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Hosted by Jeffrey Bellomo, Esq., CELA, LLM, and over 20 years of experience practicing in estate planning.  We’ll discuss all things Estate Planning and Law.  Our mission is to help educate so that what happened to the Bellomo family doesn’t happen to you. We hope to answer your most burning questions and support you with a solution to estate planning that works for you and your loved ones.

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  2. What Should You Ask Your Estate Planning Attorney?

What Should You Ask Your Estate Planning Attorney?

Feb 23, 2023

The professionals at Bellomo & Associates conduct free, educational workshops on a regular basis so that you can make well-informed decisions that protect your home and other assets. Your choice of legal counsel is an important factor in that decision-making process, so we want to help you answer a question we often receive:  What should I ask my estate planning attorney?  

Your host, Jeffrey R. Bellomo, the founder of Bellomo & Associates, is a licensed and certified elder law attorney with a master’s degree in taxation and a certificate in estate planning. He explains complex legal and financial topics in easy-to-understand language.

 

Key Takeaways  

01:10 – What percentage of your business is dedicated to estate planning and elder law? 

  • Determine whether the attorney is a specialist or generalist

  • The law is so complicated now, especially for estate planning and elder law, that a generalist cannot stay current with best practices

 

04:22 – How often do you update your documents (templates), i.e., trusts, wills, powers of attorney, etc.? Do you use legal document software or do you watch the industry to determine when updates to your documents are needed?

  • Changes in federal and state law necessitate frequent updates to templates, typically multiple times per year 

  • The templates must be able to accommodate detailed customization to ensure maximum effectiveness for each client 

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08:52 – Do you provide for standby special needs trusts? Understated age trusts?

  • Estate planning should account for contingencies 

  • Anything can happen

 

19:05 – Does your power of attorney (POA) provide for unlimited gifting? Does it allow for asset protection planning, asset preservation, and Medicaid planning?

  • Unlimited gifting can result in theft or misappropriation

  • Housing the original documents with an attorney can help safeguard assets 

 

23:13 – What do you charge for updates to documents? Will you contact me if the law changes? How are fees determined on the back end?

  • Annual maintenance fees can provide for multiple changes and ensure documents are always current

  • Maintenance fees can vary widely whether based on flat rate, percentage of asset value, etc. 

  • Back-end fees are for estate or trust administration 

 

26:59 – Will you act as the attorney AND the executor of the will? What are your fees?

  • Separating the attorney and executor roles (ideally, with individuals from different law firms) increases oversight

  • Some attorneys, when performing both roles, will charge full rates for both

Links and Resources Mentioned

Bellomo & Associates workshops: https://bellomoassociates.com/workshops/ 

For more information, call us at (717) 845-5390.

Connect with Bellomo & Associates on Social Media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bellomoassoc 

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/user/BellomoAssociates 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bellomoassociates 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bellomoassociates/  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bellomoandassociates 

Ways to work with Jeff Bellomo

Contact Us: https://bellomoassociates.com/contact/ 

Practice areas: https://bellomoassociates.com/practice-areas/