser has a long-term relationship and detailed knowledge of the client. His or her knowledge helps catch details during the planning process that could create a tax problem or other undesirable results for the client. It also may ensure that the ultimate estate plan follows the path the client desires. Far too often the estate plan clients have in place are a far cry from their understanding of it, not to mention where they want to the estate plan to take them.

In addition, you must also recognize that meetings with clients don't always have to be at your offices. They can be at the client's office or home, or at the office of one of the other team members. Also very important, meetings must include all the team players if the team is to be fully effective. Discuss your concerns about various issues with the other team members first. Never try to gain points in front of the client at the expense of another team member. The client comes first, but rarely does that mean we must declare war on another team member.

Keep conversant with the insurance and investment products available. The other team members will be happy to bring you up to speed in these matters. While designing your practice to be more attractive to clients and others, do the same for your staff - hire good "people persons" in tune with your new approach. Also strengthen the check-up and review procedures to encourage clients to periodically update their plan, keeping it relevant.

All of this results in an appreciation of your value by clients and team members, which can lead to referral sources.

Change Your Billing System

One of the greatest complaints made about attorneys (often behind their backs) is that they charge unreasonable fees. Unfortunately, this is too often true. The hourly charge method is more out of sync in estate planning than in other areas. Many tasks can be performed on a "flat fee" or other "closed end" basis, particularly in estate planning due to the document set approach. When a particular approach is determined to be best, the basics of the documents are already in place, saving time and effort. This approach will gain immeasurable respect and appreciation from clients and team members alike. NOTE: Reasonable rates make an excellent marketing tool for your estate planning services.

Market Your Practice

All the above effort does no good if you can't acquire clients and earn a living. Therefore, the marketing end of the process is crucial. A number of successful estate planners use the media effectively by advertising their seminars and workshops in the newspapers and on radio and television. Some stations welcome programs on law-related fields and will provide airtime at no cost. Others estate planners do "mail outs," sometimes purchasing mailing lists. Some franchise operations offer marketing support.

One of the most successful marketing tools is your network. It often has built-in client bases. The professionals in your network may be willing to sponsor seminars for their clients and feature you as a speaker. As your network and client base grows, a newsletter can be used effectively. Your marketing plan is up to you. You may have to try more than one of these, even others not mentioned here, before finding what works in your practice.

Conclusion

Each of us defines success differently. For some, it's a great deal of money. Regardless of your definition, approaching your estate practice with some of the foregoing thoughts can help you create a successful, meaningful estate planning practice.

© GTC vln2winter2001