A Career in Estate Planning Law: Do You Think You’re the Right Fit?

However, there’s one career option that most lawyers overlook. That’s the estate planning law industry. This market experienced a low 0.1% growth between 2022 and 2023 but is expected to advance in the next five years. Currently, there are only 201,144 estate attorney businesses in America, compared to 252,159 defense lawyers.

A career in this field truly requires a nuanced educational and practical journey. For example, you must foster empathy, develop meticulous attention to detail, and enhance your legal acumen. Are you intrigued by this career option?

In this blog post, we’ll discuss everything you must know about estate planning law, its job role, and more.

Understanding Estate Planning

This legal avenue involves anticipating the client’s future needs and expenses. As a lawyer, you’ll need to ensure that the client’s loved ones are provided with the right finances after their demise or disability.
It also involves a wide range of topics. Those include the following:
- Trusts, wills, and probate
- Healthcare directives
- Tax planning
- Power of attorney
- Business succession planning
- Asset protection

Before you choose to become an estate planning lawyer, you must understand the intricacies of inheritance and asset management. This area of law allows you to become a guide to help your clients craft comprehensive strategies to protect the future.

The Job Role of an Estate Planning Lawyer

As an attorney, you’ll have to meet the specific wishes of an individual or family. To do that, you’ll have to assess the family’s estate and determine how it gets distributed after the client’s death. Moreover, you must create plans based on these aspects:
- Information about debts
- Nature and size of the assets
- Special needs, finances, and personal relationships of the beneficiaries

Based on these considerations, an estate planning lawyer will perform the following duties:
- Creating trusts and wills by drafting legal documents about property distribution after death
- Minimizing the fees and taxes on the assets by planning for liabilities on inheritance
- Curating documents about medical preferences, like long-term care and palliative medical directives
- Appointing someone to make medical and financial decisions on behalf of your client
- Implementing strategies to safeguard the client’s estate and assets from lawsuits and creditors.

 
On average, estate planning attorneys earn USD 109,325 a year for performing these tasks. Your median salary could be USD 95,729.

What’s the Best Way to Be a Good Estate Planning Lawyer?

Let’s say you became a freelance estate planning lawyer. In that case, you’ll need help dealing with the client’s assets. The only thing that can assist you here is innovative technology.

You need a modern and visual approach with the help of estate planning tools. At its core, estate planning software for attorneys can help you do the following:
- Turn existing documents into clear visuals for proper planning.
- Scale your practice by offering personalized plans for every customer.
- Retain existing prospects and nurture leads to grow your clientele.
- Offer differentiated advice and holistic planning with strategies and analysis.

According to Vanilla, attorneys can visualize, organize, and execute the best estate planning strategies with such tools. With this, you can provide better service and create effective plans for every client.

Apart from technology, you’ll also need some innate traits to become successful. For example, you must be kind, personable, and have long-term thinking skills. Attorneys also need to have vast knowledge about taxation and financial issues.

Estate Planning Career Option: Questions to Ask Yourself

If you’re considering a career in estate planning law, you must answer a few questions. Those include the following:
- Are you willing to help a family create a well-thought-out estate plan without becoming emotional?
- Do you have enough compassion to analyze the family members and choose the right power of attorney?
- Can you navigate the intricacies of safeguarding assets, the legal landscape, tax liabilities, etc.?
- Do you have a keen eye for detail and a passion for helping clients secure legacies?

Before you choose this career, do contact a professional estate planning lawyer. They can help you understand what life would be like in this job role. You should also take your time to learn the potential benefits and drawbacks of this career path from them.

In summary, careers in estate planning law will only be fulfilling for those passionate about financial management, tax details, etc. You get to help others secure legacies even after they’ve passed. Moreover, you’ll require a blend of commitment, interpersonal finesse, and compassion to be successful.

You must also develop comfort working with estate planning software. With that, you can tailor your services and analyze plans on your client’s behalf. You get to guide them through pivotal decision-making while honoring their wishes.

Aspiring estate planning lawyers must be willing to learn and remain dedicated to their clients every day. This way, you can forge a rewarding career in estate planning law.