Estate Attorneys Provide A Critical & Valuable Service. Choose One That Will Give You Personal Attention

Choose a New York City Estate Lawyer Who Will Provide Personal Attention

Successful execution of any estate planning strategy requires professional counsel. It is crucial to find an estate attorney who is not only licensed to practice law in your state of residence, but who also has significant experience in estate planning. Jules Haas has many years of experience working personally with clients in creating the type of estate plan that expresses each client’s special needs and desires. He works with clients to help them formulate plans that express their goals and provide for the effective disposition of their assets. If you need to make an estate plan, call the seasoned New York City estate attorney Jules Haas. After graduating in the top 10% of his class at the New England School of Law in Boston and serving on the law review, he has more than 40 years of experience working with clients.

The Importance of Personal Service

It’s important, of course, that you seek knowledgeable counsel who can follow all necessary formalities when drafting and preparing your will. To make a valid will, you must have testamentary capacity and intent—you’ll need to be of sound mind and at least 18 years old. The will must be in writing, which improves the likelihood it will be clear and less subject to misinterpretation. The will must be signed by you and also signed and witnessed by two impartial parties. By asking impartial parties rather than beneficiaries to witness the will, conflicts of interest are mitigated.

However, when retaining counsel, it is prudent to choose one who not only follows the requisite formalities but will also provide personalized attention. Unlike some other areas of law, both personal and financial considerations are discussed and reviewed with your legal counsel in connection with making an estate plan.

How Does Personalized Attention Help When Making a Will or Trust?

There is no one size fits all approach when it comes to estate planning. It’s important to choose counsel who will sit down with you and figure out what your options are when creating a workable estate plan. When making a last will and testament, for example, you may need to discuss what would happen if certain beneficiaries pass away or you become incapacitated. A seasoned lawyer will take the time to listen to your concerns about dynamics that might affect your choices in secondary beneficiaries. Similarly, you will need to make a choice of executor; this is a significant aspect of managing your estate after your death. In most cases, the court will honor your choice, but it’s important to choose a reliable, capable person for this serious responsibility, and your attorney can provide helpful advice on this.

It may also be important to create a trust that also accounts for your financial condition and the particular dynamics of your family. Trusts can meet a range of planning needs—among other things, they can be used to assist with avoiding the probate process and to protect assets from creditors or immature children. By providing personalized attention, a lawyer can advise you on which ones might be suitable in your case. Some common kinds of trusts are the irrevocable trust, the special needs trust, the irrevocable life insurance trust, the revocable trust, and the charitable trust. Each one addresses different needs that you may have. For instance, a revocable trust allows you to transfer your assets to a trust and still retain control over them, until, at death, the assets pass to named beneficiaries. This kind of trust can be amended or modified or even revoked while you are alive, and it allows your heirs to avoid probate, which is a costly process that may not resolve for months after your death.

A law firm will also advise you on matters such as a durable power of attorney or an advance directive.

Consult a Seasoned New York City Estate Attorney

Estate planning can create significant order and clarity for how matters should unfold after you become incapacitated or die. Mr. Haas is committed to the success of his clients. In addition to estate planning, he also represents clients in probate and estate administration matters, as well as estate litigation. Seeing all aspects and consequences of drafting testamentary documents and encountering several decades-worth of situations that arise in connection with will, trusts, and other testamentary documents allows him to offer comprehensive and sound counsel when advising clients on their estate plan. For personalized attentive service and a free case evaluation, call Mr. Haas by telephone at (212) 355-2575 or via our online form.