Ask Until It Makes Sense
Tell us, and keep asking until the explanation makes sense. You should not sign a document because you are embarrassed to admit that you do not understand it. Estate planning documents can contain language you would never use in an ordinary conversation, but the decisions behind them concern familiar things: who can help you, who receives your property, and what protection you want for your family. We should be able to explain those decisions in words you can follow. Massachusetts’ professional conduct rule on communication requires a lawyer to explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions.
We Start With Your Situation
At Monteforte Law, we start with your situation rather than expecting you to arrive knowing which documents to request. You may come in thinking you need a will because a friend told you to get one. After discussing your assets and family, we may recommend something different. You deserve to understand why. A recommendation should connect to a concern you actually have, not depend on your willingness to accept that the lawyer knows best.
A Conversation Without Pressure
Our Strategic Planning Session is intended to be a conversation without pressure to make a decision on the spot. We discuss what you own, what you want to happen, and where problems may arise. If you are worried about your children inheriting too young, we should explain how the proposed plan addresses that. If your concern is paying for care, we should distinguish that planning from probate avoidance. Different documents accomplish different things, and those differences matter.
Something to Review Afterward
If you come to us through one of our webinars or seminars, you also receive a written Family Protection Report explaining your situation and recommendations. There is a lot to absorb in an estate planning meeting, especially when you are discussing subjects you would rather not have to think about. Having the explanation in writing gives you something to review afterward. It also helps when you and your spouse remember different parts of the conversation or want to revisit the reasons for a particular recommendation.
Understand the Choices, Not Every Term
Understanding a plan does not require memorizing every legal term. You should, however, understand the choices that affect your life. If property is going into a trust, what control will you retain? Who takes over if you cannot manage it? When do your children receive access? What can be changed later? Those are questions we want you to ask. The legal language may be necessary to accomplish the result, but it should not conceal the result from you.
Examples Make It Real
Examples often help. Saying that your daughter will serve as successor trustee may sound abstract until we explain what she would need to do if you were hospitalized and could not manage the trust’s accounts. Discussing distributions becomes more useful when we talk about a child buying a house, facing a lawsuit, or needing help during an illness. We want you to recognize your family in the explanation so you can decide whether the instructions fit.
You Should Hear the Limitations Too
You should also hear about limitations. A revocable trust does not automatically accomplish everything an irrevocable trust might be designed to do, and keeping assets outside probate does not necessarily remove them from an estate tax calculation. A plan may involve tradeoffs concerning control, access, taxes, or future flexibility. Those are reasons for discussion, rather than details to skip because they make the meeting more complicated. You cannot make an informed choice if you only hear the advantages.
Before and After You Sign
If we get to signing and something still feels unclear, say so before you sign. If you remember another question afterward, contact us. You are not being difficult, and asking twice does not mean you were not listening the first time. Our job includes helping you understand the plan well enough to use it and explain the important parts to the people who may eventually carry it out. You should leave knowing what you chose and why it makes sense for your family.
Start with a free 15-minute consult call with Nicole Ott, our Lead Intake Coordinator. Tell her what you have now and what you want the plan to do for your family. That is usually enough for us to say what to do next.
