By Emily S. Gerson

An estate lawyer can be a very important asset both before and after death. Estate lawyers can help you with documents relating to your estate and finances, such as trusts and wills, which dictate who receives all of your money and possessions once you die. Estate lawyers can also help you plan your end-of-life wishes through powers of attorney and living wills, which will be very important documents to have if you are ever placed on life support. Now that you want to get your estate documents in order, how do you find an estate lawyer?

* Ask around. Do you know any lawyers? Even if they practice in a different field, they may be able to recommend a local estate lawyer. You should also ask your friends, family members, and coworkers if they have an estate lawyer they can recommend.

* Get a referral from your local bar association. All states and some cities have bar associations that will be happy to offer lawyer referrals; many have specific lawyer referral programs for this purpose.

* If you can’t get any names through word of mouth or a referral service, use the yellow pages or an online database like FindLaw to find a list of estate lawyers in your area. Consider using a site like Yelp.com, in which people leave reviews about local businesses, including lawyers.

Remember that you don’t have to hire the first lawyer you meet. Consider having a phone or in-person interview with several different lawyers, much like you should do when shopping for a funeral home. Be sure to ask:

* What their fees are

* How long they have been practicing law (at least 10 years is preferable)

* What portion of their practice is devoted to estate law (the more, the better)

* If they are licensed to practice in your state of residence (this is necessary)

* If they are a member of any estate planning organizations or bar associations; this type of commitment to the industry is a very good sign

If you don’t know anything about the lawyer you have decided to work with, you should strongly consider checking the lawyer’s references and asking the state disciplinary board if the lawyer has ever been in any type of trouble. While you normally won’t run into any problems, when it comes to something as serious as your final wishes, it’s important to ensure that you are in good hands.

Once you decide on a lawyer, you will need to talk about fees. Don’t be afraid to negotiate, as many lawyers are flexible with their prices. However, but be sure that you get the prices you agreed upon in writing.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 5th, 2009 at 7:09 am and is filed under Pre-need. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.